If you mean that you want a hanging indent, there is an option for it in the Paragraph dialog box. However, using styles to make the formatting consistent is always recommended, as Paul and Charles have already said.

__________________
Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP

Microsoft 365 apps for business
Windows 11 Professional

While the three above gentlemen are absolutely correct, one thing I would like to point out:

While it is possible to adjust paragraph margins on the ruler, you REALLY do not want to do that. More often than not, the adjustment ends up being imprecise-- .5 " ends up .49" , for instance.

That may seem like an insignificant difference, but it is enough to noticeably disrupt alignment.

I would go farther than this and say you NEVER want to adjust margins using the Ruler. Indents, perhaps; margins, NEVER.
Margins and Indents in Word

For an important document, use Styles to adjust your formatting.

• Importance of Styles in Word
• Basic Concepts of Microsoft Word - from Shauna Kelly

Firstly, thanks for the quick responses.

Because I couldn't move the text forward by using the space bar, but could adjust that text (once selected) with the horizontal ruler, I had assumed the rulers were responsible.
This only occurs with copied and pasted text from other sources, so I guess I've been confusing paragraph formatting with ruler alignment.

Thanks again for the swift replies.

Sark