In general, you should make the decision of whether to include a cover page based upon the preferred standards of your instructor or program. A cover page is not always necessary as some prefer information to be conveyed in the header of a page. This is because of the concern that too much information is included on a cover page, and that a simple header is fine. With this in mind, plan your cover page to include only the most important information.
The first information presented on your cover page should be the title of your paper. This should begin about one fourth of the way down the page and should be centered. Do not place quotes around the title, and capitalize all words of the title except for the words "and," "for," "or" and "to". This is a good time to consider if your title is too long. If it looks crowded on the page or seems to overwhelm the reader, consider changing it.
In the center of the page, place your name. You should not place a courtesy title before your name such as Mr. or Mrs. as this is not acceptable form. Only the reference of Dr. before a name is acceptable. You may place definers such as Jr. or III after your name, but do not add educational level identifiers other than Ph.D. or JD, and use MD only of you did not use Dr.
In the final third of the page, place closing information in the following order: On the first line, place your course name and number, along with the current semester. The second line should have your instructor's name, and the third line should end the cover page with the date the paper is due. Make sure all information is centered. An example of this information would be:
Psychology 201, Fall 2011
Professor H. Lawson
December 2, 2011