How to Add a Hanging Indent to an APA Reference List in Word

Updated 2026-11-14

If your APA reference list looks like a block of text with every line flush left, it is missing the hanging indent. In a hanging indent, the first line of each entry starts at the left margin and every following line is pushed in. It makes the author names easy to scan down the page, which is why APA style asks for it.

This guide shows how to set it up by hand in Microsoft Word, what else usually goes wrong in a reference list, and where a tool can save you some time.

What a hanging indent is

Each reference entry is its own paragraph. In APA 7 the first line sits at the left margin and the lines after it are indented by 0.5 inch. That is the opposite of the first-line indent you use for normal paragraphs in the body of a paper, where only the first line is pushed in.

Two details matter:

• The indent applies to the paragraph, so each reference needs to be its own paragraph. Press Enter once between entries and do not use extra blank lines.
• Do not create the indent with the Tab key or the space bar. It looks right on your screen and breaks as soon as the text reflows.

How to set a hanging indent in Word

These steps work in current versions of Word for Windows and Mac. Menu names can differ slightly between versions.

1. Select all of your reference entries (click at the start of the first one, then hold Shift and click at the end of the last one).
2. On the Home tab, open the Paragraph settings. On Windows, click the small arrow in the corner of the Paragraph group. On Mac, choose Format, then Paragraph.
3. Under Indentation, find the box called Special and choose Hanging.
4. Set By to 0.5" (or 1.27 cm if your Word uses centimetres).
5. While you are in this window, set Line spacing to Double and make sure Before and After spacing are both 0.
6. Click OK.

Your entries should now start at the left margin, with any extra lines indented half an inch.

Other things to check on the reference list page

A hanging indent is only one part of an APA 7 reference list. Check the rest against the official APA guide and your instructor's instructions, since requirements can differ between courses:

• The list normally starts on its own page, with the word References centered and in bold at the top.
• Entries are listed in alphabetical order by the first author's surname.
• Every source you cite in the text should appear in the list, and every entry in the list should be cited in the text. This is the mistake that is easiest to miss when you have been editing for hours.
• Double spacing applies to the whole list, with no extra space between entries.

If you are not sure about a specific rule, such as how to format a particular kind of source, look it up in the official APA Publication Manual or on the APA Style website. Style rules have fine print, and a guide like this one cannot cover every case.

A quick example

Here is what a short reference list should look like once the hanging indent is applied.

Illustrative example (made-up text):

Example, A. B. (2020). A made-up title about an imaginary study that continues onto a second line. Imaginary Press.

Sample, C. (2019). A fictional article title. Journal of Invented Examples, 12(3), 45-67.

Notice the first line of each entry starts at the margin and the second line of the first entry is pushed in. The names, titles and publishers above are invented for demonstration and do not refer to real sources.

Where FormatForge fits

If you would rather not do this by hand each time, the Academic Paper Forge in FormatForge turns pasted text into a Word (.docx) file with 1 inch margins, double line spacing and 0.5 inch hanging indents on the reference list. It also flags in-text citations that are missing from the reference list, and the other way round. The free preview runs in APA 7 style.

You can try the free preview here. The preview shows the opening of your result and the first audit item. A one-time $1.99 pass for that tool unlocks the full result, the full audit and the .docx download. It is not a subscription.

What FormatForge does not do

• It does not verify that a source exists or that a reference is accurate. It only flags and reformats what is in your text.
• It does not replace the official APA guide or your instructor's requirements.
• It does not guarantee any grade or any particular result from your instructor.

FormatForge does not store your documents: your text is processed in memory to produce your result and is not saved by FormatForge. Processing uses OpenAI's API, so your text is sent to OpenAI for that purpose.

FormatForge is AI-assisted. Always review the result before you submit or send it.