.5 inch hanging margin

Google Docs | APA or MLA Hanging Indent Works Cited with Template

Objective

If you want to create a works cited page that is APA and MLA compliant in Google Docs, you will need to use hanging indents of 1/2″. Let’s start with a works cited page with no indents as seen below.

No hanging indent
Doc without hanging indents

Steps

First, you need to make sure that you can see your ruler. If you can’t see the ruler, go to View. Show ruler should be checked.

Google Docs ruler
Make sure your ruler is showing

Video explanations

The second thing is, for works cited entries that are more than one line, make sure you have not used the Enter key between the lines. If you have used the Enter key in between lines, Docs is not going to know what lines belong together, so it’s not going to do the indent right.

Next, select all of the text in the area that needs the hanging indents. Then, take your cursor up to the ruler. You’ll see a horizontal line which is the First Line Indent and a triangle which is the Left Indent that are together right now. They act together so just left click on them anywhere and drag them to the right half an inch.

left indent and margin .5
Left indent and margin .5 inch

You’ll know it’s a half inch because that number above the two symbols is going to show you 0.5. This indents everything. We’re halfway there. Now just grab the top part of the two which is called “First line indent”, the little rectangle, and go back to zero. There, you have a hanging indent.

left indent .5 margin 0
Left indent .5 left margin 0

Every entry now is covered by the hanging indents. You will be able to tell because, if there’s a subsequent line like the third entry, it will indent the subsequent line.

.5 inch hanging margin
Doc with hanging indents

Conclusion

So there you go. It’s not too bad once you know how to do it. It’s just learning the trick of how to apply it. I hope that was helpful.

Live Google Doc Template with Hanging Indents

To start with this template, go to File and choose Make a copy.

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