How to Use Block Quote in MLA Style?

MLA style is most often used in English and other humanities classes. When you are assigned a paper in MLA style, your teacher or professor will ask you to format your paper using specific MLA formatting rules. One of those rules is how to use block quotes.

A block quote is a direct quotation that is set off from the rest of your text by starting it on a new line and indenting it an extra half an inch from the rest of your text. Block quotes are typically used when you are quoting passages of dialogue, poetry, or prose that are particularly long or dense.

When to use block quotes in an MLA paper?

Most MLA papers do not require block quotes. If your instructor does not specifically ask for them, you can usually avoid using block quotes altogether. That said, there are times when block quotes are appropriate.

If you are quoting a passage that is particularly long or dense, you may want to use a block quote to break it up and make it easier for your reader to follow.

If the passage you are quoting includes a quote within a quote, you will need to use block quotes.

Usually, block quotes are used when you have to quote prose that is more than four lines long or poetry that is more than three lines long.

5 Steps to Block Quote in MLA

1. Step 1: Introduce the block quote with a colon.

Before you actually start your block quote, you need to introduce it with a short sentence that ends with a colon. This will signal to your reader that what follows is a direct quotation from another source. For example, you might write an introduction for a block quote as:

Lucy Maud Montgomery wrote in her journal:

1. Step 2: Start the block quote on a new line.

After you have introduced your block quote, you need to start it on a new line. To do this, you can either hit the Enter key twice or put in an extra line space. Either way, your block quote should be indented an extra half-an-inch from the rest of your text.

1. Step 3: Format the block quote correctly.

Once you have started your block quote on a new line, you need to format it correctly. This means that you will need to include any capitalization and punctuation that was in the original text, as well as any changes you need to make for clarity. For example:

Lucy Maud Montgomery wrote in her journal: “I am so happy, happy, happy! Oh, if I could only always be happy!”

becomes

Lucy Maud Montgomery wrote in her journal:

 I am so happy, happy, happy! Oh, if I could only always be happy!” (Montgomery journal entry)

As you can see, the block quote includes all of the original punctuation and capitalization.

1. Step 4: Cite the block quote correctly.

Finally, you need to make sure that you cite the block quote correctly. This means including an in-text citation at the end of the block quote and a corresponding entry in your Works Cited list at the end of the paper. For example:

• Format of In-text Citation of Block Quote:

(Montgomery journal entry)

• Format of Works Cited Entry for Block Quote:

Montgomery, L. M. “I am so happy, happy, happy! Oh, if I could only always be happy!” Journal entry. 6 Dec. 1894.

As you can see, the in-text citation for a block quote includes the author’s last name and the page number where the quote can be found. The Works Cited entry includes the author’s last name, first name, the title of the journal entry in quotation marks, the date of publication, and the medium of publication.

1. Step 5: Comment on the Quote.

After you have introduced, formatted, and cited your block quote, you need to say something about it. This means adding your own analysis or interpretation of the quote. For example:

In her journal entry for December 6, 1894, Lucy Maud Montgomery wrote about her happiness and desire to always be happy. This is significant because it shows that even though Montgomery was happy at this moment in her life, she still desired more happiness.

In this example, the author is commenting on the quote by saying something about its significance. You will need to do the same in your own paper.

You should never start or end your paper with a block quote. You must add something in your own words.

How to block quote prose in MLA style?

Besides the above-stated rules, MLA citing rules differ according to the source you are quoting. To quote prose from a book in MLA style:

• Start on a new line, indented 1/2 inch (1.27 centimeters) from the left margin, and set off the quotation in double space.
• Include the author’s last name and page number(s) from which the quotation is taken within parentheses after the final period of the quotation. Omit the quotation marks.

Here is a prose MLA block quote example:

Nelly Dean treats Heathcliff poorly and dehumanizes him throughout her narration:

 I’ve no more business to marry Heathcliff than to be in heaven. (Bronte 78)

In this example, the author is quoting from page 78 of the novel Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte.

If you are quoting two or more paragraphs in your block quote, you need to start each new paragraph on a new line, indented an extra 1/2 inch (1.27 centimeters) from the left margin. You should also omit any quotation marks at the beginning of each new paragraph.

Here is an example:

Nelly Dean treats Heathcliff poorly and dehumanizes him throughout her narration:

I’ve no more business to marry Heathcliff than to be in heaven. (Bronte 78)

And, now that I am a woman, I’d rather lie with my head in the lap of the heath here, and die at once, than live on to be frightened by dreams such as you have been describing! (Bronte 79)

As you can see, the first paragraph is indented an extra 1/2 inch (1.27 centimeters) from the left margin, and there are no quotation marks at the beginning of the second paragraph.

How to block quote poetry in MLA style?

MLA citing rules for poetry are similar to those for prose, but there are a few important differences. To quote poetry in MLA style:

• Start on a new line, indented 1/2 inch (1.27 centimeters) from the left margin, and set off the quotation in double space.
• If you are quoting three lines or less of poetry, you can incorporate the quotation into your own sentence. For example:

In “The Waste Land,” T. S. Eliot writes, “I will show you fear in a handful of dust.” 

• If you are quoting more than three lines of poetry, you need to format your quotation as a block quote.

Include the author’s last name and the line number(s) from which the quotation is taken within parentheses after the final period of the quotation. Omit any quotation marks.

Here is a verse MLA block quote example:

1. S. Eliot writes in “The Waste Land”:

What are the roots that clutch, what branches grow

Out of this stony rubbish? Son of man,

You cannot say, or guess, for you know only

A heap of broken images… (ll. 1-4)

In this example, the author is quoting from lines 1-4 of the poem “The Waste Land” by T. S. Eliot.

You may also check: HOW TO CITE A BOOK IN THE APA FORMAT?

If you need help with using an MLA block quote, our GoAssignmentHelp tutors can assist you. Our MLA writing experts can help you with citing a block quote from a play, using nested quotations, shortening a block quote, and more. Get in touch with us today for a free consultation.