Research paper cover page/title page
Title Page
The title page needs to include 4 items:
- The title of your paper. The title should concisely state the topic of the paper and the variables or theoretical issues that are being explored in relation to that topic. The title should be about 10-12 words long and should be centered in the middle of your page.
- The author’s name and institutional affiliation. The institutional affiliation is just the name of the place (usually a college or university) where the research was conducted. The author’s name and institutional affiliation should be centered and placed directly below the title.
- A running head. This is just an abbreviated version of your title, and should include no more than 50 characters (including spaces and punctuation). The running head is what appears at the top of each page next to the page number throughout the paper. The running head designation should be left justified and appear at the top of the page after the page number.
- A page number. Page numbers should appear on the title page in the upper right hand corner, after the running head. Pages should then be numbered consecutively in the upper right hand corner throughout the paper.
Here is a sample title page in APA format. Note how it includes the running head and page number in the upper right hand corner, defines the running head that will title all manuscript pages, and centers the title and author information in the middle of the page.
Composing A Cover Page For An MLA Research Paper
Modern Language Association style (MLA) is designated for specifying the requirements for academic writing, such as formatting and use of English. Although many research papers are created according to the MLA style, this style usually does not provide for a cover page. All the necessary information is mentioned on the first page instead. Therefore, do not compose a cover page, unless there are some special requirements.
Nevertheless, sometimes instructors may require a separate cover page, as they consider it more professional. Usually instructors specify the requirements for the title page. However, the standardized MLA Format title page includes the following information:
- University name.
- Paper title.
- Your name.
- Your class.
- Professor’s name.
- Due date.
You should format your cover page as follows:
- Write the name of your university.
- Write the title of your paper, skipping about one third of the page. Make sure, that the formatting is correct. The title should be written according to the title capitalization standards. Remember, that the first word of the title is always written in capital letters, despite the fact that it may be an article or a preposition. Keep in mind, that you should use punctuation rules as required. Do not underline, italicize your title and do not use quotation marks. However, punctuate citations as required.
- Skip a couple of lines and write your name. Remember to write both your first and last names.
- Skip another couple of lines and write your class, professor’s name, and the due date on separate lines. Make sure, that you write names accurately. When writing your professor’s title, remember to use the title as required. Write all the information about your course or class according to the instructions. According to the MLA format dates are usually written in European style. This means that you should write it in the following order: the day, the month, and the year.
- Remember to double-space the title page and center all the lines. Use the same format for each line. Do not use any special formatting, such as underlining, highlighting, or italicizing.
If your research requires a cover page, don’t forget that your first page will have special formatting. You are not supposed to mention all the information from the cover page there. However, the first page always contains the title of your work and your name. In addition, remember to write your name and page numbers on each page of the paper.
