can you put a quote in your college essay

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Your chance of acceptance, your chancing factors, extracurriculars, starting strong: quotes in college essays.

I've seen a few sample essays that open with a quote and I'm wondering, how should I start my college essay with a quote? Is it a good hook, or is it too cliché? I've found some really inspiring quotes that I feel relate to my life and could set the tone for my essay.

Hey there! Starting your college essay with a quote can definitely be a strong hook if chosen wisely. The key is to make sure that the quote ties directly into the narrative or point of your essay in a meaningful way—it should illuminate something about your personality, values, or experiences that you'll expand upon in the rest of the essay. Always pick a quote that you can unpack and that adds depth, rather than one that might be overused or too general.

For instance, if you've found a quote that encapsulates a pivotal moment when you learned something significant, and you reflect that insight in your essay, it can be a great opener. Just ensure that each word in that quote and the attribution (who said it) is pertinent to your story and doesn't overshadow your own voice. Remember, the essay is about you, your perspective, and what you bring to the table, so don't let the quote do all the talking! Good luck with your writing process!

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Dialogue: The Dos and Don’ts of Quotes in Your College Essay

“Hey,” I began, “you have cow eyes. I know that sounds like a bad thing but have you ever looked into a cow’s eyes? They are so deep and brown and beautiful. I’ve looked into a lot a cow eyes because I’m from Wisconsin.”

This dialogue segment is from Malcolm Conner’s winning “Modern Love” College Essay , p r i n t e d j u s t a c o u p l e m o n t h s a g o i n t h e N e w Y o r k T i m e s . Without dialogue, he might have said “I fumbled with my words, trying to compliment her,” but the dialogue shows his rambling and awkward demeanor instead.

Dialogue is an underutilized tool in the college essay. So many students don’t even consider adding an outdated adage from a parent or a hilarious crack from a high school coach to break up their prose, set the scene or build the profiles of their stories’ characters.  And yet, dialogue is one of those devices that can give you a lot of bang for your buck, delivering a punch of personality or a wallop of context using just a few carefully culled utterances. Dialogue is also one of those tools that is easy to waste if you don’t know how to wield it for maximum effect. So when should you use dialogue in your college essay? And when should you avoid it?

Use dialogue:

If it reveals something specific about a character in your essay. Is your character cranky? A jokester? Is your character selfish? (“You can’t have any.”) Dialogue can telegraph these kinds of qualities to a reader very quickly.

If it helps to move the story forward. Maybe when everything is going great, your friend pulls you aside and says, “I have to tell you something, something bad.”

If it expresses humor or heartache or other emotions in the character’s own words. Is your character a funny grandparent? (“If you eat any more potatoes, Ireland’s gonna come for you, sport.” “Honey, if I had known about senior discounts, I would have let my hair go grey twenty years ago.”)

Don’t use dialogue:

If it is expressing something that is obvious to the reader without adding an additional layer of context or insight to the story or your characters. If it doesn’t tell us anything new about the character, the story may be better without it.

If you’ve already used it a few times in your essay. The impact of dialogue is enhanced when it’s used sparingly — especially in short pieces of writing.

If it takes away from the focal point of your story. Dialogue can be great insight into a character or situation, but if it doesn’t serve a purpose in hitting home your main point, it needs to be cut.

All of this said, of course, there are exceptions to these rules. If used intentionally, as a conscious creative choice, submitting an essay overflowing with dialogue can actually work to amazing effect. For example, maybe your essay is a discussion between you and your former self, between you and your best friend, or you and your parent.  In these cases, you should ask yourself: why is this the best way to share my story? If you can answer that question and still believe you’re making the right choice, by all means, continue with your experiment.

Otherwise, the tips above should help you on the road to incorporating the right kind and amount of dialogue into your college essay. When used well, dialogue illuminates. It shows personality. It’s specific. I say, “Do it! Do it! Do it!”

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Category: Admissions , advice , College Admissions , Essay Tips , Essay Writing , Quick Tips , Tips , Uncategorized

Tags: 2017-2018 college applications , college admissions , college admissions essay , college applications , college essay , college essay help , college essay tips , dialogue , Essays

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How to use Quotes in an Essay in 7 Simple Steps

A quote can be an effective and powerful literary tool in an essay, but it needs to be done well. To use quotes in an essay, you need to make sure your quotes are short, backed up with explanations, and used rarely. The best essays use a maximum of 2 quotes for every 1500 words.

