Related: Letter format: tips and template How to create a hanging indent in Wordįollow these six steps to learn how to create a hanging indent in Word: 1. In this article, we outline steps on how to create a hanging indent in Word, explain why you might use hanging indents, explore first-line indents, highlight the best practices for MLA and APA guides and provide tips to help you use hanging indents effectively. Learning how to create a hanging indent in Word can help you to create a more appealing document by organising it into neat sections. When creating a reference page, writers can use hanging indents. Wider text blocks should have bigger indents.Certain types of writing may require specific formatting to organise sections of the document. For instance, narrow text blocks (3″ or less) should have first-line indents toward the low end of this range. (Recall that there are 72 points to an inch, so this works out to 0.17–0.67″.)īut use your judgment-consider the width of the text block when setting the first-line indent. So a paragraph set in 12 point should have a first-line indent of 12–48 points. It should be no bigger than four times the point size, or else the first line will seem disconnected from the left edge. Typically, a first-line indent should be no smaller than the current point size, or else it’ll be hard to notice. It’s meant to be used with bulleted lists to allow the bullet to cantilever off the left edge. Don’t use them.Ī negative first-line indent is called a hanging indent. Drop caps look pretentious and dorky in legal documents. And vice versa.Ī first-line indent on the first paragraph of any text is optional, because it’s obvious where the paragraph starts.Ī drop cap is what you get when you enlarge the first letter so it descends three or four lines into the paragraph. If you use a first-line indent on a paragraph, don’t use space between.
The other common way is with space between paragraphs.įirst-line indents and space between paragraphs have the same relationship as belts and suspenders. First-line indents Between one and four times the point sizeĪ first-line indent is the most common way to signal the start of a new paragraph.
0 kommentar(er)
