Depending on the class, students may need to add a title page for their term paper. They should always check the writing prompt to make sure that they are using the right writing style. In general, academic papers require MLA, APA or Chicago style. Since MLA style is the most common, the following tips are designed for MLA style papers.
A title page exists because it helps the reader figure out what they are about to look at. For the professor, a title page is a way to track essays from hundreds of different students. Even if one paper is mixed up with another class, the title page will help the professor to sort everything out. With this in mind, a title page will include several basic pieces of information. It will include the student's name, the name of the university, the title of the paper, the name of the professor and the due date for the paper.
Like the remainder of the essay, the title page is supposed to be double spaced. Unlike the remainder of the writing, this page will actually have all of the letters centered in the middle of the page. Toward the top of the page, students should type out the name of their college. Roughly one-third of the way down the page, the student should fill in the title of their paper. If there is a subtitle for the document, the student should place it below the title.
After writing the title and the subtitle, students should move several lines down the page and write out their first and last name. Below this, they should write the name of the course and its number. The next line is for the professor's name, and the last line is reserved for the essay's due date. Depending on the professor, the student may also need to add headers that include the page number and other information.
If students need extra help creating their title page, they should look up examples online. In addition, many dissertations and long essays will include a title page. Students can look up one of these papers to figure out how to structure their own writing. In some cases, the student may be able to find a template that allows them to just fill in the blanks. If they can find a template, it will make creating a cover page much easier.