How To: Hanging Text in Google Docs

An easier way to indent your texts. 

Why a Hanging Text? 

In any English class you might’ve come across, you most likely have had to use MLA format. MLA has their rules constantly changing, but Purdue Owl makes it easier to keep up to date with them. 

One of the rules for MLA formatting is in the works cited you MUST indent your sources. Which means you must create a hanging text. Why is this… I have no real idea, but it is a rule and I have learned to follow them. Especially when it comes to grammar and MLA rules in my upper division English courses. They do not mess around with the MLA handbook. So, when in doubt, it’s best to check sources like Purdue.

If you are anything like me, I could never figure out how to do a hanging text in Google Docs. I would transfer it to a Word document and do it through there. I might’ve not been looking in the right places, but it took me a while to figure things out. Everything I did to get my hanging text was extra and unnecessary when in hindsight it is actually super simple. 

How to Hang Text?

You might be wondering how I can take this source: 

Strauss, Valerie. The Washington Post. 5 Sept. 2023. The big problem(s) with grades - The Washington Post. Accessed 26 February 2024. 

And turn it into:

Strauss, Valerie. The Washington Post. 5 Sept. 2023. The big problem(s) with grades - The Washington Post. Accessed 26 February 2024. 

It’s super simple and fast! LifeWire makes it super simple in this article. To break it down, there are 8 easy steps! 

The Steps:

Number 1:

Click and highlight over the text you want to be hanging. 

Number 2:

Click the format setting at the top bar of your Google Docs page. (The other options should be File, Edit, View, Insert…)

Number 3:

Select the Align & Indent option.

Number 4:

Go to the last option: Indentation Options.

Number 5:

When you click on Indentation options it should show an option to select a special indent. 

Number 6:

Hit Hanging (other options are None and First line).

Number 7:

Enter in your parameters (I keep my left at 0.25, my right at 0, and my hanging at 0.25)

Number 8:

Apply!

Conclusion

And just like that you have mastered the art of the hanging text on Google Docs. It isn’t hard when you know where to look!