

These rules apply to most of the papers you will submit in your college classes, but in some cases your professors will want you to follow specific guidelines that may differ from those below. The standard depth is 0.5 inches (1.27cm).This guide explains how to format your documents in Microsoft Word so that they follow the standard rules for formatting academic papers as described in most MLA and APA style books for undergraduate writing. Open the “Special indent” drop-down menu and select “Hanging.” Adjust the depth of the indent as needed.Go down to “Align & indent” and select “Indentation options.”

Click the “Format” option in the top menu.Instead of indenting each line manually using the “Enter” and “Tab” keys, use the special indentation feature in Google Docs. You can create a hanging indent in Google Docs for some or all of your text. Drag the “Left Indent” marker (the lower triangular marker) to where you want the second and subsequent lines of the selected paragraphs to start.įor a hanging indent of 0.5 inches (1.27 cm), position the upper triangular marker at the border and drag the lower triangular marker to the first mark after 1 cm.

