Block Quotes
The block quote is used for direct quotations that are longer than the standard allowance for integrated quotes. (For MLA, you need a block quote if the quote runs onto the fourth line for prose or a third line for poetry. For APA, you need a block quote if the quotation is over 40 words. Chicago extends its quote length to 5 lines of prose before a block quote is necessary.) A block quote is always used when quoting dialogue between characters, as in a play.
The block format is a freestanding quote that does not include quotation marks. Introduce the block quote with a colon (unless the context of your quote requires different punctuation) and start it on a new line. For MLA and APA papers, indent the entire quote 1/2 inch from the left margin and continue with double-spacing it. Include the in-text citation information at the end of your block quote outside of the ending period.
(Be Aware: Each citation style has their own specification for block quotations. We have included our citation resources at the bottom of the page, so you can find the proper format required.)
Example
Starting with the topic sentence from the prior page:
The destruction of the female counterpart to his creation exemplifies Frankenstein’s desire to cement male-dominated reproduction. While the patriarchal structure positions male authority as the superior power, the one realm that men cannot individually succeed is in the biological continuation of lineage. Frankenstein’s usurpation of the birthing process eliminates the necessity in female involvement in the creation of progeny. By constructing a female equivalent to his creature, Frankenstein would be reintroducing the female component, which is the very thing that he has successfully removed. The inability to maintain complete control over his unnatural experiment draws derision and disgust from the unethical scientist:
Even if they were to leave Europe and inhabit the deserts of the new world, yet one of the first results of those sympathies for which the dæmon thirsted would be children, and a race of devils would be propagated upon the earth who might make the very existence of the species of man a condition precarious and full of terror. Had I right, for my own benefit, to inflict this curse upon everlasting generations? I had before been moved by the sophisms of the being I had created; I had been struck senseless by his fiendish threats; but now, for the first time, the wickedness of my promise burst upon me; I shuddered to think that future ages might curse me as their pest, whose selfishness had not hesitated to buy its own peace at the price, perhaps, of the existence of the whole human race. (Shelley 170-1)
(Due to the limitations in the website’s formatting capabilities, the spacing is probably not the correct indention length. We just wanted to give you an idea of what it should look like offset.)
It is important to note that the analysis following a block quote should be at the very least as long as the quote itself. Realistically, it should be twice as long as the quote, because the standard rule for quotations is for every line of an included quote there should be two lines explaining the lines' importance and necessity. If you cannot come up with this level of detailed analysis, the quote needs to be broken down into a small quotation.