Q. how do I indent the first line of text in a paragraph using microsoft office2010

You should be able to just place your cursor at the beginning of the sentence, in front of the first work, and hit the page key. This should move the line to the right by .5" (standard page).

You can see the ruler by clicking the View icon over the scroll bar. The ruler appears at the top. If you need to customize, you can use the Paragraph section in the Ribbon at the top. For instructions and a screenshot, see the link below.