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Housatonic Campus Library

Housatonic MLA

How to Set Up Your First Page

Do not use a separate Title Page unless your paper is a group project. 

On the top, left-hand side of the first page of your paper write:

  • Your Name
  • Your Professor's Name
  • Your Course Name and Number
  • The Date of your Paper written in day month year format (see example below)

Example:

Kevin Bacon

Professor Brown

English 1010

12 July 2024

Beneath the information listed above, write the title of your paper, centered on the page, using standard capitalization rules for titles, and do not bold or italicize your title unless you are including the title of another work that would otherwise be italicized. Standard MLA capitalization rules include capitalizing the first and last word in the title and all "important" words.  

Example:

The Use of Symbolism in A Tale of Two Cities

After the title begin the text of your paper, making sure it is left-aligned and that the first line is indented.

Annotated screenshot of title page set-up example paper

Note on group papers:

If you are writing a group paper, MLA suggests creating a separate title page at the beginning of your paper with the same information listed above.

Title page set-up may vary depending on the preferences of your professor.  Check with your professor to see if they want a different title page set-up.