cover letter mla format

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MLA Format Cover Page

The Modern Language Association (MLA) does not require you to create a cover page when you complete your research paper, but some instructors may require it.

If your instructor requires your paper to have a cover page, here is how to make it (very easy). This cover page should include: your school name, your research paper title, your name, your class, your professor name and your paper due date.

How to Format Your MLA Cover Page:

This page is double spaced and the letters are centered.
Font: Times New Roman
Font size: 12
The first letter of each word should be capitalized with the exception of very short words such as: the, and, of, or, a, an, in, to, for. Note: the first letter of the first word should be capitalized, regardless of what kind of word it is.
Type the name of your university or college.
Skip to about one-third of the page and type your research paper title, include a subtitle if you have.
Skip several lines down and type your name, your course name and number, your instructor name and your paper’s due date.

Sample MLA Format Cover Page:

Sample MLA Format Cover Page

Alternate First Page:

If your instructor requires a cover page, you would omit the main heading on your first page. Here is an example of the first page if a cover page is used. You still need your last name and page number on the first page and every other page.

Sample MLA Format First Page with Cover Page

Sample MLA Paper:

Visit here for a sample paper with the cover page. The cover page can vary slightly. This paper also has the outline page for your sample.

If you find this website useful, please share with a friend:

How do I get the header on the second page on down? I tried editing it but then it takes the header away from all the pages.

In word select the header then go to: Header & Footer>Page Number>Format Page Numbers>Page Numbering>Start at page>Set to 0

How do I get the header on the second page on down? I tried editing it but then it takes the header away from all the pages. I am using windows. Also, the page numbers are not working for me either. Please help me.

How should I start the page after my cover page?

https://mlaformat.org/mla-format-heading/

Thank you so much Stephen !!! Helped a lot in my written assignments 🙂

Great site ! Thank you so much. Just returned to school to complete my bachelors and needed a little refreshing. Has all the information I needed !

Thanks so much for all of the great information! I have not used MLA before and was a little panic stricken. I have found all of my answers here. This is now saved to my favorites so I can use it regularly. Thanks again!

Should the lines on the cover page be double spaced?

Thanks so much for the picture of the cover page it has helped a lot. But, I was wondering do I still need to put my Title at the top of every page after the header?

Hello Lydia. You do not.

After your cover page, your next page’s heading should look like the “Alternate First Page” above.

After the “Alternate First Page” => your next pages should have “The Inner Pages” heading: https://mlaformat.org/mla-format-heading/

Sample paper: https://mlaformat.org/mla-format-sample-paper-with-cover-page-and-outline/

hey Lydia you don’t need to but if you want to you can

Thank you so so much. I love the simplicity of the website, very easy to understand. I finally have a cover page for my paper!!

I love this website!! It helped so many times with all my essays. I’m working on a college one and this was very useful. Thank you soo much. And thanks for the examples im a visual person I needed that 🙂

Hi Kaylin, I am glad you find this site useful. Take care!

By the way (sorry i forgot!) for the coverpage, would the text font be 12 times new roman???

You can set everything 12, Times New Roman. Or you can set the Title a little larger than 12, that should work too.

In the example above, I have the title larger than 12.

Here is an example with everything set at 12.

Thank you so much for your help on this useful website! I found it very organized and I’m very glad that I came across this particular article. Thanks!!!!!!!:)

I have a question regarding the cover page and the following pages. If I have a cover page as the example provided, do I still need the heading on the next page? And should the pages after that contain my last name on the top left as the header does on the on the previous pages? or do I not need the header at all if I have the cover page and just my name?

Excellence question, Stella! I have updated this article with information on the first page if a cover page is used. Please see “Alternate First Page” above.

You can omit the main heading but you still need your last name and page number on the first page and all subsequent pages. Take care!

Cover Letters Part 1

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

What should my cover letter look like? Your cover letter should be one page and single-spaced. Your letter should have 1-inch margins all the way around the page. Your cover letter text font should match your résumé’s text font. Lastly, your letter should also follow a business letter format. You have three options: Block format – the text of the entire letter is left justified (against the left margin) Modified block – the body text of the letter is left justified, but the date and closing are tabbed to the center point Semi-Block – the body text of the letter is left justified except for the first sentence of the paragraphs. The date and closing are tabbed to the center point Click here to see examples of all three formats on the Purdue OWL. Regardless of which format you choose, your cover letter should follow some general content guidelines. What should my cover letter accomplish? Your cover letter should

Show the employer you have tailored the letter to the company and to the job you want
Explain your experiences in a clear, story-like format that works with the information in your résumé
Explain in detail your experiences/skills that relate to the job you want
Explain in detail how your experiences/skills will help you help the employer and fulfill the job requirements
Provide an example of your communication skills.

Click here to download the PDF file containing sample résumés and employment letters.

How to Apply Composition Techniques to a Cover Letter

Lesson plan, grade level.

Undergraduate (Face-to-Face or Online)

Students will learn how to apply the techniques learned in a college-level composition class to business writing and other genres they will write in during their future careers.

Students will reinforce their understanding of various ideas in composition studies discussed throughout the semester, including Aristotle’s Triangle, Toulmin’s Model, and paragraph structure. 1

Students will demonstrate their understanding of expository writing and argumentative approaches.

Background and Context

I provide these exercises near the end of a semester-long composition class to show students the relevancy of what they have been learning to nonacademic contexts. I teach the cover letter lesson in both Composition 1 and 2. Students say they appreciate the lesson since it helps them see how they can apply writing techniques beyond our class. This session occurs after we discuss résumé-writing tips, job research, and job-description analysis.

