How to Do a Hanging Indent in Microsoft Word

If you are writing a research paper formatted in APA, MLA, or Chicago style, you are absolutely required to use a “Hanging Indent” for your Works Cited or Bibliography page. A hanging indent is essentially a backward paragraph: the very first line of the citation touches the left margin, but every subsequent line underneath it is pushed inward by half an inch.

Many students attempt to create this effect by pressing the Enter key at the end of the first line and mashing the Spacebar five times on the second line. Do not do this. The second you change your font size or add a word, the manual spaces will instantly break, destroying the formatting of the entire page. You must command Word to create the indent automatically.

Method 1: The Paragraph Menu (The Official Way)

This is the most reliable way to create a perfect, mathematically precise hanging indent across a massive list of citations.

1. Type out all of your citations normally. Do not worry about the formatting yet; just let the text wrap naturally to the left margin.
2. Highlight all of the citations with your mouse.
3. Look at the Ribbon at the top of the screen and ensure you are on the Home tab.
4. Look for the section labeled Paragraph (near the center of the ribbon).
5. Click the tiny, diagonal arrow icon in the absolute bottom-right corner of the Paragraph section. (This opens the advanced Paragraph Settings dialog box).
6. In the dialog box, look for the section labeled Indentation.
7. Find the drop-down menu labeled Special:
8. Click the drop-down menu and select Hanging.
9. The “By:” box next to it will automatically populate with 0.5″ (which is the exact requirement for APA and MLA).
10. Click OK.

Word will instantly snap the entire highlighted block of text into perfect hanging indents. If you add or delete words later, the indent will flawlessly maintain its structure.

Method 2: The Keyboard Shortcut (The Fastest Way)

If you only have one or two citations to format, you do not need to open any complex dialog boxes. You can use a hidden keyboard shortcut.

1. Click your mouse cursor anywhere inside the citation you want to format (you do not even need to highlight the whole thing, just place the blinking cursor inside the paragraph).
2. Press and hold the Ctrl key.
3. Tap the T key.

The text will instantly shift into a 0.5″ hanging indent. If you press Ctrl + T again, it will push the indent further in (to 1.0″). To undo the indent, press Ctrl + Shift + T.

(Note for Mac Users: The shortcut on an Apple keyboard is Command + T).

Method 3: The Ruler (The Visual Way)

If you are trying to match a very specific, non-standard visual layout (like a custom resume design), you can manually drag the hanging indent using Word’s built-in ruler.

1. First, ensure the ruler is actually visible. Click the View tab on the top ribbon and check the box next to Ruler.
2. Highlight your text.
3. Look at the ruler at the top of the page. On the far left side, you will see a small icon that looks like an hourglass (two triangles pointing at each other, resting on a small square block).
4. This icon is actually three separate controls stacked on top of each other. Click and drag the bottom triangle (pointing upward). This is the Hanging Indent control.
5. Drag it to the right (usually to the 0.5-inch mark).

The bottom lines of your text will follow the triangle, while the top line remains anchored to the top triangle at the left margin. Be very careful not to grab the small square block at the absolute bottom, as dragging the block will move the entire paragraph (a standard Left Indent) instead of creating a hanging indent.