What date should I give in the header of my paper—the date I started the paper, the date I finished it, or the due date?
Note: This post relates to content in the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook . For up-to-date guidance, see the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook .
Follow your teacher’s instructions, but if you do not receive guidance, list the date you finished writing the paper.
Stack Exchange Network
Stack Exchange network consists of 183 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow , the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers.
Q&A for work
Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search.
WHEN or WHAT is the due date for this assignment?
I want to know due date for my assignment which is given by teacher. In this situation, is it correct to say
When is the due date for this assignment?
What is the due date for this assignment?
or other things you recommend?
- word-choice
2 Answers 2
In casual, every day use, both would be fine, but if you want to be strict, you would either say:
"What is the due date for this assignment" or "When is this assignment due?"
The "what" is asking for a specific name / figure denoting a point in time, and the "when" is actually asking for a point in time - the answer does not have to take the form of a date. For example you could answer "tomorrow", or "in 4 weeks", whereas the first question specifically asks for a date.
Both are correct. Likewise, What is the DEADLINE? or When is the DEADLINE?
See more examples from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English :
The new Jan. 22 due date also applies to taxpayers in Washington, Mr Keith adds. The amount and due date will be announced in advance. It was less than satisfying; and yet as his due date neared he kept on, sometimes all night. A loan stock holder is not hampered by such restrictions if his loan stock is not paid on the due date. My first child arrived quite quickly on the due date. The covenant to pay the rent on the due date, quarterly in advance usually, is absolutely fundamental. The due date coincides with the closing ceremonies in Atlanta. Fewer than 5 percent of women deliver on their due date. Only a significantly wrong due date separates Lou Madden from a perfect Super Bowl attendance record.
You must log in to answer this question.
Not the answer you're looking for browse other questions tagged word-choice questions ..
- Featured on Meta
- Upcoming initiatives on Stack Overflow and across the Stack Exchange network...
- Preventing unauthorized automated access to the network
Hot Network Questions
- Is age of consent ignored in a child marriage?
- Did 60 Minutes edit one of Kamala Harris' interview answers?
- Why are Ukranian town and city names so (relatively) repetitive?
- What are thick concrete blocks/pads under cabin called?
- What is the origin of the "blink" spell for instant short-range teleportation?
- What rules TeX uses for space between symbols in equation?
- How can I draw a slanted cone?
- Accumulate field and for each loop
- Quantity[] requires internet access. Is there any workarounds?
- What would be the best way to hook up two houses to a single 3000 gallon cistern?
- Is variance always equal to the inverse of the second derivative?
- Does Wigner rotation mean that in special relativity it is possible to rotate an object without applying any torque to it?
- Who wins this match removal game?
- 64-pin chips in the 1980s
- Finite EIement Method: Why are the matrices called "mass matrix" and "stiffness matrix"?
- Countable set meeting uncountable family of positive measure sets
- Counting with trees
- Positive adjective for code that closely translates the mental model
- How do I find a hotel room by size?
- Looking for a better way to calculate a function of a list
- Novel mentioning a talk between Conan Doyle and Wilde and a beast of dartmoor
- How to make a SR latch that reacts to edges on its inputs?
- Mexican Hat Challenge, #メキシカンハットチャレンジ
- In TLS 1.3 a MAC is computed on the ServerHello message. Why is this? Doesn't the digital signature suffice?