MLA format: the first page, heading, header and essay layout

This guide covers the page layout; for the citations, see MLA works cited and in-text citations. Both belong to our citation styles series, whose hub is the APA reference list guide.

MLA format at a glance

These are the settings every MLA paper needs, unless your instructor sets different rules. MLA itself says instructors may change these, and their instructions come first [1].

What goes in the MLA heading?

The MLA heading is four lines at the top left of the first page: your name, your instructor's name, the course, and the date. Each sits on its own double-spaced line, flush with the left margin, with no extra space above or below [2].

1. Your full name
2. Your instructor's name, with the title they use (Professor, Dr.)
3. The course name or number, with the section if you have one
4. The date in day month year form: 14 November 2026

Do not bold the heading or put it in the word processor's header area. It is part of the body text.

Group projects. MLA's guidance for a paper with several authors is to list each member's name on its own line in the heading (or on a title page if your instructor asks for one), and to shorten or drop the running-header names if there are too many to fit.

What is the MLA header (running head)?

The MLA header is your last name and the page number, flush right, half an inch from the top of every page. It sits in the word processor's header area, so it repeats automatically, and it reads "Ortiz 1", "Ortiz 2" and so on, with one space and no "p." or comma [2].

Your instructor may ask you to drop the header, or to use the page number alone. Follow that instruction. The Works Cited page continues the numbering.

How do you format the MLA title?

Center the title on the line after the date, in title case and plain type. Do not make it bold, italic, underlined, larger or all capitals, and do not put it in quotation marks [2]. The first paragraph starts on the next double-spaced line, with no extra gap.

In MLA title case, capitalize the first and last words and all nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs and subordinating conjunctions. Lowercase articles (a, an, the), prepositions (of, about, between) and coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or) when they fall in the middle [1].

Use italics or quotation marks only for another work named inside your title.

An MLA format example: the first page

This is what a correct first page looks like. The paper and student are invented for this guide; the source it cites is real, Watson and Crick's 1953 letter in Nature [3]. Blank lines stand for double spacing.

                                                          Ortiz 1

Maya Ortiz

Professor Daniel Reyes

English 102

14 November 2026

           Reading the Double Helix: What a One-Page Letter
                       Teaches about Writing

     Some of the most important papers in science are also the
shortest. Watson and Crick's account of the structure of DNA
fills little more than one page of Nature, and it opens without
any preamble: "We wish to suggest a structure for the salt of
deoxyribose nucleic acid (D.N.A.)" (Watson and Crick 737). This
essay argues that the letter's plain, modest style is part of
why it persuaded its first readers.

What to notice:

• The header "Ortiz 1" is in the header area at the top right, half an inch from the edge of the page.
• The title is centered and plain. A long title may wrap onto a second centered line.
• The first line of the paragraph is indented half an inch. Nothing else is indented.
• The in-text citation gives the author and page with no comma, and the period goes after the parentheses.

Margins, font, spacing and indentation

Use 1-inch margins, one readable font at a standard size, double spacing everywhere and a half-inch first-line indent. These four settings make up most of what instructors mean by "MLA essay format" [1], [2].

• Margins. One inch on all four sides. The running header sits inside the top margin, half an inch from the edge.
• Font. A readable typeface with clearly different italics, at a standard size such as 12 point [1], used everywhere in the paper.
• Spacing. Double-space the whole paper with no extra space between paragraphs. Word adds 8 points after each paragraph by default, so set it to 0.
• Indentation. Indent the first line of each paragraph half an inch with the ruler or paragraph settings, not spaces. Block quotes are indented half an inch as a whole; Works Cited entries use a hanging indent.

Do MLA papers use headings?

MLA does not require section headings, but you may use them in long papers, as long as each level looks the same every time. MLA's advice is to keep headings short, in title case, without a final period, and to make higher levels more prominent than lower ones [1]. You may number them (1, 1.1) if your instructor prefers.

