📝 MLA Format Generator: Build a Correct MLA 9 Heading

What is the MLA Format Generator?

MLA style, maintained by the Modern Language Association, is the citation system most often required in English, literature, and the humanities. The current edition is MLA 9, published in 2021. Its rules for the first page are deliberately plain: there is no separate title page for a standard student paper. Instead, your identifying information sits in a four-line heading in the top left corner of page one, your title is centered just below it, and the essay begins immediately after. An MLA formatter like this one exists because those small details, the order of the heading lines, the date format, the fact that the title is never bold, are exactly the things graders deduct points for even when the writing is strong.

The heading is four lines, each on its own line, double spaced, and flush with the left margin: your full name, then your instructor's name, then the course, then the date. MLA uses the day month year date format, so 27 June 2026 rather than June 27, 2026. Below the heading, your title is centered on its own line. The title is written in title case and uses no bold, italics, underlining, quotation marks, or a period. The only time part of a title is italicized or quoted is when it contains the name of another work, for example a novel you are writing about. A single space, then your opening paragraph begins.

Beyond the visible heading, MLA 9 sets several whole-document rules this tool reminds you about. The entire paper is double spaced, including the heading and the Works Cited list, with no extra blank lines between paragraphs. The recommended font is a readable serif such as 12 point Times New Roman, where the italic style is clearly different from the regular style. Margins are one inch on all four sides. Every page carries a running header in the top right corner showing your last name and the page number, for example Rivera 3. These are the formatting choices that make a paper look unmistakably MLA before a word is read.

The second half of this MLA formatter assembles a Works Cited entry using the MLA 9 container system. Rather than memorizing a different template for books, articles, and websites, MLA 9 asks you to fill in a short list of core elements in a fixed order: Author, Title of source, Title of container, Publisher, Publication date, and Location such as a URL or page range. Each element is followed by its own punctuation, a period after the author and title, a comma after each container element, and a period to close the entry. The tool follows that order, italicizes the container, wraps an article or chapter title in quotation marks when it sits inside a larger work, and strips the http prefix from URLs the way MLA recommends. Drop the finished entry onto a new Works Cited page, alphabetize by author surname, and apply a hanging indent.

When to use it

• Setting up the first page of an MLA essay correctly before you start writing, so the heading and title are never an afterthought.
• Checking the exact order of the heading lines and the MLA day month year date format when memory fails.
• Building one clean Works Cited entry for a book, article, or website without hunting through a style guide.
• Teaching students the difference between a quoted source title and an italicized container in MLA 9.
• Quickly confirming the whole-document rules (double spacing, font, margins, running header) before submitting an assignment.
• Producing a copy-ready heading block to paste into Google Docs or Word and then double space.

How to use the MLA Format Generator

1. Type your name, instructor, course, and the date into the first-page heading fields. Use the day month year format, such as 27 June 2026.
2. Enter your paper title. The tool centers it for you and keeps it free of bold and italics.
3. Read the assembled four-line heading and centered title in the result box, then click Copy heading.
4. Paste the heading into your document, set it to double spacing, and add the last-name running header in the top right corner.
5. Fill in the Works Cited fields (author, title, container, publisher, year, URL) to build one MLA 9 entry, then copy it onto a new Works Cited page.

Formula & method

Worked examples

MLA 9 first-page heading, line by line

MLA 9 core elements and their punctuation, in order

Common mistakes to avoid

• Adding a separate title page. Standard MLA papers do not use a title page unless your instructor specifically asks for one. The identifying details belong in the four-line heading on page one, with the title centered just below it.
• Making the title bold, italic, or underlined. An MLA title is centered and written in title case with no bold, italics, underlining, or surrounding quotation marks. The only exception is when the title contains the name of another work, which is then italicized or quoted as appropriate.
• Using the wrong date format. MLA uses day month year, so write 27 June 2026, not June 27, 2026 or 6/27/2026. The month is spelled out and there are no commas in the date.
• Forgetting the running header with your last name. Every page needs a header in the top right corner showing your last name and the page number, such as Rivera 3. This is separate from the four-line heading and is set in the document header area, not typed at the top of the text.

Glossary

MLA 9

The ninth edition of the MLA Handbook, published in 2021, the current standard for MLA formatting and citations.

First-page heading

The four-line block (name, instructor, course, date) in the top left corner of page one of an MLA paper.

Running header

The top-right header on every page showing your last name and the page number, for example Rivera 3.

Container

The larger work a source sits inside, such as a journal, website, or anthology, italicized in the Works Cited entry.

Works Cited

The list of sources at the end of an MLA paper, on its own page, alphabetized by author and formatted with a hanging indent.

Hanging indent

A paragraph style where the first line is flush left and every following line is indented half an inch, used for each Works Cited entry.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Formatting a Research Paper , MLA Style Center
• Works Cited: A Quick Guide (core elements) , MLA Style Center