D.2: Maintaining Paragraph Structure in Block Quotes

A block quote should replicate the paragraph structure of the original source.

If the first word of the block quote comes from the beginning of a paragraph from the cited source, the block quote must be indented.
If the block quote has omitted an entire paragraph from the cited source within the quoted text, this should be indicated by a four-period ellipsis on a separate line.
When the block quote cites text from multiple paragraphs, each new paragraph should begin on a separate line.
A second paragraph within a block quote should either be indented identically to the first quoted paragraph (if the second paragraph appears subsequent to the first in the original text) or prefaced by a three-period ellipsis (if, in the original text, additional text exists between the first paragraph and the second).
- Use a three-period ellipsis if the quoted language does not include the first word of the cited source paragraph.
For examples, see Bluebook Rule 5.1.

Author: Jasnoor Hundal In early August 2023, the Supreme Court stayed the Second Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision, In re Purdue Pharma L.P., and granted certiorari to hear oral argument in December of 2023. The parties were asked to brief and argue “[w]hether the Bankruptcy Code authorizes a court to approve, as part of a […]

Randy Kominsky is a member of Temple Law’s Class of 1979. Mr. Kominsky was a staff editor for Volume 51 and an associate research editor for Volume 52 of Temple Law Review. His case note, Housing Discrimination – The Appropriate Evidentiary Standard for Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, was published in 1978.[1] After graduating, he moved […]

Disrupting Hierarchies In Legal Education: Increasing Access By Supporting First Gen Success Katharine Traylor Schaffzin, Dean and Professor of Law, University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law The first-generation college students of Generation Z will challenge all of higher education, including legal education, to reconsider the delivery of education. Fortunately, undergraduate institutions have been […]