Let’s delve on what makes a good essay header:


The main goal of a heading is to inform the reader of what content they can find in that section, so make your headings as descriptive as possible. The examples below show one non-descriptive heading and three descriptive headings that provide the reader with much more information.


According to the MLA (the Modern Language Association), each page of an essay, including the first page, should include the writer's last name and the page number inserted as a header in the upper right corner of the page, as illustrated below:

Everyone may be writing a college admissions essay, but don’t title yours: My College Admissions Essay. No matter what the prompt, make your title something that stands out from the stack.

Below are the tips on how to grab engaging headers for essays:

are often overlooked by writers, but they can really help your readers as they journey through your essay. While the title may get the reader hooked, the headers keep them moving smoothly through your paper. They enhance readability and help explain what is most relevant in the essay.

This page explains how to insert a header using Microsoft Word 2010. The procedure for inserting a header will vary depending on what type of word processor you are using, but a similar approach to what is explained below should work in other word processors.

Writing a useful header should be relatively easy. Read through your paragraphs and see what the main idea of is. From here, make a list of sub-topics that are discussed in each section. The best way to do this is to pull from the (which you, of course, remembered to do!).

Often, your style guide or university will offer specific directions on how to approach the capitalization, formatting, and sequencing of headings, so it’s wise to check before you start writing them. For example, and require specific formatting.


The key components of an essay header are:

Although titles and headers are often neglected, they are very important to your pieces of writing. They grab your reader’s attention from the start and keep them focused throughout the rest of your essay. Taking the time to craft great titles and headers can advance your writing to the next level.

Here is an example of an essay header:

An MLA format heading and title are what you are going to use to start off your paper when you don’t include a title page. Every style guide is a little different. MLA, however, is all about simplicity. Therefore, in your MLA style paper, you can forgo the title page. However, you still do need to have some kind of heading on your first page to give your instructor some inclination of who this paper is from. In the heading of your MLA paper, you need to include a few key details:

Title of Document: How to Write an Essay Header

When it comes to composing MLA section headings, think freestyle. Why? Because MLA doesn’t have a specific format when it comes to creating section headings in their style guide. All they ask is that whatever you choose to use for your headings, you remain consistent. Therefore, you might have your main section headings bold and centered. Your second-level subheading could then be italicized and centered like:

College Admissions Essay Format Heading Example

On the title page, list each author on a separate line, followed by the other usual information from the header: Instructor, course name and number, and submission date. Then write the halfway down the page, centered, and start the text of the paper itself on the next page.

Should I use numbered headings and subheadings in an essay?

Yes, MLA format does require you to have a title on the first page of your research paper. The title is centered on the page and written in title case. It's found below the MLA heading.

Here are some sample essays with unique heading/section formats:

We definitely want to make it eye-catching to anybody who knows how an essay looks like while still leaving it relevant to anyone interested in learning more about essays. There is no comprehensive way of formatting an essay, and different instructors may tell you to format their work differently, which is fine. However, there is a recommended method of formatting an essay whenever special instructions are not given. This method is precisely what we are going to look at just to ensure that anytime you are required to , you do it the right way.