A cover page, which is also called a title page, is the front page of an academic paper or essay that provides crucial information about your work. The purpose of a cover page is to let readers quickly identify your work. In addition, cover pages make your paper look professional and neat. “They also protect your paper, serving as a cover so that the meaningful part of your paper doesn’t get dirty,” explain experts from College-Writers company.
Title pages are often used in papers formatted according to the APA standard, however, they may also be a part of papers formatted according to Chicago or MLA styles. If you’re not sure whether you need a cover page, we recommend that you ask your college advisor or tutor for instructions.
If your assignment requires you to provide a title page, you must make sure to include it. Otherwise, you’ll create a negative first impression even before your readers actually start to read the paper. If you fail to provide a cover page, it may lower your marks, so don’t forget about the importance of formatting. It takes only a few minutes to format your paper properly, and tips from College-Writers.com will help you with it.
How to Write an APA Title Page
If you’ve been asked to format your paper according to the APA style, the chances are that your tutor wants you to include the following types of information:
- The title of the paper;
- Your name;
- The name of your school, university, or college;
- A running head, which is a short title written at the top left of every page.
All the information, except the running head, should be centered. Use Times New Roman (12) and double spaces.
How to Write an MLA Title Page
Cover pages and title pages are less common in MLA papers. The chances are that your tutor will ask you to include a header at the top left corner of the first page of your paper. Most often, the following types of information are required:
- The author’s name;
- The professor’s name;
- The course and its number;
- The date of your paper.
Such a header must follow a one-inch margin to the left. Use a standard font, for example, Times New Roman size 12, and double spaces. The title of your paper must follow this section, centered. Every page of your paper should also have a right-aligned header that includes your last name and the page number.
However, if you need to provide a title page, include the information above and add the title or subtitle of your paper, along with the name of your institution. This information should be centered. In this case, use the whole page.
Follow our tips and you will create a professional, well-formatted title page in no time!