One scheme the MLA Style Center has shown as an example:

Short essays rarely need headings. If you use them, keep the double spacing with no extra space around them.

How do you format a block quote in MLA?

Set off any prose quotation longer than four lines of your paper, or any verse quotation longer than three lines, as a block indented half an inch from the left margin. Do not use quotation marks around a block quote, keep it double-spaced, and put the parenthetical citation after the final period [1], [4].

     Ortiz introduces the quotation with a colon:

          [Quoted prose of more than four typed lines goes here,
          indented half an inch from the left margin, double-
          spaced, with no quotation marks. The citation follows
          the final punctuation mark, not the other way round,
          as in this example.] (Watson and Crick 737)

The text after the block continues at the margin with no indent,
unless it starts a new paragraph.

Short quotations of four lines or fewer stay in your sentence, inside quotation marks, with the citation before the period, as on the first-page example above.

Tables and figures in MLA format

Label tables "Table 1" with a title above; label everything else (images, charts, maps) "Fig. 1" with a caption below. Put each one as close as possible to the paragraph that discusses it, and give its source directly underneath [1], [4].

Tables. On separate lines above the table, flush left: the label and number (Table 1), then a title in title case. Below the table, give the source ("Source:") and any notes.

Table 1
Key Features Reported in Watson and Crick's 1953 Letter
[table]
Source: Watson and Crick 737.

Figures. Below the image, flush left: "Fig." and a number, a period, then a caption that may include the source, for example "Fig. 1. Diagram of the double helix, from Watson and Crick 737."

If a caption gives the full citation details and you do not cite the source anywhere else in the text, MLA says you do not need to repeat it in Works Cited [1]. Most instructors still prefer the Works Cited entry, so add it unless you are told otherwise.

The Works Cited page

Start Works Cited on a new page, with the title "Works Cited" centered at the top in plain type, and list entries in alphabetical order with a half-inch hanging indent. Keep the running header and the double spacing [2]. If you cite only one source, title the page "Work Cited".

Our guide to MLA works cited covers the entry for every common source type, and the reference list formatting guide compares list layouts across styles.

How to set up MLA format in Microsoft Word

1. Margins: Layout, Margins, Normal (1 inch on all sides).
2. Font: On the Home tab, choose Times New Roman and 12.
3. Spacing: Home, Line and Paragraph Spacing, 2.0. Then open the Paragraph dialog and set Spacing Before and After to 0 pt.
4. Running header: Insert, Page Number, Top of Page, the right-aligned plain number. Click just before the number, type your last name and a space. In the Header and Footer tab, set Header from Top to 0.5 inch.
5. Paragraph indent: Paragraph dialog, Indentation, Special, First line, 0.5 inch.
6. Title: Type it on the line after the date, then press Center (Ctrl+E or Cmd+E). Remove any heading style Word applies.
7. Works Cited: Insert, Page Break. Center the title. Select the entries, then Paragraph dialog, Special, Hanging, 0.5 inch.

How to set up MLA format in Google Docs

1. Margins: File, Page setup, set all four margins to 1 inch (the default for Letter size).
2. Font: Choose Times New Roman and 12 in the toolbar.
3. Spacing: Format, Line and paragraph spacing, Double. Then open Custom spacing and set Before and After to 0.
4. Running header: Insert, Page numbers, and choose the option with numbers at the top right on every page. Click in the header before the number, type your last name and a space. Under Format, Headers and footers, set the header margin to 0.5 inch.
5. Paragraph indent: Format, Align and indent, Indentation options, Special indent, First line, 0.5 inch.
6. Works Cited: Insert, Break, Page break. Center the title, select the entries and set Special indent to Hanging, 0.5 inch.

Google Docs also offers an MLA report template in its template gallery; check its heading and spacing against this guide before you rely on it.

