Hanging Indent in Word for APA Format: Step-by-Step

To format APA references with a hanging indent in Microsoft Word, select the reference entries, open the Paragraph settings, choose Special: Hanging, and set the indent to 0.5 inch. This keeps the first line of each entry at the left margin and indents any following lines, making long references easier to scan. The steps below are for Word in Microsoft 365 on Windows, with Mac directions where the menus differ.

What You’ll Need

A Word document containing your reference list, or the reference entries ready to paste in.
A keyboard and mouse or trackpad. You can also use the ruler or a keyboard shortcut, but the Paragraph dialog gives you the clearest control.
The APA requirements for your assignment. APA 7 uses a 0.5-inch hanging indent for reference-list entries; check your instructor’s directions if they specify a different format.

Step-by-Step

Put the reference list in its own section. In APA style, the heading References is centered and bold, with the entries starting on the next line. The hanging indent applies to the entries, not the heading. If the references are mixed in with other text, insert a page break before the reference-list heading when your assignment requires the list to start on a new page.
Check that each reference is one paragraph. Each complete reference should be a separate paragraph. Press Enter once at the end of an entry, then start the next one. Let Word wrap long lines automatically at the right margin. Do not press Enter at the end of every visual line: that creates extra paragraphs and prevents the indent from behaving as intended. If you are pasting references from another source, turn on formatting marks with Home > Paragraph > Show/Hide ¶ to spot unnecessary paragraph marks.
Select the reference entries. Drag over the entries, beginning with the first entry and ending with the last. Avoid selecting the References heading or other text if you do not want it indented. For a long list, click just before the first entry, scroll to the end, then hold Shift and click just after the last entry. Check the selection before changing formatting; selecting the entire document can also indent headings or body paragraphs.
Open the Paragraph dialog on Windows. Go to Home. In the Paragraph group, click the small diagonal arrow at the lower-right corner to open the Paragraph dialog box. If the ribbon is collapsed or the window is narrow, expand the ribbon or widen the Word window until you can see the Paragraph group. The dialog is more precise than repeatedly pressing the increase-indent button.
Choose a hanging indent. In the Paragraph dialog, open the Indents and Spacing tab. Under Indentation, find the Special dropdown and choose Hanging. In the By box, enter 0.5" (or 0.5 if Word displays the unit next to the box). Leave the left indent at 0" so the first line remains at the normal margin.
Apply the change. Click OK. The first line of each selected paragraph should remain at the left margin, while the second and later lines move right by half an inch. Inspect a long entry that wraps onto more than one line, as a short entry may not show the effect clearly.
Set APA spacing and review the list. APA reference lists are generally double-spaced, with no extra blank line between entries. With the entries selected, reopen the Paragraph dialog and set Line spacing to Double. To avoid added space between paragraphs, set Before and After to 0 pt, unless your instructor says otherwise. Confirm the references are in the required order and that punctuation, capitalization, italics, and source details are correct; an indent does not make a reference APA-compliant by itself.

On a Mac: Select the reference paragraphs, then choose Format > Paragraph from the macOS menu bar. In the Paragraph dialog, find the indentation controls, choose Hanging for the special indent, set it to 0.5", and confirm. The exact dialog layout can vary slightly by Word version. You can also use Home and the Paragraph group if the dialog launcher is visible in your ribbon.

Optional keyboard shortcut: In Word for Windows, select the paragraphs and press Ctrl+T to apply a hanging indent, which is normally half an inch. On Mac, the corresponding shortcut in Word is Command+T. The dialog method is preferable when you need to confirm the exact measurement or when the shortcut applies an unexpected setting.

Common Mistakes

Indenting the heading as well as the entries. If the selection includes References, the heading can shift too. Undo the change with Ctrl+Z on Windows or Command+Z on Mac, then select only the reference paragraphs and apply the indent again.

Using spaces or tabs to push lines over. Typing spaces at the start of wrapped lines may look acceptable on one screen, but the position can change when margins, fonts, or text are edited. A paragraph setting stays attached to the paragraph and updates correctly as the text reflows. Remove manually inserted leading spaces or tabs before applying the setting.

Using a first-line indent instead. A first-line indent moves only the opening line to the right. APA reference entries need the reverse: the opening line stays at the margin and continuation lines are indented. In the dialog, verify that Special says Hanging, not First line.

