The indentation options in Microsoft Word allow you to set a passage of text apart from the rest of the document. This can be very useful, especially for block quotes in an essay or report.
But how do you format text indentation in Word? And when should you use it? Let us explain.
If you simply want to indent a single line of text, you can place the cursor at the beginning of the line and hit the tab key. This will add a 1.27cm (0.5”) indent at the start of the line. However, if you need to indent more than one line, you should use the indentation options instead.
These can be accessed via the main ribbon in Microsoft Word. You can then apply them to an entire paragraph (or multiple paragraphs) to quickly format larger passages of text.
The most basic options for paragraph spacing can be found in the Paragraph section of the Home tab. Here, you will find two buttons: Decrease Indent and Increase Indent.
You can probably guess what these do from their names. The important thing to remember is that these buttons control indentation from the left margin, adding or removing a 1.27cm (0.5”) indent.
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For more control over indentation, you have two options:
Both of these allow you to set a custom value for indentation from the left and right margins. In Word for Mac, these options can be accessed by selecting Format > Paragraph from the menu system.
In the Paragraph Settings menu (see above), you will also see a Special section. This will let you indent specific parts of a paragraph rather than the entire passage. Your options are:
Fist line indented.
Hanging indents in a reference list.
With both of these options, all you need to do is:
And if you’re not sure which type of indent to use or how big to make them, check your style guide! Alternatively, if you don’t have one, you can read our guide to indentation for inspiration.
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