How to Format a Block Quote
Updated June 2026
A block quote is a long quotation set off from your text — indented, with no quotation marks — instead of run into your sentence. Each style has a length threshold that triggers it, and one rule that reverses from normal quotes: the citation goes after the final period.
Here are the thresholds and the formatting for each major style.
The thresholds — when a quote becomes a block
- APA 7: 40 words or more.
- MLA 9: more than four lines of prose (or more than three lines of verse).
- Chicago: roughly 100 words or more (about five lines or more).
- Harvard: typically around 40 words or more — check your institution's guide.
How to format the block
- Start on a new line and indent the whole quotation half an inch from the left margin.
- No quotation marks — the indentation signals it's a quote.
- Keep it double-spaced (matching your paper).
- Citation after the final period — this is the reversal: …end of quote. (Rasch & Born, 2013, p. 685)
- Introduce it with a lead-in sentence, usually ending in a colon.
Where the citation goes (the reversal)
Short quote: …“sleep consolidates memory” (Rasch & Born, 2013, p. 685). Block quote: …sleep consolidates memory. (Rasch & Born, 2013, p. 685)
In a normal short quote the citation comes before the closing period. In a block quote the period comes first, then the citation, with nothing after it. This catches almost everyone — see How to Cite a Quote for the short-quote rules side by side.
Use block quotes sparingly
A page of block quotes signals you're letting sources do your thinking. Reserve them for passages whose exact wording matters — a precise definition, a memorable formulation, contested language — and paraphrase the rest. For the official rules, see APA's quotation guidance and Purdue OWL.
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Go Premium — $5/monthFrequently asked questions
- When does a quote become a block quote?
- APA: 40+ words. MLA: more than four lines of prose. Chicago: about 100+ words. Below the threshold, run the quote into your sentence with quotation marks.
- Does a block quote use quotation marks?
- No — the indentation replaces them. Adding quotation marks to a block quote is a common error.
- Where does the citation go in a block quote?
- After the final period, with nothing after it: …end of quote. (Author, Year, p. X). This reverses the short-quote rule, where the citation precedes the period.
- Is a block quote single- or double-spaced?
- Double-spaced in APA and MLA, matching the rest of the paper. Indent the whole block half an inch from the left margin.