Overview

• There is no limit to the length of a research paper written in MLA format, though each professor may set his own limitations. Still, this has led to some confusion among writers who wonder when it is appropriate to use a new title, or whether simply a new section heading is warranted. No matter the length of your paper, MLA format stipulates that only one title be used in a correctly formatted paper. Writers should format all other separations and headings within the course of a single paper as sections.
  
  

Title Format Guide

• Unlike other paper formatting styles, MLA stipulates that no separate title page be included in research papers, unless this is specifically requested by an instructor. The first part of the title requires identification of the paper and class, and each writer should include his name, his teacher's name, the course name and the date of submission on the first four lines, double-spaced and justified left. The title of the paper comes on the next double-spaced line, though this time it is formatted at the center of the page. Writers should not capitalize, italicize, underline or bold the title, and should simply capitalize the first letter of all important words.
  
  

Section Format Guide

• While the title of the paper is only located on its first page, the section headers occur any time there is a new thought or focus in the paper. Section headers are particularly useful in large papers or papers where the writer tackles many different ideas. To format new sections correctly, a writer should double-space to a separate line following the close of the previous section. She should then use an Arabic numeral and a period, followed by the name of the new section. For example, "1. Early Films" might be an appropriate section title for an essay on a specific director.
  
  Writers can also include subsections within research papers, which MLA format also allows. In these instances, the writer would simply include a new number after the period to separate subsections, i.e. "1.1 'The Big Shave.'" If the writer wants to use indentations to separate new sections and subsections from the rest of the text, MLA format allows for this, though this style decision should remain consistent throughout the course of a paper.
  
  

Header

• There is also another organizational formatting rule that is important in MLA papers. Writers are expected to include a header that remains consistent throughout the course of the paper that includes the writer's last name and the page number. All of this is justified right above the text and regular margins of the paper. Including this header not only makes the paper easily identifiable, but will also help any readers put the paper back in order in the event that a staple or paperclip fails.