When typing, it's important to use an indent before you start a new paragraph. The indent will make the paragraph well formatted. This wikiHow teaches you several ways to indent paragraphs with the indent feature in Microsoft Word.
Step
Method 1 of 3: Making Sentences Indent
Step 1. Open the document in Microsoft Word
You can do this by double-clicking the file or file on your computer.
Step 2. Press the Tab key on the keyboard
This will apply a standard indent, which is 1.27 cm (0.5 inches) wide.
Step 3. Type in a sentence
Once you get to the end of the line, Word will automatically set the text so that the first line is 1.27 cm wide.
Method 2 of 3: Making Entire Paragraphs Indent
Step 1. Open the document in Microsoft Word
You can do this by double-clicking the file on your computer.
Step 2. Highlight the entire paragraph
To do this, click the mouse before the first word, then drag the cursor (don't release the mouse button!) all the way to the last word. When you lift your finger off the mouse, the paragraph will appear blue.
Step 3. Press the Tab key on the keyboard
The entire highlighted paragraph will shift 1.27 cm to the right.
To move the paragraph another 1.27 cm, press the Tab key again
Method 3 of 3: Using Hanging Indent
Step 1. Open the document in Microsoft Word
You can do this by double-clicking the file on your computer.
The hanging indent indents the second line of the paragraph instead of the first line. This type of indent is most often used in bibliographies and reference pages
Step 2. Highlight the entire paragraph
To do this, click the mouse before the first word, then drag the cursor (don't release the mouse button!) all the way to the last word. When you lift your finger off the mouse, the paragraph will appear blue.
Step 3. Right-click the highlighted area
A popup will appear.
Step 4. Click Paragraph…
Step 5. Click the drop-down menu under “Special”
That is the “Indentation” part.
Step 6. Select Hanging
Step 7. Click OK
The second line in the paragraph will appear to be indented by 1.27 cm.