Rules for using quotes in essays:

• Avoid Long Quotes.
• Quotes should be less than 1 sentence long.
• Match Quotes with Explanations and Examples.
• Use Max. 2 Quotes for 1500 words.
• Use page numbers when Citing Quotes.
• Don’t Italicize Quotes.
• Avoid quotes inside quotes.

Once you have mastered these quotation writing rules you’ll be on your way to growing your marks in your next paper.

How to use Quotes in an Essay

1. avoid long quotes.

There’s a simple rule to follow here: don’t use a quote that is longer than one line. In fact,  four word quotes  are usually best.

Long quotes in essays are red flags for teachers. It doesn’t matter if it is an amazing quote. Many, many teachers don’t like long quotes, so it’s best to avoid them.

Too many students provide quotes that take up half of a paragraph. This will lose you marks – big time.

If you follow my  perfect paragraph formula , you know that most paragraphs should be about six sentences long, which comes out to about six or seven typed lines on paper. That means that your quote will be a maximum of one-sixth (1/6) of your paragraph. This leaves plenty of space for discussion in your own words.

One reason teachers don’t like long quotes is that they suck up your word count. It can start to look like you didn’t have enough to say, so you inserted quotes to pad out your essay. Even if this is only your teacher’s perception, it’s something that you need to be aware of.

Here’s an example of over-use of quotes in paragraphs:

Avoid Quotes that are Too Long

Children who grow up in poverty often end up being poor as adults. “Many adult Americans believe that hard work and drive are important factors on economic mobility. When statistics show that roughly 42% of children born into the bottom level of the income distribution will likely stay there (Isaacs, 2007), this Is a consequence of structural and social barriers.” (Mistry et al., 2016, p. 761). Therefore poverty in childhood needs to be addressed by the government.

This student made the fatal mistake of having the quote overtake the paragraph.

Simply put, don’t use a quote that is longer than one line long. Ever. It’s just too risky.

Personally, I like to use a 4-word quote in my essays. Four-word quotes are long enough to constitute an actual quote but short enough that I have to think about how I will fit that quote around my own writing. This forces me to write quotations that both show:

• I have read the original source, but also:
• I know how to paraphrase

2. Do not use a Quote to that takes up a full Sentence, Starts a Sentence, or Ends a Paragraph

These are three common but fatal mistakes.

Essay quotes that start sentences or end paragraphs make you appear passive.

If you use a quotation in an essay to start a sentence or end a paragraph, your teacher automatically thinks that your quote is replacing analysis, rather than supporting it.

You should instead start the sentence that contains the quote with your own writing. This makes it appear that you have an  active voice .

Similarly, you should end a paragraph with your own analysis, not a quote.

Let’s look at some examples of quotes that start sentences and end paragraphs. These examples are poor examples of using quotes:

Avoid Quotes that Start Sentences The theorist Louis Malaguzzi was the founder of the Reggio Emilia Approach to Education. “Children have the ability to learn through play and exploration. Play helps children to learn about their surroundings” (Malaguzzi, 1949, p. 10). Play is better than learning through repetition of drills or reading. Play is good for all children.

Avoid Quotes that End Paragraphs Before Judith Butler gender was seen as being a binary linked to sex, men were masculine and women were feminine. Butler came up with this new idea that gender is just something society has made up over time. “Gender is a fluid concept” (Butler, 1990, p. 136).

Both these quotes are from essays that were shared with me by colleagues. My colleagues marked these students down for these quotes because of the quotes:

• took up full sentences;
• started sentences; and
• were used to end paragraphs.

It didn’t appear as if the students were analyzing the quotes. Instead, the quotes were doing the talking for the students.

There are some easy strategies to use in order to make it appear that you are actively discussing and analyzing quotes.

One is that you should make sure the essay sentences with quotes in them  don’t start with the quote . Here are some examples of how we can change the quotes:

Example 1: Start Quote Sentences with an Active Voice The theorist Louis Malaguzzi was the founder of the Reggio Emilia Approach to Education. According to Malaguzzi (1949, p. 10), “children have the ability to learn through play and exploration.” Here, Malaguzzi is highlighting how to play is linked to finding things out about the world. Play is important for children to develop. Play is better than learning through repetition of drills or reading. Play is good for all children.

