How to Cite a Quote in APA (7th Edition): Short and Block Quotes

A direct quotation copies someone's words exactly. APA 7 asks for three things every time: the author's last name, the year of publication and the location of the quoted words, usually a page number. That's the core of how to cite a quote in APA; every other rule builds on it.

Parenthetical and narrative citations

You can give the citation two ways. A parenthetical citation puts all three pieces in parentheses after the quote: (Kahneman, 2011, p. 20). A narrative citation names the author in your sentence, puts the year right after the name, and adds the page in parentheses after the quote: Kahneman (2011) says… (p. 20). Both are correct ways to handle quotes in APA format.

Where the reference goes

Each quoted source also needs a full entry in your reference list. The free APA Citation Machine builds that entry and the matching in-text citation from a DOI, URL or ISBN, or you can use the citation tool above. For the paper's layout, see the APA format guidelines.

Most quotes in APA format are short. APA's quotations page says a quotation of fewer than 40 words goes in double quotation marks and runs in with your own sentence, with no other special formatting.

APA format quotation marks and punctuation

Periods and commas go inside the closing quotation mark when there's no citation after the quote. When a parenthetical citation follows, the period moves after the closing parenthesis: …“the pathway from slavery to freedom” (Douglass, 1845/2006, Chapter 6). Question marks and exclamation points go inside the marks only if they belong to the quoted words.

Placing APA format in-text quotes

Put a parenthetical citation right after the quote or at the end of the sentence. In a narrative citation, the year sits next to the author's name and the page goes after the quote, even if words come between them.

Don't add ellipses at the ends

In direct quote APA format, don't put an ellipsis at the start or end of a quote unless the original has one.

Every direct quote APA format covers needs a location so a reader can find the words. Use "p." for one page and "pp." for a range, with an en dash between the numbers. APA's page on quotes without page numbers lists the other options when pages don't exist.

Kindle and other ebooks

Don't cite Kindle locations. Use print page numbers if shown, or a chapter, section or paragraph. The Chamberlin, DeAngelis, Cuddy and Shakespeare rows are APA's examples of quotes in APA format without pages.

When a quote reaches 40 words, APA calls it a block quotation. Here's how to format an APA format block quote:

• Start the quote on a new line.
• Indent the whole block 0.5 inch from the left margin, the same as a paragraph indent.
• Leave out the quotation marks.
• Double-space it like the rest of the paper, with no extra space before or after.
• If the quote runs to a second paragraph, indent that paragraph's first line another 0.5 inch.

Where the citation goes in an APA format block quote

Put the parenthetical citation after the final punctuation mark of the quote, and don't add a period after the closing parenthesis. Or name the author and year in your lead-in sentence and put only the page or other locator at the end, as in the example below.

Count words, not lines

Use the word counter to check a borderline quote. Thirty-nine words stays in quotation marks; forty words becomes an APA format block quote.

Here is a complete APA format block quote example using Frederick Douglass's Narrative, quoted from the free Project Gutenberg edition. The passage is 47 words, so it must be a block.

Douglass (1845/2006) describes how his master's warning against teaching him to read changed his thinking:

These words sank deep into my heart, stirred up sentiments within that lay slumbering, and called into existence an entirely new train of thought. It was a new and special revelation, explaining dark and mysterious things, with which my youthful understanding had struggled, but struggled in vain. (Chapter 6)

After the APA format block quote

The next sentence starts at the left margin with no indent if it continues the paragraph. Explain what the quote shows.

The matching reference

Douglass, F. (2006). Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, an American slave. Project Gutenberg. https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/23 (Original work published 1845)

The two years (1845/2006) mark a republished classic.

The APA format for long quotes changes four things at once. This table puts the two side by side.

Use long quotes sparingly

Use the APA format for long quotes only when a passage must be read whole; a paper built from blocks shows little of your own thinking. Check your rubric for limits. The same idea in MLA works differently; see the MLA block quote guide if you switch styles.

Sometimes the words you quote already contain a quotation. In short quotes in APA format, change the original double quotation marks to single ones, since APA allows you to swap single and double marks without telling the reader:

Douglass (1845/2006) recalls the warning “‘It would make him discontented and unhappy.’ These words sank deep into my heart” (Chapter 6).

Inside a block quote

An APA format block quote has no quotation marks of its own, so keep any quotation inside it in double marks.

A direct quote APA format allows must match the original word for word. APA's page on changes to quotations lists the changes you may make silently and the ones you must mark.

Changes you don't need to mark

You can change the first letter to uppercase or lowercase to fit your sentence, change the final punctuation to fit your syntax, swap double and single quotation marks, and leave out footnote numbers.

Leaving words out: the ellipsis

Use three spaced periods ( . . . ) or the ellipsis character ( … ) with a space on each side. Use four periods when the omission crosses the end of a sentence. For example: “These words sank deep into my heart . . . and called into existence an entirely new train of thought” (Douglass, 1845/2006, Chapter 6).

Adding words: square brackets

Put your own insertions in square brackets, never parentheses: “From that moment, I [Douglass] understood the pathway from slavery to freedom.”

Errors in the original: [sic]

Per APA's errors in quotations page, copy the error and add sic in italics and square brackets right after it, only when the error might confuse readers.

Say your textbook quotes a 1982 study you can't find. APA calls that a secondary source, and its secondary sources page gives the pattern: name the original, then "as cited in" and the source you actually read.

The in-text citation

(Rabbitt, 1982, as cited in Lyon et al., 2014)

Add the page of the secondary source if you quote it. If you don't know the original's year, leave it out: Allport's diary (as cited in Nicholson, 2003).

The reference list

List only the source you read (Lyon et al., 2014 in the example), not the original. APA says to use secondary sources sparingly, for example when the original is out of print or in a language you can't read; otherwise find and cite the original.

How to quote the Bible in APA format

Religious texts use canonical numbering instead of pages. Cite the version and year, then the book, chapter and verse: (King James Bible, 1769/2017, Psalm 23:1). The reference entry names the version you used; the how to cite the Bible in APA section of our image guide shows the full entry.

How to cite a famous quote in APA format

A famous line still needs a real source. Don't cite a quote website or "Anonymous" for words someone actually wrote; find where the line appears, such as a book, speech transcript or interview, and cite that work with a page or time stamp. If you can only find the line inside another author's book, use "as cited in."

Knowing how to cite a quote in APA doesn't mean you should quote often. APA encourages paraphrase and reserves direct quotes for exact definitions, memorable wording, or wording you analyze (see what is a rhetorical analysis).

A working rule for class papers

Quote a phrase when the exact words matter, and paraphrase the rest with an author-year citation. APA doesn't require a page number for a paraphrase but encourages one. Your instructor sets the limits on quotes in APA format for each assignment.

These errors cost points on quotes in APA format:

• Missing page number. A quote without "p.", "para." or another locator is incomplete.
• Period in the wrong place. In a short quote, the period goes after the citation, not inside the quotation marks.
• Quotation marks around a block quote. Long quotes drop them.
• Citation after a period in a short quote, or before a period in a block quote. These are reversed.
• "Pg." or "page." APA uses only "p." and "pp."
• Listing the original in a secondary citation. Only the source you read goes in the reference list.

Check before you submit

Read each quote against the source, check every locator in your direct quote APA format citations, and run your reference list through the APA citation generator to catch format slips. For more guides on APA, MLA and Chicago, browse the student guides hub or the Chicago author-date citation guide.