Is an indentation needed for a new paragraph?

Question

Is an indentation (Tab button in Word) needed for a new paragraph when you start one? I was told to do that a long time ago but 3 years after I stopped doing it and have done it since. Are you meant to indent when you start a new paragraph?

Answer 1

That's a very good question! And I bet there's more than one answer, though I can only give mine.

With academic writing, such as in high school and college, and sometimes in formal business, news and scientific writing, there are formatting requirements. Even then the requirements regarding indentation may vary.

But when the writing is less formal, such as blogging, writers can choose - I've been blogging for years, and I seldom indent paragraphs, choosing instead to skip a line. The good news is that when there are formatting requirements, those will be made available to you in advance. The people who need the written products you are responsible for will not want you guessing.

Answer 2

For college papers and works of literature you must indent, but do not use a tab. Use the paragraph formatting tool to indent the first line. This way, every time you start a new paragraph, it will indent automatically. Business letters and other forms of written communication don't require indentation, so long as you add a space between paragraphs.

Answer 3

Indentation is used at the start of a new paragraph if there is no line spacing provided. If you use line-space, you do not have to indent since the space indicates the start of a new paragraph. If you were to use both line spacing and indentation, that would be redundant.