Here, the sentence with the quote was amended so that the student has an active voice. They start the sentence with According to Malaguzzi, ….

Similarly, in the second example, we can also insert an active voice by ensuring that our quote sentence does not start with a quote:

Example 2: Start Quote Sentences with an Active Voice In 1990, Judith Butler revolutionized Feminist understandings of gender by arguing that “gender is a fluid concept” (p. 136). Before Butler’s 1990 book  Gender Trouble , gender was seen as being a binary linked to sex. Men were masculine and women were feminine. Butler came up with this new idea that gender is just something society has made up over time.

In this example, the quote is not at the start of a sentence or end of a paragraph – tick!

How to Start Sentences containing Quotes using an Active Voice

• According to Malaguzzi (1949, p. 10), “…”
• Malaguzzi (1949, p. 10) argues that “…”
• In 1949, Malaguzzi (p. 10) highlighted that “…”
• The argument of Malaguzzi (1949, p. 10) that “…” provides compelling insight into the issue.

3. Match Quotes with Explanations and Examples

Earlier on, I stated that one key reason to use quotes in essays is so that you can analyze them.

Quotes shouldn’t stand alone as explanations. Quotes should be there to be analyzed, not to do the analysis.

Let’s look again at the quote used in Point 1:

Example: A Quote that is Too Long Children who grow up in poverty often end up being poor as adults.  “Many adult Americans believe that hard work and drive are important factors in economic mobility. When statistics show that roughly 42% of children born into the bottom level of the income distribution will likely stay there (Isaacs, 2007), this Is a consequence of structural and social barriers.”  (Mistry et al., 2016, p. 761). Therefore poverty in childhood needs to be addressed by the government.

This student has included the facts, figures, citations and key details in the quote. Essentially, this student has been lazy. They failed to paraphrase.

Instead, this student could have selected the most striking phrase from the quote and kept it. Then, the rest should be paraphrased. The most striking phrase in this quote was “[poverty] is a consequence of structural and social barriers.” (Mistry et al., 2016, p. 761).

So, take that one key phrase, then paraphrase the rest:

Example: Paraphrasing Long Quotes Children who grow up in poverty often end up being poor as adults. In their analysis, Mistry et al. (2016) highlight that there is a misconception in American society that hard work is enough to escape poverty. Instead, they argue, there is evidence that over 40% of people born in poverty remain in poverty. For Mistry et al. (2016, p. 761), this data shows that poverty is not a matter of being lazy alone, but more importantly  “a consequence of structural and social barriers.”  This implies that poverty in childhood needs to be addressed by the government.

To recap,  quotes shouldn’t do the talking for you . Provide a brief quote in your essay, and then show you understand it with surrounding explanation and analysis.

4. Know how many Quotes to use in an Essay

There’s a simple rule for how many quotes should be in an essay.

Here’s a good rule to follow: one quote for every five paragraphs. A paragraph is usually 150 words long, so you’re looking at  one quote in every 750 words, maximum .

To extrapolate that out, you’ll want a maximum of about:

• 2 quotes for a 1500-word paper;
• 3 quotes for a 2000-word paper;
• 4 quotes for a 3000-word paper.

That’s the maximum , not a target. There’s no harm in writing a paper that has absolutely zero quotes in it, so long as it’s still clear that you’ve closely read and paraphrased your readings.

The reason you don’t want to use more quotes than this in your essay is that teachers want to see you saying things in your own words. When you over-use quotes, it is a sign to your teacher that you don’t know how to paraphrase well.

5. Always use page numbers when Citing Quotes in Essays

One biggest problem with quotes are that many students don’t know how to cite quotes in essays.

Nearly every referencing format requires you to include a page number in your citation. This includes the three most common referencing formats: Harvard, APA, and MLA. All of them require you to provide page numbers with quotes.

Citing a Quote in Chicago Style – Include Page Numbers

• Incorrect: “Gender is a fluid concept” (Butler 1990).
• Correct: “Gender is a fluid concept” (Butler 1990, 136).

Citing a Quote in APA and Harvard Styles – Include Page Numbers

• Incorrect: “Gender is a fluid concept” (Butler, 1990).
• Correct: “Gender is a fluid concept” (Butler, 1990, p. 136).

