Hanging indents

stockhausen

stockhausen

stockhausen

Capodecina
Soldato
Joined
30 Jul 2006
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In word processing, a paragraph that has all lines other than the first one indented is known as having a hanging indent, this is also known as a hanging paragraph. (Incidentally, this appears not to be reproducible on a forum post, so I can't demonstrate it.). It seems to work particularly well with poetry and lyrics :)

Does anyone know what term is used to describe the style of writing where just the first line of each paragraph is indented?

Allied to this, when writing a letter or report, do you indent the first line of each paragraph or have it start at the left margin?

I have noticed that many non-technical books (novels, biographies, etc.), journals, newspaper and magazine articles use this style but that none of my O'Rielly, Sybex, Sams or Wiley books do, they leave a blank lines between lines instead :confused:
 
I've always been taught that one should start a letter, etc, without an indentation, but then each following paragraph should be indented, to indicate a 'pause in thought'. I wasn't aware that the technique had a particular name.

Block paragraphs (eg carriage returns between paragraphs) are not conventional for handwriting, but have become the norm in type, which is probably why your technical books follow this pattern whereas non-technical books don't (more traditional).
 
A non-rage thread from stockhausen? :eek:

I think I just had to check that water still comes out of the taps and that the sky is blue....
 
I thought it was only really used where page space is at a premium, for example newspaper articles or magazines. They fit as much text in as possible by just using an indent instead of a blank line.

I prefer the blank line method.
 
Like Platypus, I was taught the traditional method and like Zefan, I much prefer the block paragraph method.

I suspect that in the case of journals, newspaper and magazine articles, etc. the reasoning is indeed to save space and thus cost. However, this doesn't really explain why novels use a style different from technical books. Perhaps it is that there is likely to be a cleaner, more consistent flow to novels? Except for Ulysses ;)

This all stems form an overheard "discussion" between two secretaries yesterday - I didn't realise that anyone could get quite so worked up about letter writing style :D
 
"Paragraph indention, by the way, arises from that habit of early printers, following the practice of scribes, which consists in leaving a blank space for the insertion of a large initial by the illuminator."
(Eric Partridge, You Have a Point There: A Guide to Punctuation and Its Allies. Routledge, 1978)
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