In MLA format, the date in your paper’s header is not necessarily the due date. The MLA Style Center says to follow your instructor’s instructions, and if you don’t receive any guidance, list the date you finished writing the paper. Many instructors do ask students to use the due date, which is why there’s so much confusion, but that’s a classroom preference rather than an official MLA rule.
What the MLA Handbook Actually Says
The MLA’s own guidance is straightforward: ask your teacher. If your teacher doesn’t specify, use the date you finished writing. That means if you completed your essay on March 3 but it’s due March 5, you’d write March 3 in the header, unless your instructor told you otherwise.
In practice, many teachers and professors tell students to put the due date. If your syllabus or assignment sheet says “use the due date,” do that. The MLA leaves this decision to instructors intentionally, so their preference overrides the default rule.
Where the Date Goes
A standard MLA paper doesn’t have a separate title page. Instead, you place a four-line header in the upper left corner of the first page, double-spaced, with the following information on separate lines:
- Your name
- Your instructor’s name
- The course name and number
- The date
The date sits on the fourth line, directly above the centered title of your paper. If your instructor requires a separate title page (less common in MLA), the date typically appears as “the submission date” listed alongside your name, instructor’s name, and course information.
How to Format the Date
MLA style uses the day-month-year format without a comma: 5 March 2025. This differs from the month-day-year format common in everyday American English (March 5, 2025). Either spelling out the month in full or abbreviating it is acceptable in the header. If your instructor has a preference, use that. Otherwise, spelling the month out is the safer choice since it’s always correct.
A few quick formatting points: don’t add “th” or “rd” after the day number (write “5 March” not “5th of March”), and there’s no comma between the month and the year when using the day-first format.
When You’re Not Sure What Your Instructor Wants
If the assignment instructions don’t mention a date preference and you can’t easily ask, use the date you finished writing the paper. That’s the MLA default. If you’re submitting it the same day you finished, the point is moot. If there’s a gap between when you finished and the due date, using the completion date keeps you aligned with MLA’s official recommendation without contradicting most instructors’ expectations.