"Such" vs. "Such a"

Question

I wrote this sentence

After providing the anchors, the user must now specify the blocks of the page that are distinguished by one or a group of anchors (see Figure 4). Throughout this article, we refer to such block or range of nodes with the term context node.

Is it such block, or such a block?! I prefer not to say "such blocks".

Because I've usually heard such a with adjectives like "such a nice boy"

Answer 1

If "block" is singular you need the article:

...we refer to such a block or...

Saying "such blocks" would also be correct, but as you say, you would prefer not to use that, so "such a block" would be your best bet.

Answer 2

Such and Such: Count nouns vs. non-count nouns

Two distinct (and usually non-overlapping) possibilities exist for singular nouns X:

1. such X (for a mass noun)
2. such an X (for a count noun)

Usually you must use exactly one of those, not either. If both forms are admissible, then we’re talking about two different words or senses of words.

If it’s a count noun in the singular, it takes an article, like “such an apple”. Apples you count.

But if that noun is a mass noun not a count noun, then because it cannot be counted, then no article is allowed, like “such happiness”. Happiness you do not count.

See also this answer.