Citing a Quote in MLA Style – Include Page Numbers

• Incorrect: “Gender is a fluid concept” (Butler).
• Correct: “Gender is a fluid concept” (Butler 136).

Including a page number in your quotation makes a huge difference when a marker is trying to determine how high your grade should be.

This is especially true when you’re already up in the higher marks range. These little editing points can mean the difference between placing first in the class and third. Don’t underestimate the importance of attention to detail.

6. Don’t Italicize Quotes

For some reason, students love to use italics for quotes. This is wrong in absolutely every major referencing format, yet it happens all the time.

I don’t know where this started, but please don’t do it. It looks sloppy, and teachers notice. A nice, clean, well-formatted essay should not contain these minor but not insignificant errors. If you want to be a top student, you need to pay attention to minor details.

7. Avoid quotes inside quotes

Have you ever found a great quote and thought, “I want to quote that quote!” Quoting a quote is a tempting thing to do, but not worth your while.

I’ll often see students write something like this:

Poor Quotation Example: Quotes Inside Quotes Rousseau “favored a civil religion because it would be more tolerant of diversity than Christianity. Indeed ‘no state has ever been founded without religion as its base’ (Rousseau, 1913: 180).” (Durkheim, 1947, p. 19).

Here, there are quotes on top of quotes. The student has quoted Durkheim quoting Rousseau. This quote has become a complete mess and hard to read. The minute something’s hard to read, it loses marks.

Here are two solutions:

• Cite the original source. If you really want the Rousseau quote, just cite Rousseau. Stop messing around with quotes on top of quotes.
• Learn the ‘as cited in’ method. Frankly, that method’s too complicated to discuss here. But if you google it, you’ll be able to teach yourself.

When Should I use Quotes in Essays?

1. to highlight an important statement.

One main reason to use quotes in essays is to emphasize a famous statement by a top thinker in your field.

The statement must be  important. It can’t be just any random comment.

Here are some examples of when to use quotes in essays to emphasize the words of top thinkers:

• The words of Stephen Hawking go a long way in Physics ;
• The words of JK Rowling go a long way in Creative Writing ;
• The words of Michel Foucault go a long way in Cultural Studies ;
• The words of Jean Piaget go a long way in Education Studies .

2. To analyze an Important Statement.

Another reason to use quotes in essays is when you want to analyze a statement by a specific author. This author might not be famous, but they might have said something that requires unpacking and analyzing. You can provide a quote, then unpack it by explaining your interpretation of it in the following sentences.

Quotes usually need an explanation and example. You can unpack the quote by asking:

• What did they mean,
• Why is it relevant, and
• Why did they say this?

You want to always follow up quotes by top thinkers or specific authors with discussion and analysis.

Quotes should be accompanied by:

• Explanations of the quote;
• Analysis of the ideas presented in the quote; or
• Real-world examples that show you understand what the quote means.

Remember: A quote should be a stimulus for a discussion, not a replacement for discussion.

What Bad Quotes Look Like

Many teachers I have worked with don’t like when students use quotes in essays. In fact, some teachers absolutely hate essay quotes. The teachers I have met tend to hate these sorts of quotes:

• When you use too many quotes.
• When you use the wrong citation format.
• When you don’t provide follow-up explanations of quotes.
• When you used quotes because you don’t know how to paraphrase .

Be a minimalist when it comes to using quotes. Here are the seven approaches I recommend for using quotes in essays:

• Avoid Long Quotes in Essays
• Do not use a Quote that takes up a full Sentence, Starts a Sentence, or Ends a Paragraph
• Match Quotes with Explanations and Examples
• Use a Maximum of 2 Quotes for every 1500 words
• Always use page numbers when Citing Quotes in Essays
• Don’t Italicize Quotes
• Avoid quotes inside quotes

Chris Drew (PhD)

Dr. Chris Drew is the founder of the Helpful Professor. He holds a PhD in education and has published over 20 articles in scholarly journals. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education. [Image Descriptor: Photo of Chris]

• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ Social-Emotional Learning (Definition, Examples, Pros & Cons)
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ What is Educational Psychology?
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ What is IQ? (Intelligence Quotient)
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 5 Top Tips for Succeeding at University

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Is It Okay to Include Quotes in College Essays?

