If you need to adjust the spacing, you can do so by changing the number in the By section to the right of that Special section. Word will most likely have the default spacing of the hanging indent set to 0.5 inches, which is the standard spacing that the MLA recommends. In that settings window is a section titled “Indentation,” which has an option labeled “Special.” Click the drop-down menu beneath Special and select Hanging. Select Paragraph in the list of options given, and that same settings window will appear.) (Another way to navigate to that paragraph settings window is to highlight the text you want to apply a hanging indent to and then right-click on the highlighted text. Then click the Home tab at the top of the page, and you should see a section at the top labeled “Paragraph.” Click the small arrow symbol in the lower-right corner of that Paragraph section to bring up a window with different paragraph setting options. To add a hanging indent to text in the PC version of Microsoft Word, first highlight the text that you want to format. Adding Hanging Indents in the PC Version of Word The directions outlined below for adding hanging indents to text in Microsoft Word should work for most versions of Word on PCs or Macs, but, if they don’t, please consult Microsoft’s website. The MLA recommends using hanging indents for works-cited-list entries because they help readers see where an entry begins. This post explains how to format hanging indents in Microsoft Word.

The series Microsoft Word and MLA Style shows writers how to use Word to make their essays conform to MLA style guidelines.

How to put a first line indent in word