A is used to indent all lines of a paragraph except the first.

Does that mean that you don't indent the 6th paragraph?

Writers have a lot on their plates. They have to fend off , perform meticulous research, and ensure the content they produce captivates their target audiences. They must pay close attention to catch grammatical errors, , , and typos. Formatting often takes a backseat on a writer’s priority list–especially when it involves something so seemingly trivial as indentation.

Indentation, the much-maligned formatting technique, provides readers with a sense of continuity. Indentations signal to the reader that she is about to dive into another topic or start a new section of a novel. They help present content in a logical fashion. But the debate continues over which indentation method works best. Should you indent paragraphs as you type or simply skip spaces?

identifies two types of indentation: First line and hanging. First line indentation begins to the right of where the next line begins. APA requires most paragraphs to adhere to first line indentation. Hanging indentation places the first line of a paragraph to the left of where the next line starts. APA recommends using hanging indentation for reference lists. Writers should manually set the reference position for indents to .5 inches from the left margin. Writers should double space content that includes tables, headings, quotations, and references. The number of indentation spaces varies depending on the style of writing. Formal presentations should include only a few spaces of indentation, while can use more indentation spaces.

Microsoft Word offers three choices of indentation style:

The Harvard style manual recommends indenting content as you type, as opposed to indenting after the manuscript is complete. Although this method takes more time, the reasoning behind it makes sense. Writers who add indents as they write organize their content through the creation of paragraphs. The writers who wait until they complete the rough draft of their manuscripts typically have trouble finding the right places to separate the text into paragraphs.

Technology has almost completely taken the manual typing of indentation spaces out of the hands of writers. Now, we use word processing software, such as , to set indentations. To set a paragraph indent in Word, place the cursor in the paragraph you want to indent or highlight the entire paragraph. Access the Format menu and click the Paragraph command. Within the Paragraph dialog box, enter the desired width of the indent and then select the type of indent. Click OK and then close the dialog box.

Freelance writers differ in their indentation preferences. However, when it comes down to it, the type of indentation used to format a document typically depends on who you are writing for. Before you finalize a project, check with your client to see if he or she prefers Chicago style, APA style, or Harvard style. Then, set the client’s preferred indentation formatting by using the easy to access commands within Microsoft Word.

Here Icontent myself with a few brief remarks. Every piece of written work should be broken up into a series ofreasonably small paragraphs, and each new paragraph should represent somekind of break, however small, in the continuity of the text.

Are you meant to indent when you start a new paragraph?

Indenting text adds structure to your document by allowing you to separate information. Whether you'd like to move a single line or an entire paragraph, you can use the tab selector and the horizontal ruler to set tabs and indents.

How to Indent the First Line of Every Paragraph in Microsoft Word?

If you were planning to indent after a line because it started a new train of thought but the line before it coincidentally ends up the perfect length so that you don't need to indent to start a new line, do you hit Enter anyway and just start a new paragraph? I thought you typically only started a whole new paragraph when it was a new setting or some time had passed or whatever. Or should I just leave the line without the indent since the idea change isn't a huge one?

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We hope you now feel confident about when and how to apply indentation in your writing. When you upload a document to us for , you can add full formatting as an extra option. Or, if your writing has already been checked for errors, we offer a formatting-only service— today for a quote.

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In many types of documents, you may want to indent only the first line of each paragraph. This helps to visually separate paragraphs from one another.

You don’t need to put a line between paragraphs if you indent.

In some cases, you may want to have more control over indents. Word provides indent markers that allow you to indent paragraphs to the location you want.

You don’t need to put a line between paragraphs if you indent.

To automatically apply indentation to the first line of every paragraph, select Paragraph Options on the Home tab, then choose First line from the list of special indentations. Finally, enter the size of indentation you require in centimeters (e.g., 1.27).