Header formatting in MLA. To create a header for your first page, follow these steps: Start one inch from the top of the first page and flush with the left margin. Type your name, your instructor's name, the course name and number, and the date on separate lines, using double spaces between each. Revised on. An in-text MLA citation provides the author's last name and a page number in parentheses. If a source has two authors, name both. If a source has more than two authors, name only the first author, followed by "et al." ". If the part you are quoting spans multiple pages, include the full range of pages.