Generate pull-quotes from your article
AI selects the most compelling sentences and formats them as pull-quotes.
Generate pull-quotes from your article
River's Pull-Quote Generator reads your article and identifies sentences that work as compelling pull-quotes. These highlighted excerpts break up long text, draw readers' attention to key points, and create visual interest on the page. Whether you're designing features, profiles, or long-form digital journalism, you get suggestions for effective pull-quotes that enhance both readability and engagement.
Unlike random sentence selection, we choose strategically. The AI understands what makes effective pull-quotes (provocative or insightful, self-contained and clear, representative of story themes, not revealing key surprises, visually formatted well), identifies multiple options at appropriate intervals, and suggests placement that improves page design. You get pull-quotes that serve both editorial and visual purposes.
This tool is perfect for magazine writers laying out features, digital journalists optimizing engagement, designers needing text elements, and editors enhancing long-form pieces. If your long articles feel dense or you're unsure which quotes pop, this tool helps. Use it when preparing articles for publication to add visual interest and highlight key moments.
What Makes Pull-Quotes Effective
Pull-quotes succeed when they entice readers while serving the story. Effective pull-quotes are provocative or insightful (make readers curious), self-contained (make sense without context), representative of story themes (not random), short enough to display large (usually one to two sentences), and placed strategically (breaking up dense text). Weak pull-quotes spoil surprises, require context to understand, or bore readers. Strong pull-quotes function as teasers that reward engagement without revealing everything.
The best pull-quotes serve dual purposes: editorial and design. Editorially, they highlight key insights, provocative statements, or story themes. They give skimmers entry points into content. They preview what makes the piece worth reading. Design-wise, they break up intimidating text blocks, create visual rhythm on the page, and guide the eye through layout. They shouldn't just repeat nearby text verbatim (boring and redundant). Pull them from throughout the piece to create multiple entry points.
To improve pull-quote selection, look for surprising insights or provocative statements. Find self-contained sentences (not (This changed everything) but (The discovery changed everything researchers thought about memory)). Choose quotes revealing story's significance without spoiling conclusions. Place them where they break up longest text blocks. In digital, fewer long blocks work better than many short snippets. In print, work with designer on placement and sizing. Pull-quotes are part of storytelling and design. Choose them intentionally to serve both functions.
What You Get
Multiple pull-quote suggestions from throughout article
Self-contained, compelling excerpts
Suggestions for strategic placement
Options serving both editorial and design needs
Formatted ready for layout or digital display
How It Works
- 1Paste your articleCopy your feature, profile, or long-form piece
- 2AI identifies compelling quotesOur AI selects effective pull-quotes in 2 to 3 minutes
- 3Review suggestionsRead through pull-quote options with placement notes
- 4Format and publishChoose quotes, design layout, publish with enhanced visual appeal
Frequently Asked Questions
How many pull-quotes should an article have?
Depends on length and layout. A 1,500-word feature might have 2 to 4. A 3,000-word profile might have 4 to 6. Enough to break up dense text and highlight key moments, but not so many the page feels cluttered. In digital, fewer but larger works well. In print, work with designer. Quality over quantity.
Should pull-quotes be actual quotes from sources or can they be my writing?
Both work. Direct quotes from sources can be compelling (especially provocative or insightful statements). But your own writing works too if the sentence is strong (revealing a key insight, summarizing significance, or stating something provocatively). Choose based on what's most compelling, not arbitrary rules.
Can pull-quotes spoil surprises or reveals in the story?
Avoid this. Pull-quotes should entice without revealing. If your story builds to conclusion that (the program failed), don't pull-quote that at the top. Tease the journey, don't spoil destination. Think of pull-quotes as movie trailers: show enough to create interest, not enough to eliminate need to watch.
Should pull-quotes be short or can they be longer?
Usually one to two sentences. They need to display large enough to create visual impact. Very short (three to five words) can work as design elements but lose context. Very long (three or more sentences) get hard to display effectively. One strong sentence usually works best. Aim for 10 to 25 words typically.
Do pull-quotes need attribution if they're direct quotes?
Yes, typically. If you're pulling a source's quote, attribute it (Sarah Johnson, CEO). If pulling your own writing, no attribution needed (it's clearly part of the article). Make attribution part of the pull-quote design, usually smaller text below the quote itself.
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