Block Quote Format: APA, MLA, and Chicago

A block quote is a long quotation you set off from the rest of your text by indenting it. Each style has its own rule for how long a quote must be before it becomes a block quote, but the basic look is the same: indent it, drop the quotation marks, and let the citation sit at the end. Here is exactly how to do it for APA, MLA, and Chicago, with real examples.

When does a quote become a block quote?

The length rule is the one thing that changes the most between styles. Use this as your quick check before you decide to indent.

APA (7th edition): 40 words or more. Anything shorter stays in your sentence with quotation marks.
MLA (9th edition): more than four lines of prose (or more than three lines of verse) as the quote appears in your paper.
Chicago / Turabian: five or more lines, or about 100 words or more. Length is the deciding factor; Chicago's own wording is that a hundred words or more can generally be set off, and five or more lines is the common practical cutoff.
If your quote is shorter than the limit for your style, keep it inside your own sentence and use quotation marks instead.

The basic look (all three styles)

Once a quote is long enough to be a block quote, the formatting is almost identical across the three styles. Here is the shared recipe.

Start it on a new line. Do not run a block quote into your own sentence.
Indent the whole block 0.5 inch from the left margin. Every line moves over, not just the first one.
No quotation marks. The indent already tells the reader it is a quote. (Keep any quotation marks that appear inside the original quote.)
Spacing: APA and MLA keep the block double-spaced, just like the rest of your paper. Chicago papers usually single-space the block and add a blank line above and below it.
Introduce it with a lead-in line, often ending in a colon.

Where the citation and period go

This is the part students mix up most, so read it twice. In a normal short quote, the period goes after the citation. In a block quote, it flips. APA: put the period at the end of the quote, then add the citation in parentheses after it, with no extra period after the parentheses. MLA: put the period at the end of the quote first, then the parenthetical citation, and do not add a period after the closing parenthesis. In short, for both APA and MLA the closing punctuation comes before the parentheses. Chicago typically uses a footnote or endnote number at the end of the quote instead of a parenthetical citation.

APA block quote example

40 words or more. Period ends the quote, then the parenthetical citation. Notice there is no period after the parentheses.

Researchers have long warned about how memory changes over time:
     Memory is not a recording device that plays back the past exactly as it happened. Instead, each time we recall an event, we rebuild it, and small details may shift or fade. Over many years, these small changes can add up to a memory that feels true but no longer matches the original event. (Carter, 2019, p. 47)

MLA block quote example

More than four lines of prose. The period comes before the parenthetical citation, and there is no period after the parentheses.

Near the end of the novel, the narrator finally admits the truth:
     I had spent years telling myself a story about who I was. It was a comfortable story, and it let me sleep at night. But standing in that empty house, with the wind moving through the broken windows, I understood at last that the story had never been true, and that I had always known it. (Reyes 212)

Chicago block quote example

Long enough to block (five or more lines, or 100 words or more). The block is usually single-spaced, with a note number at the end pointing to a footnote or endnote.

The historian describes the city's sudden growth:
     Within a single decade the town transformed beyond recognition. Streets that had once been quiet dirt lanes were paved and crowded with carts. New families arrived every week, drawn by the promise of steady work, and the population doubled and then doubled again. The old residents barely knew their own neighborhood anymore, and many spoke of the change with a mix of pride and unease.¹

How to indent in Microsoft Word

The cleanest way is the ruler or the paragraph settings, not the spacebar. Spaces drift and look uneven.

Select the whole quote (click and drag over all the lines).
Go to the Home tab and click Increase Indent once. That moves the block 0.5 inch.
Or open the Paragraph dialog (click the small arrow in the Paragraph group) and set Indentation > Left to 0.5".
Check that line spacing matches your style (double for APA/MLA, single for most Chicago blocks).

How to indent in Google Docs

Google Docs uses the ruler at the top of the page. Turn it on under View > Show ruler if you do not see it.

Select the whole quote.
On the ruler, drag the left indent marker (the small triangle) to the 0.5" mark.
Or use the toolbar: click Format > Align & indent > Indentation options, then set Left to 0.5.
Confirm your spacing under Format > Line & paragraph spacing.

Common mistakes

These are the slip-ups that cost easy points. A quick scan before you submit catches almost all of them.

Adding quotation marks around a block quote. The indent replaces them, so do not use both.
Putting the period after the citation in APA or MLA. In a block quote, the period goes before the parentheses.
Using the spacebar or Tab on every line to fake the indent. Use the ruler or the indent button so it stays exactly 0.5 inch.
Indenting only the first line. The whole block moves over, every line.
Block-quoting a short quote. If it is under your style's limit, keep it in your sentence with quotation marks.
Dropping the quote in with no lead-in. Always introduce it so the reader knows why it is there.
Mixing up the length rule. APA counts words (40+), MLA counts lines (more than four), Chicago aims for five or more lines or 100+ words.

Check your formatting

Once your block quote is in, it helps to run your whole paper through a format check. Try our APA format checker, MLA format checker, or Chicago format checker to catch spacing, indent, and citation issues. For more on quoting and citing, see our writing guides.

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FAQ

Do block quotes use quotation marks?

No. In APA, MLA, and Chicago, you do not put quotation marks around a block quote. The indent already shows it is a quote. The one exception is quotation marks that appear inside the original text, such as dialogue. Keep those exactly as they were.

Where does the period go in a block quote?

In APA and MLA, the period goes at the end of the quoted text, and the citation in parentheses comes after it with no extra period afterward. This is the opposite of a normal short quote, where the period comes after the parentheses. In Chicago, you usually end with a footnote or endnote number instead of a parenthetical citation.

How much do I indent a block quote?

Indent the entire block 0.5 inch from the left margin in all three styles. Move every line over, not just the first one, and use the ruler or your word processor's indent button rather than the spacebar so the indent stays exact.