How to Do Block Quotes in APA

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: October 25, 2021

When you're writing a research paper, you may find that one of your sources captures information in a unique way that needs to stand on its own rather than be paraphrased. If that passage is longer than 40 words, American Psychological Association (APA) style requires you to create a blockquote to set it off from the rest of your text. APA style provides guidance on how that blockquote should be formatted and cited so that your readers know where it came from.^{[1]
X
Research source}

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:
Formatting Blockquotes

1
Start the blockquote on a new line. Even if the blockquote is finishing a sentence in your main text, you still want to set it off from the rest of your text. Use a colon or comma to introduce the quote, then move to the next line to start the quote.^{[2]
X
Research source}
- You may need to adjust the wording of the sentence that introduces the blockquote so your writing flows into the blockquote without disrupting your reader. For example, you probably wouldn't want to start a block quote in the middle of a sentence.
2
Capitalize the first word if the introductory sentence ends abruptly. If you use a period or a colon to end the sentence that introduces the blockquote, the beginning of the block quote should be capitalized. If you introduce the quote with a comma, on the other hand, you typically would not capitalize the first word.^{[3]
X
Research source}
- If the first word happens to be a proper noun, you would capitalize it regardless of the preceding punctuation.
- If the first word of the blockquote is not capitalized in the original source, but you are capitalizing it in your paper, enclose the capital letter in square brackets to indicate that you made that change to the original text.
Advertisement
3
Indicate added emphasis or altered text with square brackets. If you italicize something that was not italicized in the original text, add the phrase "emphasis added" in square brackets immediately after the word or phrase. Likewise, if you need to change verb tense, capitalization, or other parts of the blockquote to make it flow with the rest of the text of your paper, use square brackets to set off the change.^{[4]
X
Research source}
- For example, you might write "It was only after the fall [emphasis added] of Lord Voldemort that witches and wizards started refusing to say his name."
- If you have to make more than 1 or 2 changes to the text for it to flow with your text, try to recast your text so that it matches the tense of the blockquote. Excessive changes are distracting to readers.
- Sometimes you may need to clarify pronoun usage in a blockquote. If so, put the name of the person, place, or thing in square brackets after the pronoun. For example, you might write "Luna was concerned that it [her wand] would be broken in the fray."
4
Use ellipses to indicate text omitted from the original. Blockquotes are already long enough, and sometimes there's a phrase or even an entire sentence that just isn't necessary in the context of your paper. Use 4 spaced periods to indicate that you've left something out.^{[5]
X
Research source}
- For example, you might write "When Voldemort reappeared . . . . most witches and wizards were initially skeptical that he had actually returned."
5
Indent the entire blockquote 5 to 7 spaces. Start by typing out the entire blockquote starting on a new line. When you've typed the entire quote, select it in your word processing app to indent the entire thing. Most word processing apps have this feature in the paragraph formatting window.^{[6]
X
Research source}
- The indentation is enough to let your readers know that the passage is quoted. You do not need to enclose the block quote in quotation marks.
Tip: Some writers think it looks better to single-space blockquotes. APA style allows this but doesn't require it. Ask your supervisor or instructor what they prefer.

Advertisement

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:
Citing Blockquotes

1
Include elements in parenthetical citations that aren't used in text. The 3 basic elements of an APA in-text parenthetical citation are the author's last name, the year of publication, and the page number or page range where the quote appears. Including some of these elements in your text can make your paper flow better. It also makes the parenthetical citations less disruptive to your reader.^{[7]
X
Research source}
- If it's not possible to include any of the 3 elements in your text, you would need to include them all in a parenthetical in-text citation at the end of your blockquote.
- If you included the author's name in your text, you would only need the year of publication and the page numbers or page range in a parenthetical.
- In most cases, you will always need a parenthetical with the page numbers or page range where the quoted passage appears. It would be relatively awkward to include this information in the text of your paper.
2
Include all 3 elements of an in-text citation in parentheses. Blockquote parenthetical citations go outside the closing punctuation for the last sentence of the blockquote. Type the author's last name, then a comma, then the year of publication, also followed by a comma. Add the page number or page range, introduced by the abbreviations "p." or "pp." There is no punctuation outside the closing parenthesis.^{[8]
X
Research source}
- For example, you might write: "After his ultimate defeat, the wizarding world could only hope that evil had been purged from their world. (Lovegood, 2018, p. 92)
Tip: If you're using an online source that isn't paginated, count the paragraphs. Include the abbreviation "para." in your parenthetical citation along with the paragraph number or range where the blockquote appears.
3
Put the parenthetical citation after the author's name in your text. If you include the author's name in your text to introduce the blockquote, your in-text citation follows the author's name, rather than at the end of the quote. Type the year of publication followed by a colon and the page number or page range where the blockquote appears.^{[9]
X
Research source}
- For example, you might write "According to Lovegood (2018:72), the situation was dire:"
Tip: Note that if you format your in-text citation this way, there is no space between the colon and the page number. You also don't use abbreviations, such as "p." or "pp."
4
Split the citation between the beginning and end of the blockquote. You can also put the year of publication in parentheses after the name of the author, then put the page number or page range where the blockquote appears in a parenthetical citation at the end of the blockquote. These are simply alternatives, choose the method that works best with the flow of your paper.^{[10]
X
Research source}
- If you include a parenthetical citation with the page number or page range where the passage appears in the original source, use the abbreviations "p." or "pp." followed by a space, then the page number or page range.
Advertisement