Making each wrapped line a separate paragraph. If you pressed Enter at the end of a line that only appeared to end on screen, Word treats the next line as a new entry. Remove the unwanted paragraph mark so the reference wraps naturally. Keep one paragraph mark between complete references.

Adding extra space between entries. Blank paragraphs or paragraph-after spacing can make a reference list look more widely spaced than APA’s double-spacing requirement. Check the Paragraph dialog for spacing before and after, and remove empty paragraphs if they are not needed.

Tips

Use the ruler for a visual adjustment. If the ruler is hidden, choose View > Ruler. With the reference paragraphs selected, look at the left-side indent markers on the horizontal ruler. The upper triangle controls the first line; the lower triangle controls the hanging indent. Set the upper marker at the left margin and the lower marker half an inch to the right. Move the lower triangle on its own: dragging the small square beneath the markers moves the whole paragraph indent instead.

Format one entry, then copy its paragraph formatting if needed. The dialog applies the setting to all selected entries at once, which is usually simplest. If you format entries one at a time, make sure each paragraph receives the same indent and spacing. You can select all entries together later and verify the settings in the dialog.

Keep the reference text editable. A hanging indent is paragraph formatting, not a special character or table layout. This means you can add or remove words, change the font, or alter the page margins without manually repositioning each continuation line. Avoid putting references into text boxes or tables just to align them unless your assignment specifically requires it.

Use formatting marks while cleaning up pasted text. The Show/Hide button displays paragraph marks, tabs, and spaces without printing them. It is especially useful when citations copied from a website contain manual line breaks. Turn the marks off again using the same button when you are done; hiding them changes only the display, not the document.

Troubleshooting

Nothing appears to change. First, check that you selected the reference paragraphs and clicked OK. Then inspect an entry long enough to wrap. A one-line reference has no continuation line to display the hanging indent. If it still looks unchanged, reopen the dialog and confirm Special: Hanging and By: 0.5".

The first line is indented too. In the Paragraph dialog, set Left to 0", choose Hanging under Special, and check the value in By. If the ruler is being used, the upper triangle may have moved along with the lower marker; return the upper triangle to the left margin and position only the lower one at 0.5 inch.

Only some references changed. The selection may have missed paragraphs, or the references may contain separate paragraphs for lines that should wrap together. Turn on Show/Hide, inspect the paragraph marks, correct the structure, select all complete entries again, and apply the format. If text uses different styles or direct formatting, selecting all the entries and setting the values again can make the result consistent.

The indent jumps to a different measurement. Word may be displaying measurements in centimeters, or the shortcut may be using a preset. Use the Paragraph dialog and enter 0.5"; Word will convert the measurement if the document uses metric units. If you used the ruler, make sure the page is shown at a useful zoom and that you are reading the ruler’s measurement marks rather than estimating by eye.

The list looks uneven after pasting. Pasted content can bring in tabs, extra paragraph marks, or different spacing. Use Show/Hide to locate them, remove only the unwanted marks, and reapply the indent and double spacing to the complete entries. If the text remains inconsistent, paste it as plain text and format it in Word, then compare each reference against the original source.

Frequently Asked Questions

How far should an APA hanging indent be?
Use 0.5 inch (about 1.27 cm) for APA reference-list entries. If your instructor or publication gives a different requirement, follow that instruction.

Should the word References have a hanging indent?
No. The heading is formatted separately from the entries. Select only the reference paragraphs when applying the hanging indent.

Do I press Enter after every line of a reference?
No. Let Word wrap the text automatically. Press Enter once after the complete reference so each source is one paragraph.

Can I use the ruler instead of the Paragraph dialog?
Yes. Turn it on with View > Ruler, select the entries, and move the lower left-indent triangle half an inch while leaving the upper first-line marker at the margin. The dialog is easier for entering an exact value.

Will the hanging indent remain if I add text later?
Usually, yes. It is paragraph formatting, so new text in that paragraph follows the same layout. A new paragraph may inherit the formatting, but check it rather than assuming; Word can carry forward or change paragraph formatting depending on how the new paragraph is created.

Does a hanging indent guarantee APA format?
No. It handles the layout of reference entries only. You still need accurate source information and APA rules for ordering, capitalization, italics, punctuation, and spacing.

Try it: the Date Difference Calculator: days, months, years and weekdays between two dates, with the DATEDIF formulas.

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