Skip to Main Content

APA Citation Style Guide (6th): Hanging indents and other formatting tips

Hanging indent in Microsoft Word

•  Highlight a citation, then right click

•  Select paragraph

•  Select the tab called Indents and Spacing

•  In the section called Indentation, click on the arow under Special and select Hanging

•  Under By, the default should be at .5" (if it's not, set it to that number)

•  Under Line Spacing, select double

•  Click OK

Hanging indent in Google Docs

•  Highlight a citation

•  Select Help in the toolbar

•  In the Help search box, type Hanging

•  Indentation Options will pop up; select it

•  In the Indentation Options box, under Special, change "None" to "Hanging"

•  Click Apply

Another method:

Alphabetizing your citations

To list your citations in alphabetical order:

•  Highlight your citation list (and only your citation list!)

•  From the home tab, click on the box that displays an A above a Z and a downward-pointing arrow

•  Select Sort By Paragraph (which should be the default setting)

•  Select Text in the Type Box (default setting)

•  Select Ascending to list from A to Z (default setting)