When searching for a suitable quote at beginning of essay, always prioritize content over authority. In other words, a quote’s quality, contained idea, thought, message should always be more important than the figure behind it. Besides giving more freedom, this would spare you from the risk of not being original by citing the same famous personalities as everyone else. When looking for them, stick to your aim – is it to inspire, prove a point, alert, invite action, prove complexity or delicate nature of an issue, create good mood by using some humor etc.? Quotes such as “The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” or “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.” very boring.

You also want your audience to connect with the premise of your essay or speech. Sharing a quote will make things more memorable for your intended audience and, hopefully, draw them in or teach them something new. If you’re considering incorporating a quote into your essay or speech, you’re about to make a wise decision. An appropriate quote is a very effective means of opening a speech or strengthening your argument in an essay. Be sure that you don’t fundamentally change the meaning of the quotation by omitting material. Don’t frustrate your reader by forgetting to proofread for basic grammar problems. USE THE APOSTROPHE for possessives (i.e., Thompson’s book, not Thompsons book).

Research and find the context of the quote

Direct quotations from fiction novels like this can be used as evidence in an analytical essay. For example, imagine a writer wanting to argue that Gatsby’s love for Daisy caused his downfall. They might reference the above dialogue as evidence for this claim.

Browse our entire collection of inspirational quotes for more motivating ideas and concepts. If you enjoy this article, check out our most popular quote article, a list of short inspirational quotes for daily motivation. Check out the introduction quotes below for some insight and context into the power of introductions.

What is an example of a quotation?

There are other aspects that could count as well, such as an audience’s age, its experience, gender, interests, familiarity with US history , etc. Do you want to convince readers of a certain point of view? Each of these situations requires its own approach. You cannot use the same quote introduction examples quote in all of these cases. Setting a goal will help you narrow your choices. In fact, this cannot be called a big problem if you picked up a good quote that matches the essence of your paper. Starting an essay with a quote, you can’t try with some other tricks, e.g. storytelling.

This means that you can use a quote if your essay is devoted to reflective, artistic, literary topics. It can be a paper of comparison and opposition, a literature review. An appropriate quote can be selected for an analytical or critical essay. Many students use quotes for their admission essays, so this is often perceived as a cliché. Direct quotations are verbatim quotations that require quotation marks.

How to Start an Essay with a Quote: Recommendations, Examples, Pros & Cons

Don’t omit information if its absence distorts the original meaning of the quote. A colon, if you use a complete sentence before inserting the quotation. As for other types of academic writing, there are exceptions. But, before delving deeper, let’s revise the basics. Begin a sentence with your own words, then complete it with quoted words. Use a full sentence followed by a colon to introduce a quotation.

• University life is structured so that your ideas will receive constant testing and refinement in discussion with others.
• Have you ever wondered how to put a quote in your essay?
• Programmers use such pieces of code without acknowledgement.
• Other verbs, like “suggested”, mean that the author was less certain about their claims.

The original note had not included an exclamation mark. In the second example, the exclamation mark remains within the quotation mark because it is indicating the excited tone in which the coach yelled the command. Thus, the exclamation mark is considered to be part of the original quotation.

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The colon announces that a quote will follow to provide evidence for the sentence’s claim. In this particular example, Jacobs is providing a crucial first-hand perspective on slavery. Thus, her words deserve more exposure than a paraphrase could provide. You will also enjoy our article on Meek Mill quotes. You will also enjoy our article on birthday quotes. You will also enjoy our article on bad bitch quotes.

This evidence would help support the specific argument of a given paragraph. Say you are writing a 5 paragraph essay about the importance of the Civil Rights movement. To draw readers into this topic, you might include a snippet of the speech given by Martin Luther King, Jr. at the March on Washington in 1963. Often people use the word “quotation” and “quote” interchangeably. The word “quote” is often used as a verb, which refers to the act of quoting another source.

Are you reading this guide because you are interested in knowing about the different types of quotes? If so, you really

Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 410,301 times. Some college professors never want to see a quotation begin an essay. Because the method is often overused, there is some bias against it. Be sure that using the quotation enhances, rather than distracting from, your argument. Be sure introducing quotes words to keep the original intent of the quotation when making changes. Changes should be made only to preserve clarity or to change length, not to manipulate the content of the quotation. 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 (…).

Writers commit plagiarism when they do not use quotations for information from an outside source or provide references for quotations. Place all other punctuation marks outside the quotation marks, except when they were part of the original quotation. You normally indent 4-5 spaces for the start of a paragraph. When setting up a block quotation, indent the entire paragraph once from the left-hand margin.

How do I Format and Cite Short Direct Quotes?

One way to do this is to use the narrative style to introduce the quote. A quote or a quotation means you repeat the author’s words without introducing any changes to it. It is usually indicated by a double or a single quotation marks depending on the circumstance.

In APA 7, direct quotations that are 40 words or longer must be set off in a block quote. Like any writing style, an APA block quote needs to follow a specific format. Learn the rules to create a perfect APA block quote in your research paper.

Introduce the quotation with a complete sentence and a colon

Having Newton, Tesla or other authority by your side definitely makes it harder for readers to argue against your claims, provided these are properly connected with the quotes. Quotations may contain very condensed information that often appeals to emotions or state truths that resonate in readers. Consequently, there aren’t many other means that help engage readers into a deep discussion so suddenly. The third mistake is a too loose interpretation of the context. Make sure you understand the quote correctly and don’t use it for your own purposes. If you did it on purpose, explain it to readers. Readers cannot always understand why you used this particular phrase.

The quotation needs to be introduced in your own words. This can come either before or after the quote itself. You should identify the speaker of the quotation.

For more information on MLA Style, APA style, Chicago Style, ASA Style, CSE Style, and I-Search Format, refer to our Gallaudet TIP Citations and Referenceslink. And in the case of both general and field-specific common knowledge, if you use the exact words of the reference source, you must use quotation marks and credit the source. Field-specific common knowledge is “common” only within a particular field or specialty. It may include facts, theories, or methods that are familiar to readers within that discipline.

• Instead, use block quotes to emphasize and prove the points, making them stronger.
• Now you’ve succeeded in changing the structure, but the passage still contains many direct quotations, so you need to go on to the second step.
• In APA 7, direct quotations that are 40 words or longer must be set off in a block quote.
• Reinforcement – Quotes reinforce your argument because they offer a second voice in support of your claim.
• Then, use several sentences to explain how the quote applies to the main point of the paragraph and to the thesis statement of the paper.