How to Start an Essay With a Quote Properly?
Have you ever thought of the following: You would like to include quotes in the body paragraphs, but there are times when a citation is needed at the very beginning of the paper? What's to be done about that? Why should I start an essay with a quote?
First of all, let's take a look at an example when such an opening is preferable. It is highly recommended to start an essay with a strong hook. A quote can often be perceived as such. It works particularly well with unexpected quotes, or quotes that express an unorthodox viewpoint on the matter discussed in your paper. Voila, a perfect attention getter!
Still, our readers ask: can you start any essays with a quote? In any given case, it really depends on the quote itself. It is not recommended to overload the very first paragraph with too much information. Should it happen, expose these details further, in the body of your essay.
Summed up Briefly: How to Begin an Essay with a Quote
When putting a quote at the beginning of an essay, remember the proper formatting for it. Use it to mark off explanatory or qualifying remarks in strict accordance with the chosen citation style. A sentence inserted in a written matter in such a way as to be independent of the surrounding text structure helps you avoid plagiarism in your paper. Also, to begin an essay with a quote right, and keep it short. Long quotes are not welcomed in the academic environment unless necessary. Generally speaking, to start your text with a lengthy quote is a sign of poor writing skills. Such a quote won't work as an attention getter, quite the contrary. It will only distract the attention of your readers and steer them in the wrong direction, away from your work and its central idea, which you should boil down to a few words in this section.
Here is another hint on how to start off an essay with a quote: write a few words about the importance and relevance of the quote before inserting the quote itself. Emphasize the authority of the source. Keep it snappy though, to stress the main thrust of the work a sentence would do just fine.
All in all, here is how you walk the line when starting an essay with a quote:
- Keep it short;
- Properly cite to avoid plagiarism;
- Introduce your quote added within quotation marks.
Using a quote to begin an essay is easier if you know how to compare your text against such an essay written by a competent person Take it as an example and read its introduction attentively, consider its benefits and drawbacks and what to do next based on what you see. Break things down into logical parts to learn what the tutors might require of you. Make sure you use the approaches you find very helpful. Finally, when the opening paragraph is finished, ask your friends to proofread your paper to tell you it is all square. Do they like your approach, the opening part in particular? Upon balance, implement their suggestions into your essay. Then let it sit for a day. After that, once again proofread it laying emphasis on the opening quote. After such a thorough check, your essay should be ready for submission.
However, if it is not enough and if, for all your trouble, you don't understand how to put a quote at the beginning of an essay, allow us to lend you a helping hand. Feel free to contact us and describe the problem you have. We are here to solve it once and for all. We are sure: once you have tried our services you will agree that it's the best way out of any academic dead ends!
