The Manual of Style guidelines for block quotations recommend formatting block quotations using the {{Blockquote}} template or the HTML <blockquote> element, for which that template provides a wrapper.

  • Quotes work best when used with short sentences, and at the start or end of a section, as a hint of or to help emphasize the section's content.
  • For typical quotes, especially those longer than the rest of the paragraph in which they are quoted, {{Cquote}} (for use outside of article space only) provides a borderless quote with decorative quotation marks, and {{Quote frame}} provides a bordered quote. Both span the page width.
  • For very short quotes, {{Rquote}} (with decorative quotation marks, for use outside of article space only) or {{Quote box}} (framed) can be used to set the quote off to either the right or left as in a magazine sidebar. This can be effective on essay pages and WikiProject homepages.

Centered quote – For quotes, this template provides a centered, borderless quote, with scalable decorative quotation marks, and optional attribution of the source of the quote. It can be used with or without the names of the parameters.

  • {{Cquote|quote=text of the quotation|author=person quoted|source=source of the quotation}}
Parameter 1, quote
text of the quote; use <p>...</p> around second or subsequent paragraphs.
Required
information Note: if the quote text contains a = (equals sign), then the template must be called with a named parameter for the content. For example: {{Cquote|quote=quote text=more quoted text}} (see Help:Template § Usage hints and workarounds).
author
Name of the person that wrote or spoke the text being quoted. Can include wiki syntax.
source
Source of the quote (publication title, speech, etc.). Can include wiki syntax. Can be used without |author= (e.g. for a scripture, law, or other source without an author per se)
bgcolor
The color of the background. This parameter is disabled in article space.
float
Defaults to center, but can also be right or left. Usually used with |width=30% or so (otherwise for quotes longer than one line on the rendered page, the float will have no useful effect). This parameter is disabled in article space.
width
for example |width=30%. This parameter is disabled in article space.
qcolor
color of quotemarks, for example |qcolor=#FF0000 for a red color (only for use in WP:Signpost, and personal pages; do not use in articles, guidelines, etc.). This parameter is disabled in article space.
rtl
set to any non-blank value for quotes that should be rendered from right to left (e.g., Arabic). Adds the necessary dir attribute and reverses the quotes. This parameter is disabled in article space.
quotealign
set to center to center align the quote text. This parameter is disabled in article space.

Deprecated:

wide
In older versions of the template, when this was set to "yes", the quote expanded to the entire width of the page, which was useful for long quotes. However, it clashed with other floating objects, such as infoboxes, and the template now auto expands and line wraps as needed (full page, or within a |width= constraint). This parameter is disabled in article space.
{{Cquote|quote text}}
{{Cquote|Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving.
|author=[[Albert Einstein]]
|source=in a letter to his son<ref>[[Walter Isaacson]], ''Einstein: His Life and Universe'' (2007), p. 367.</ref>
}}


  1. Walter Isaacson, Einstein: His Life and Universe (2007), p. 367.
{{Cquote|1=F=ma|author=[[Isaac Newton]]}}

(the 1= is necessary as quote text contains an equals sign)


{{Cquote|1=Thus:
{{in5}}<math>E=mc^2</math>|author=[[Albert Einstein]]}}

(quote text contains an equals sign and math syntax)


{{Cquote|Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.|source=First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States |float=right |width=30%}}

(source with no author; floated right and width-constrained)

Note that it will wrap around article text like this.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.


{{Cquote|Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.|source=First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States |width=50%}}

(same quote, no float, width constraint)


{{Cquote|Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.|source=First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States}}

(same quote, no float, no width setting – for short quote, would use as much of line as necessary, and for longer quotes, full width of page, wrapping for multiple lines.)

This is the TemplateData for this template used by TemplateWizard, VisualEditor and other tools. See a monthly parameter usage report for Template:Cquote in articles based on its TemplateData.

TemplateData for Cquote

This template is intended for quotes. Usually this is not appropriate for encyclopedia articles. The Manual of Style guidelines for block quotations recommend formatting block quotations using the {{Quote}} template or the HTML <blockquote> element.

Template parameters

This template prefers block formatting of parameters.

ParameterDescriptionTypeStatus
Quotequote 1 quotetext text content

The quote to be visually repeated

Contentrequired
Authorauthor personquoted

Name of the person that wrote or spoke the text being quoted

Example
[[Albert Einstein]]
Contentsuggested
Sourcesource publication title quotesource

Source of the quote (publication title, speech, etc.). Can include wiki syntax. Can be used without |author= (e.g. for a scripture, law, or other source without an author per se)

Example
in a letter to his son<ref>[[Walter Isaacson]], ''Einstein: His Life and Universe'' (2007), p. 367.</ref>
Contentsuggested
Widthwidth

The width of the quote

Default
Sized to fit content (auto)
Example
30%
Auto value
Stringoptional
Floatfloat

Position the quote to float on the right or left side of the content

Example
left
Stringoptional
Background colorbgcolor

The background color for the quote

Default
transparent
Stringoptional
Quotation mark colorqcolor

Color of quotemarks (only for use in WP:Signpost, and personal pages; do not use in articles, guidelines, etc.)

Default
#B2B7F2
Example
#FF0000 for a red color
Unknownoptional
Full widthwide

In older versions of the template, when this was set to "yes", the quote expanded to the entire width of the page, which was useful for long quotes. However, it clashed with other floating objects, such as infoboxes, and the template now auto expands and line wraps as needed (full page, or within a |width= constraint).

Booleandeprecated
smallsmall

no description

Unknowndeprecated
personquotedpersonquoted

no description

Unknowndeprecated
publicationpublication

no description

Unknowndeprecated
titletitle

no description

Unknowndeprecated
quotesourcequotesource

no description

Unknowndeprecated
22

no description

Unknownoptional
33

no description

Unknowndeprecated
44

no description

Unknowndeprecated
55

no description

Unknowndeprecated
Directionrtl

Sets scrript direction right-to-left (Arabic, Hebrew)

Example
rtl=yes
Unknownoptional