A transition from high school to college is vital for a person’s academic and career life. Joining an exceptional college to pursue a good course would be a dream come true for many learners. However, some fail to join colleges of their choice because of avoidable or achievable reasons.

Exemplary grades, a track record of extracurricular talents, and passing a test score are some factors colleges consider to accept admissions. However, writing an excellent college essay is necessary for any student wishing to impress admission officers.

In an attempt to write a perfect essay, is it okay to include quotes in college essays? Read this article to answer the question and find out more.

It is okay to include a quote or two in your college essay. It is worth noting that a well-placed relevant quote might earn you higher marks. This is because the quote improves your arguments by making them more convincing.

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A college essay is a piece of writing you include in your college application as a personal statement. The paper provides more details about you and illustrates your level of critical thinking through your writing capacity. Therefore, the essay will differentiate your admission request from other students to the admission committee.

Also see: Can you use curse words in your college essay? 

Remember, if you want your college essay to stand out from the rest, you should think differently by avoiding a cliché essay.

Powerful quotes help drive your points and arguments home, especially if they are pertinent to the topic you are writing about. They cement the credibility of your arguments by engaging the voice of authority. Furthermore, such quotes enhance your college essay’s elegance, power, and memorability.

However, be extra cautious when including essays in your college essay. Avoid using the wrong quotes or inappropriately using the correct quotes. Doing so will only make your application essay less relevant and unattractive to the admissions committee.

Is Quoting Good in a College Essay?

Quoting in a college essay is good if done correctly. A college applicant may use such quotes to further their thoughts in explaining a vital point or argument in their writing. Therefore, quoting in a college essay will be helpful for a candidate that understands the correct quote and how to include it.

Understanding the correct manner in which you ought to input quotes whenever you use them is vital. First, ensure you include quotation marks whenever you write a direct quote. Quotation marks notify the admission officer that the content is borrowed and help you avoid plagiarism.

If you can, restate a quote in your own words and cite it. Paraphrasing the quote helps integrate proof into your essay without writing the direct quote. Furthermore, providing commentary after the quote is vital to explain how it enhances your point or argument.

Is It Okay to Start My College Admission Essay with a Movie Quote?

Starting your college admission essay with a movie quote is not a good idea. Remember, a college admission essay requires you to talk more about yourself and your capabilities. Therefore, your essay’s introductory paragraph should stand out enough to catch the admission officers’ attention. A movie quote would, therefore, not be the right way to go about it.

It is worth noting that admission to a good college is not a walk in the park. This is especially true for colleges whose admission requirements are pretty competitive in terms of grades, co-curricular track records, and test scores.

In such colleges, admission essays play a significant role in accepting a student’s admission application, carrying almost 25 percent of the application’s weight. Therefore, there is a need to write an exceptional admission essay that will impress the admission officers.

The introduction of a college admission essay should never be a cliché one. A cliché introduction is general and relevant to many applicants. However, a competitive introduction is unique, specific, articulate, and straight to the point.

That said, you could agree that a college admission essay whose introduction is a movie quote will not be competitive enough to earn you admission to that college.

Is It Good to Start an Essay with a Quote?

Starting an essay with a quote is not an offense. In fact, including a quote in your introductory paragraph extends an excellent manner for you to hook up the essay’s readers efficiently. Quotes for preceding paragraphs apply to papers that are creative nature. Excellent examples are the narrative and descriptive essays.

Starting a creative essay with a quote illustrates your knowledge of the subject matter, your research degree, and your target readers’ awareness. To your professor, the technique will exemplify dedication, enthusiasm for essay writing, and a mastery of critical thinking capabilities.

It is worth noting that starting an essay with a quote is pretty challenging for students. The choice of the quote to include may be the most complicated. Luckily, below is a comprehensive guideline to help you fix quotes seamlessly in an introductory paragraph.

• Research extensively on your topic . Read widely from different resources to get the right content on your subject matter.
• Have a list of quotes to select the best . From the list, select a relevant quote that can effectively catch the reader’s attention. Avoid overly quoted statements.
• Rewrite the quote . Drop some parts of the quote, such as phrases, symbols, and words that may not fit your essay’s context.
• Cite the quote correctly . Acknowledge the source to make the quote acceptable and avoid committing plagiarism.