Total Estimated Class Time

A single class period (approx. 50 mins.)

Sequence of Activities

Reading and Analysis (10–15 mins.)

Students read the sample cover letter, then complete exercise 1, in which they find the cover letter’s thesis, transitions, and elements they think were mentioned in the job description.

Class Discussion (5 mins.)

As a class, we discuss and compare students’ answers. Usually, there is a little uncertainty as to what the thesis sentence is, so this discussion is crucial. It’s also helpful for students to see which transitions they spotted and which ones they missed. The last discussion point about the job-description elements further helps them comprehend how to refer to materials provided by an employer.

Small-Group Analysis (15–20 mins.)

I break the class up into three groups: one focusing on general paragraph structure, one focusing on Aristotle’s Triangle, and the last one focusing on Toulmin’s Model. Using exercise 2, the students analyze and dissect structural points and observe how business writing requires the same conventions that expository essays do.

Class Discussion (5–10 mins.)

Each group presents its responses and discusses how the overlapping concepts help to build this genre of writing.

Possible Follow-Up Activities

Using job descriptions that they find or that I provide, I ask the students to create their own cover letter for a particular job. Usually, I have them find job descriptions related to their majors. These descriptions are offered through job-posting sites. This approach helps them to see what types of jobs may be out there for their future careers. Since the cover letter can be sent when they are applying for actual jobs, the students are grateful to have a piece of writing that they can reuse.

After this stage, they post their cover letters to a peer-review forum, or, if time allows, they share them during small-group exercises in class.

Possible Alterations

I have used these exercises for online composition classes, making only minor adjustments. For online classes, I scaffold a bit more, so students turn in their responses for exercise 1 to a discussion board and respond to their peers’ answers. Afterward, I place students into the three types of groups used in exercise 2. Each group posts a response to a discussion board, and then other groups respond.

You can certainly use these assignments in secondary education courses as well. Even if you do not focus on Aristotle’s Triangle or Toulmin’s Model, you can still use the paragraph-structure exercise to reinforce how paragraphs are organized in any genre of writing.

1 Aristotle’s Triangle, also known as the rhetorical triangle, includes the foundational ways in which speakers or writers can appeal to their audiences. The three components include pathos (appeals to an audience’s emotion), logos (appeals to an audience’s sense of logic and reasoning), and ethos (appeals that establish an author’s credibility for an audience). Stephen Toulmin created his model to show the fundamental elements of argumentation in writing. The basic elements include claim, data, and warrant or synthesis. He argues that these three components are needed for any argument to be successful, and this structure is the basis for most paragraphs for expository writing. The traditional formula for structuring a paragraph involves starting with a topic sentence argument, followed by examples, and ending with synthesis sentences.

Lesson Materials

Like an Essay: Cover Letter Exercise 1 (Individual Exercise)

Like an Essay: Cover Letter Exercise 2 (Group Work)

Hassan Rezaei 21 January 2021 AT 04:01 AM

It is an interesting article. Can you provide or recommend books or other articles about Aristotle Triangle and Toulmin's Model in cover letter writing.

Your e-mail address will not be published

Michael J Berntsen 25 January 2021 AT 04:01 PM

Thank you for taking the time to review my lesson plan. I'm not familiar with any longer or specific investigations of how business writing relies on these concepts. These books contain a few general connections: "Arguing on the Toulmin Model: New Essays in Argument Analysis and Evaluation" (2006) by David Hitchcock and Bart Verheij (Editors) and "Technical and Business Communication in Two-Year Programs" (1985) by W. Keats Sparrow and Nell Ann Pickett (Editors). Also, this article features a direct connection between "ethos" and technical writing: C. P. Campbell, "Ethos: character and ethics in technical writing," in IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, vol. 38, no. 3, pp. 132-138, Sept. 1995, doi: 10.1109/47.406725.

I'll keep passing you more if I find anything in my previous research or conference notes.

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MLA Format Cover Page

The Modern Language Association (MLA) does not require you to create a cover page when you complete your research paper, but some instructors may require it.

How to Format Your MLA Cover Page:

This page is double spaced and the letters are centered.
Font: Times New Roman
Font size: 12
The first letter of each word should be capitalized with the exception of very short words such as: the, and, of, or, a, an, in, to, for. Note: the first letter of the first word should be capitalized, regardless of what kind of word it is.
Type the name of your university, college or high school.
Skip to about one-third of the page and type your research paper title, include a subtitle if you have.
Skip several lines down and type your name, your course name and number, your instructor name and your paper due date.

Sample MLA Format Cover Page:

Sample MLA Format Cover Page

Alternate First Page (Important):

If your instructor requires a cover page, you would omit the main heading on your first page.

Here is an example of the first page if a cover page is used. You still need your last name and page number on the first page and every other page.

Sample MLA Format First Page with Cover Page

Sample MLA Paper:

Visit here for a sample paper with the cover page. The cover page can vary slightly. This paper also has the outline page for your sample.

For some reason, it warms my heart to see people saying “thanks” in this era — despite how old this guide is. OP is here saving lives in the year 2024 o7

HA! An example of: an oldie but a goodie. Some of these things never go out of use, and I extend another thank you to OP. 🙂

ty ty ty ty

thank you sir

thank you so much for this amazing guide

thanks a lot!

this was very helpful thank you mrs. silvey

yeah thanks mrs. story

Thank you for the example of the cover page.

thank mrs story

Thank You Ms. K! (¬‿¬)

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FREE 6+ Sample Mla Cover Page Templates in PDF, Word
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Mla Format Cover Page Template
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