A block quote is a longer quotation set on its own lines in journalism, usually indented and attributed. In Intro to Journalism, you use it when a source’s exact wording needs special emphasis or room to breathe.
A block quote is a long quotation that gets pulled out of the main paragraph and displayed on its own lines in a news story. In Intro to Journalism, it usually shows up when you want to quote a source exactly and the wording is long enough that regular quotation marks would make the story hard to read.
The visual clue is simple: it stands apart from the body text, often indented and sometimes introduced with a short lead-in sentence. That separation tells the reader, “This is the source speaking directly.” The quote still needs attribution, so you usually name the speaker before the quote, in the lead-in, or immediately after it, depending on the style your class uses.
Writers use block quotes when the exact phrasing matters. A mayor, athlete, teacher, or eyewitness might say something especially vivid, emotional, or detailed, and a block quote lets those words carry their own weight. That can add authority, texture, or a strong human voice to a feature story, interview piece, or profile.
A block quote is not just a fancy way to make a paragraph look bigger. If the quoted material is short, a regular in-paragraph quote is cleaner. If the material is long, a block quote improves readability and helps readers separate your reporting from someone else’s words. That separation matters because journalism depends on clear ownership of information.
You also need to choose block quotes carefully. If you use too many, the article starts to feel choppy or lazily assembled, like the writer is letting sources do all the work. Good journalism usually mixes direct quotes, paraphrase, and your own reporting so the story still has shape and flow.
Block quotes matter because they show you know how to handle source material without blurring your own voice with someone else’s. In journalism, readers need to tell the difference between what you reported, what you paraphrased, and what a source said word for word.
This term also connects directly to credibility. When you introduce a long quote clearly and attribute it correctly, you make the story easier to trust. That matters in interview-based stories, profiles, school newspaper articles, and any assignment where you have to show that your reporting came from a real person or document.
Block quotes also affect tone. A short, direct quote can sound sharp and immediate, while a longer block quote can slow the reader down and let emotion, detail, or explanation land more fully. That is especially useful when a source gives a statement with color or nuance that would be flattened by paraphrase.
For journalism students, the term is also a style and ethics checkpoint. A block quote is a place where attribution, punctuation, and quotation accuracy all have to be right. If you misuse it, the story can look messy or raise plagiarism concerns.
Keep studying Intro to Journalism Unit 7
Visual cheatsheet
view galleryAttribution
A block quote still needs clear attribution, because the reader has to know exactly who said the words. In journalism, attribution can appear in the lead-in sentence, right after the quote, or both. If you forget attribution, a long quote can feel like it belongs to the writer instead of the source.
Paraphrase
Paraphrase gives you the source’s idea in your own words, while a block quote preserves the exact wording. Journalists often choose paraphrase when the language is long but not especially memorable. A block quote is better when the phrasing itself is part of the story, such as a powerful statement from an interview.
Quotation Marks
Quotation marks usually handle shorter direct quotes inside a paragraph, but block quotes are used when the quoted passage is longer. Both show that the words are exact, not rewritten. The difference is mainly format and readability, which matters when you are building a clean news story.
Chicago Style
Chicago Style is a citation system, while block quotes are a formatting choice for long quoted material. They can show up in different kinds of writing, but journalism uses block quotes for presentation and source clarity more than for formal bibliography work. Don’t mix up quotation formatting with citation style rules.
A quiz question might ask you to identify whether a passage should stay in quotation marks or become a block quote. You may also be asked to revise a news paragraph so the attribution is clear and the long quotation is formatted correctly. In a writing assignment, you use the term by choosing block quote when the source’s exact words are long enough to need visual separation. If your teacher gives you an interview excerpt, you may need to decide which lines deserve direct quotation and which should be paraphrased so the story reads smoothly.
Block quotes and quotation marks both show exact wording from a source, but they are used differently. Quotation marks work for short quotations inside a paragraph. Block quotes are set apart from the text because the quotation is long enough to need its own space and clearer visual organization.
A block quote is a long direct quotation set apart from the main text in a journalism piece.
You use it when the source’s exact wording matters and would be awkward inside normal quotation marks.
A good block quote still needs attribution, so readers know who said it and why it matters.
Block quotes can add voice and detail, but too many can make a story feel cluttered or overquoted.
The main job is clarity: readers should instantly see what is your reporting and what is the source speaking directly.
A block quote is a longer quotation that is set on its own lines instead of being tucked into a paragraph with quotation marks. In Intro to Journalism, it is used when the exact source wording is long enough that it needs clearer formatting and strong attribution.
Use a block quote when the direct quotation is long enough to slow down the reader or crowd the paragraph. Short quotes usually stay inside quotation marks, but longer quotes are easier to read when they are separated from the main text.
Yes. A block quote always needs attribution so readers know who said the words and can judge the source’s credibility. The attribution can appear in the lead-in sentence or right after the quote, depending on the structure of the story.
Yes. If every paragraph turns into a block quote, the writer starts to disappear and the story loses flow. Good journalism uses block quotes selectively, usually for the most vivid, revealing, or important statements from an interview or source.