A cover page is the first page of every essay, paper, or report. A cover page, also called the title page, is a critical part of the essay that everyone should consider mastering. The cover page is important as it provides your readers with what to anticipate in your essay. A good cover page with a catchy heading can entice readers to read your entire essay from introduction to conclusion.


What Is Contained In a Cover Page

A cover page is made to include basic information such as the essay's title, authors, course name and course code, instructor's Name, submission data, and, at times, the affiliated institution. A cover page may have specific rules for what to include and how to format it based on the APA or MLA style.

Essay cover pages may differ depending on the format you are using; for instance, the MLA cover page format differs from the APA format.


How to Make A Cover Page

The cover page formatted in MLA or APA contains most of the same information. The main difference between the two formats is where to put the information. Below is a list of the main information contained on the cover page for both formats, APA and MLA

     •   Essay Title

     •   Author’s Name

     •   Course Code and Course Name

     •   Instructor's Name

     •   Date of submission

Those students writing their essays and still experiencing challenges in writing an essay cover page in APA or MLA should consider looking for a cover page example for essay online. This will help in understanding more about how to format a cover page.


How to Format APA Cover Page

APA, also known as American Psychological Association, is a writing format that professionals and students mainly use to cite sources in their research and essays. A cover page formatted in APA should contain the following information;

     •   A running Head should be left aligned in the header section

     •   Page number Aligned to the right

     •   Essay title, which is center aligned

     •   Author's Name, which should be center aligned

     •   Institutions Affiliation should also be center aligned

     •   Date of submission


Rules for APA Cover Page

     •   For a professional paper, you should include a running head that is flush left at the top of the page and a page number that is flush right at the top of the page. Note that the Running Head label used in APA 6th is not used in APA 7th edition.

     •   Place your header 1 inch from the top.

     •   Three lines from the top page margin add the paper's title; this should be center aligned and in bold. The title should not be worldly, should be less than 50 characters, and should be in capital letters. It is also recommended to use Times New Roman font size 12.

     •   Add one empty line from the title, and on the next line, write the author's Name. In this part, use the standard font.

     •   After the author's Name on the next line, write your department or the division of your school, followed by the Name of your school; a comma should separate the twos.

     •   On the next line, write the course code and the course name.

     •   Next, after writing the course code and course name on the next line, write the instructor's Name and remember to include any honorific title, such as prof or Dr.

     •   After writing the instructor's Name, write the paper's submission date in the following line.


How to Format MLA Cover Page

MLA, also known as Modern Language Association, is a unique essay writing and citation format. In MLA writing style, the cover page is optional; this format prefers writing the basic information included in the title page at the top of the first page of writing.

It is important to note that on the MLA title page, all the information goes in the upper left corner, flush with the one-inch page margin from the top and left side, except the title. All the lines are double-spaced. When required to have a cover page in MLA, below are some of the details that you should include:

     •   Author's Name

     •   Instructor's Name

     •   Class Name

     •   Due Date


Rules for MLA Cover Page

     •   On the first line of your page, write the student's/Author's Name if there are more than one author and their names each on its own line after the first.

     •   After writing the author's Name, in the next line, write the instructor's Name. In this format, it is not a must you write the instructor's full Name, but it is recommended you use their title, for example, Dr. Alex.

     •   In the next line, write the course code followed by the course name.

     •   Next, write the Due date; this can be in the day-month-year or month-day-year format; make sure to keep the month as it is not allowed in MLA.

     •   Write the paper's title after the due date in four double-spaced lines below the due date. The title should be center aligned and in the standard format.


When Is a Cover Page Required

A cover page is always required when writing in APA format. While writing in MLA format, a cover page is only required if you have more than one author. However, in some cases, regardless of the formatting style, some assignments may require you to include a cover page.


The Difference between a Cover Page in APA And MLA

The main difference between the APA and MLA cover page is that in APA, the information on the cover page is center aligned while the information on the MLA cover page is in the upper left corner. In MLA, the title goes in the middle of the page, while in APA; the title goes on the top of the page. The two writing styles have a specific rule for what information goes where and various formatting rules.


Conclusion

The cover page, whether in APA or MLA, is an integral part of your essay as it anticipates your readers what to expect in the essay. When writing your essays and research papers, you should always be keen on cover page formatting; at times, you can have a well-written and poorly formatted cover page, separating a good grade from a poor grade. You do not have to allow a poorly formatted cover page to lower your good grade.