Checklist before you submit

• Heading: four lines, top left, first page only
• Header: last name and page number, top right, every page
• Title: centered, title case, plain type
• 1-inch margins, one font, double spacing, no extra paragraph spacing
• 0.5-inch first-line indents; block quotes indented 0.5 inch
• Tables labeled above, figures labeled below, each with its source
• Works Cited on a new page, alphabetical, hanging indent

How to format an MLA paper with AI for Research

AI for Research handles the citation side of an MLA paper; the page layout above is still yours to set in Word or Google Docs.

1. Cite each source. Paste a DOI or title into the MLA citation generator to get the Works Cited entry and the in-text citation in MLA 9. Citations cost nothing on any plan.
2. Get the in-text form right. The in-text citation generator turns authors, year and page into parenthetical and narrative citations in MLA, APA, Chicago author-date or Harvard, including the "et al." rules. It runs in your browser, free, with no account.
3. Order the list. Paste your finished list into the reference list sorter to sort it by MLA rules and spot duplicates.
4. Fix a list in the wrong style. If your notes are in APA, the citation formatter looks each line up and returns it in MLA, and flags lines it cannot match.
5. Write with live citations. In the AI writing editor, citations you insert build the Works Cited page as you write, and Word export gives you a .docx to finish the layout.

Search, citations and the free tools cost nothing. AI writing features use credits; the Free plan includes 45 credits a month (see pricing). The tools do not check your margins or header, so run the checklist above before you submit.

FAQ

What is the MLA heading?

The MLA heading is four double-spaced lines in the upper left corner of the first page: your name, your instructor's name, the course name or number, and the date in day month year form, such as 14 November 2026. It replaces a title page. MLA asks for a separate title page only if your instructor requires one, so most essays start with the heading.

What is the difference between the MLA heading and the MLA header?

The heading is the four-line block with your name, instructor, course and date, and it appears only on the first page. The header, also called the running head, is your last name and the page number, such as Ortiz 1, set flush right half an inch from the top of every page. Students often mix the two terms up, but they are separate parts.

What font and size does MLA format require?

MLA does not require one font. It asks for a readable typeface in which italics look clearly different from regular text, set to a standard size. Times New Roman at 12 point is the usual choice and the safest one if your instructor gives no rule. Use the same font throughout the paper, including the heading, the header and the works cited page.

Is the MLA title bold or centered?

The title is centered on the line after the heading, in title case and in plain type. Do not make it bold, italic, underlined, larger or all capitals, and do not put it in quotation marks. The only italics or quotation marks allowed are for another work's title inside yours, such as a novel or article you are writing about.

Does MLA format need a title page?

No. MLA papers normally start with the four-line heading on the first page instead of a title page. Add a title page only if your instructor asks for one or if the work is a group project and your instructor wants all members listed there. If you do use one, follow your instructor's layout, since MLA leaves room for local rules.

How do I set up MLA format in Google Docs?

Set 1-inch margins under File, Page setup. Choose Times New Roman 12 and double spacing under Format, Line and paragraph spacing. Add the header with Insert, Page numbers, choose the top-right option, then type your last name and a space before the number. Set a 0.5-inch first-line indent for paragraphs under Format, Align and indent, Indentation options.

Next steps

• Build the list at the end: MLA works cited and in-text citations.
• Writing for a social science course instead? See the APA essay sample and the APA reference list guide.
• Unsure when to write "et al."? Read et al. in citations.
• Compare every style on the citation styles page.

Sources

1. Modern Language Association of America. MLA Handbook. 9th ed., Modern Language Association of America, 2021.
2. MLA Style Center. "Formatting a Research Paper." Modern Language Association of America, https://style.mla.org/formatting-papers/.
3. Watson, J. D., and F. H. C. Crick. "Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids: A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid." Nature, vol. 171, no. 4356, 1953, pp. 737–38, https://doi.org/10.1038/171737a0.
4. Purdue Online Writing Lab. "MLA General Format." Purdue University, https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_general_format.html.