How should you handle quotes longer than four lines in most essays?

• A. Use a block quote (indented, without quotation marks) and provide analysis.
• B. Insert the longer quote as a standard inline quotation with quotation marks.
• C. Omit the quote entirely and summarize from memory.
• D. Convert the quote to bullet points within the paragraph.

Answer: (A)

When a quotation runs longer than a short phrase or sentence, set it off as a block quote. This treatment keeps your own writing readable and clearly marks that you’re presenting a substantial excerpt from another source, while still letting you interact with the material through your analysis.

To format it, introduce the quote with a lead-in that signals its relevance, then start the quote on a new line and indent the entire passage from the left (the exact amount of indentation depends on the style you’re using, but the idea is a clear shift from the main text). Do not surround the block with quotation marks. Keep the quote’s original wording and punctuation, and place the citation at the end of the quote. After the block, analyze how the excerpt supports your point and connect it back to your argument.

Other approaches—like dropping the quote into the paragraph with quotation marks, omitting it, or turning it into bullet points—make the passage harder to distinguish from your own writing and disrupt the flow. The block quote method is the standard way to handle longer sources, preserving both the integrity of the original and the clarity of your own analysis.