Starting essay with a quote

Starting essay with a quote

Aug 13,  · Intriguing ways to start an essay. There are many different ways to write an essay introduction. Each has its benefits and potential drawbacks, and each is best suited for Jul 13,  · How to start an essay with a quote is not a difficult task if you approach it carefully. The key to remember is that you really only need one quote per essay, so choose First, a subject-matter expert will Starting An Essay With A Block Quote Example write your essay from scratch. Examine instructions and requirements, create a structure, and write

How to Start an Essay With a Quote With Examples

Last Updated: October 21, References. This article was co-authored by Michelle Golden, PhD. Michelle Golden is an English teacher in Athens, Georgia. She received her MA in Language Arts Teacher Education in and received her PhD in English from Georgia State University in This article has been viewedtimes. Writing an effective introduction can be one of the most intimidating aspects of writing an essay. While there are many different approaches to writing introductory paragraphs, you may want to consider beginning your essay with a quotation. Finding the right quotation and using it well within the framework of your own words can ensure that your essay is off to a great start. If the quote is long, you can use only part of it or remove sections as long as you insert an ellipses.

For tips from our English reviewer on how to find the perfect quotation to start your essay, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No. Log in Social login does not work in incognito and private browsers. Please log in with your username or email to continue. wikiHow Account. No account yet? Create an account. Community Dashboard Write an Article Request a New Article More Ideas Edit this Article. Courses New Tech Help Pro New Expert Videos About wikiHow Pro Upgrade Sign In. Home Random Browse Articles Courses New About wikiHow Easy Ways to Help Approve Questions Fix Spelling Quiz App More Things to Try We use cookies to make wikiHow great. By using our site, starting essay with a quote, you agree to our cookie policy.

Cookie Settings. wikiHow is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. Learn why people trust wikiHow. Categories Education and Communications College University and Postgraduate Academic Writing Essays How to Start an Essay With a Quote. Download Article Explore this Article parts. Tips and Warnings. Related Articles. Article Summary. Co-authored by Michelle Golden, PhD Last Updated: October 21, References. Part 1. Avoid clichés and overused quotations. Using a quotation that is very famous in the same way that everyone uses that quotation will bore your reader. Use a surprising comment. Finding a quote that is surprising in some way. Consider one of the following approaches: Quote a person saying something that someone would not expect them to say.

Quote someone who is not universally famous. Use a well-known quote but contradict it. Knowing the context in which the quotation was originally used is important to using it accurately. It will also help you determine whether the quote is an appropriate means of introducing your essay. Know your audience. The effectiveness of the quotation you use will be determined by the audience of your paper. Determine whether the audience will be familiar with the person who you are quoting. If it is someone obscure or you think they will not be familiar, consider providing starting essay with a quote brief details, starting essay with a quote. Do not use a quote that could be offensive to the audience unless you plan to contradict the quotation, starting essay with a quote.

Strike a balance between assuming your audience knows everything and assuming they know nothing. You should be clear and informative but not insulting to the intelligence of your reader. Hook your reader. Think of a quotation as a "hook" that will engage your reader and make her want to read more of your paper. The well-executed quotation is one way to draw your reader in to your essay. Ensure that the quotation contributes to your essay. A snappy quotation that doesn't help to set up your topic, or that is unrelated to the rest of your essay, will distract from the essay's focus. Part 2. Introduce the quotation appropriately. Quotes should not stand alone in your paper. Your words should introduce the quotation, usually coming before the quote though after may be okay.

Several options for introducing the quotation are available to you: Use the quote as a sentence predicate. The subject of the sentence will be the person who said starting essay with a quote quote, and the verb will most likely be a synonym of "said. Use your own grammatically correct sentence to preview or paraphrase what the quote will say, then insert a colon or comma, then the grammatically correct sentence-length quotation. For example: "Once Jane Smith said something completely awesome: 'the awesome thing she said. If you begin with the quote, be sure to place a comma after the quote and then provide a verb and attribute the quotation to the source.

For example: "'Blah blah blah,' said Jane Smith. Punctuate the quote appropriately. Quotations should always appear with quotation marks around them. Failing to use quotation marks may result in plagiarism. In American usage, end punctuation should be placed inside the quotation marks. For example, "this is the quote. For example: starting essay with a quote Smith said, 'blah blah blah. Attribute the quote correctly, starting essay with a quote. Not all sources of information are legitimate, so looking at an academic source rather than an internet source may be more accurate.

Starting your paper with a glaring mistake will set a bad precedent for the rest of your ideas. Be particularly aware of quotations found on social media such as Pinterest, or on quote aggregators such as Brainyquote. These sources are notorious for mis-attributing and even making up starting essay with a quote quotes. Be true to the meaning and context of the quote. This is tied to academic honesty. Do not manipulate a quotation to fit your purposes by leaving out words or misleading the audience about the context of the quotation. Use a fragment of a long quote.

If the quotation is long, or you only need part of it to make your point, you can leave sections out by using an ellipses …. If you need to substitute a word, place square brackets around the word to indicate that you made a change. For example: "Jane Smith said, 'blah [blady] blah. Changes should be made only to preserve clarity or to change length, not to manipulate the content of the quotation. Part 3. Introduce the quotation. The quotation needs to starting essay with a quote introduced in your own words. This can come either before or after the quote itself. You should identify the speaker of the quotation. Provide context for the quotation.

Particularly if your quote is the first sentence in your paper, be sure to provide sentences of explanation and context. There should be a clear sense of why you are choosing to use the quotation and why it is important to the rest of your paper. Connect the quotation to your thesis. You should provide an explicit connection between the quotation and your thesis, or the central argument of your paper. Be sure that using the quotation enhances, rather than distracting from, your argument. I have students put a quote by itself at the beginning of the paper. How should this be formatted in MLA?

If it's a free standing quote to begin the essay, starting essay with a quote, you don't need to reference it through MLA format. Just put it in quotation marks, italicize it, and give credit to whoever said it. Not Helpful 12 Helpful

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Like starting a book with "a dark and stormy night" or a movie with the main character woken by an alarm clock, it draws attention to itself as a stale trope. But you don't have to abandon the Feb 19,  · For up-to-date guidance, see the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook. Yes, an essay may start with a block quotation. The quotation should be important to your Starting an essay with a quote is good, but most people fail to acknowledge their sources in the essay. It is unethical not to provide sources when writing a quote in your essay. It is