So, is it okay to include quotes in your college essay? After reading this article, you could agree that properly imputing applicable quotes and the right place could add value to your writing. The quotes might help get the admission officer’s attention and earn you acceptance into the college. However, it is vital to be cautious and conscious when choosing the quotes and how you include them.

4 Steps to Properly Using a Quote in Your Essay

“Would you start an essay with a quote or rather not?” by Anonymous

Every student gets to this question when writing an essay. One probable cause is that it is unclear why one would consider using someone’s thoughts in a piece of writing that is supposed to be purely his or her. Essentially, the opening words of your essay should captivate and engage readers enough to finish reading the entire essay.

While this has been agreed upon in many discussion platforms, research teams, and debate events, there are uncertainties in the use of a quote as an opening statement. To help you overcome them, here is the best advice.

Beginning your essay with a quote is actually an excellent way to hook up your readers. More importantly, to a professor or faculty member, it demonstrates your understanding of the topic, the depth of your research, and the awareness of your audience. If these three are the tip of the iceberg, deep down is the hard work, determination, critical thinking, academic integrity, and passion that it takes to write good English essays .

To some students, starting an essay with a quote is not easy. For this reason, it might be smart to seek professional help when available. With that said, let us go step by step into starting an essay with a quote. The following are easy steps for you to follow to place your quote excellently.

Step 1-Research your topic

Thorough research is important if you want to start your essay with the appropriate quote. Therefore, read books, journals, websites, and other materials likely to give you the right context and input for your research. It is from thorough research that you will identify and evaluate the quote that you will be using.

Step 2-Select the best of the quotes for your essay

Select one quote among those you have identified. Here, you will be required to understand know some do’s and don’ts so that you do not end up losing your readers and objective. The following are examples of dos and don’ts when coming up with a quote.

• Find a quote that can catch a reader’s interest. For example, a quote from somebody readers might not expect
• When introducing the quote, use layman’s terms to explain the context
• A quote you can agree or disagree with by the time you finish an essay. This helps develop your discussion in a way that persuades your readers
• Observe the style and formatting requirements when placing and acknowledging the source. For example, when using an MLA format and style guide , you are required to enclose the quote with double quotation marks and then write the author’s name and the page number.
• Do not use those statements that have been used repeatedly. For example, quoting The Second Amendment of the US constitution is overly done. Avoid it.
• Avoid those by major celebrities. For example, Ben Stiller or Michael Jackson
• Avoid using quotes that do not connect with the discussion

Step-3. Edit your quote

In some cases, you might need to add or remove some words, phrases, and symbols to make your quote both more appealing to your readers and fitting to your context. If needed, you can do this in two steps

• Remove parts of a quote that are irrelevant to your paper. For example, you may find that the section you pick comprises of four sentences with the third sentence not important. In this situation, remote the sentence and fill its place with epilepsies (…) signs.
• Include your own information to assist readers to connect well to our arguments. In most cases, Brackets are useful when including such helpful details.

Step 4- Cite the Quote to acknowledge your sources

You never take ideas from the owners without acknowledging them. Doing so, especially in academic contexts, can draw serious implications (ie plagiarism ). In the professional field, your work can be rejected and never usable to the group you intended to write for. Similarly, in academic essays, you must cite the quotation you intend to use, and more so, make it acceptable and appealing to readers. The following example demonstrates how you should place and cite your opening quote in MLA.

“In cities with more than 100,000 people, we found background checks …effective at reducing rates of gun-related deaths [than other cities].” (Colarossi and Mcalpine 10).

The source by both Colarossi and Mcalpine should appear as an entry at the Works Cited sections, as shown here below.

Colarossi, Jessica, and Kat J. Mcalpine. “State Gun Laws That Actually Reduce Gun Deaths.” Boston University, 2019,

Http://Www.Bu.Edu/Articles/2019/State-Gun-Laws-That-Reduce-Gun-Deaths/.

Every style of writing has its own guidelines that are helpful when it comes to citations. Follow them closely. In addition, there is professional help available in case you remain stuck at this point.

Step 6 – Other Considerations

As you select and edit that quote for your use in an essay, there are some other things to consider.

• Consider your audience to avoid annoying them. For example, do not use a quote that shows bias and/or negative attitudes towards certain behaviors of people, groups, beliefs or choices in life.
• Second, avoid big and technical words in the quote. If there is such a word, edit it using brackets to make it easier for every reader to understand without seeking a dictionary for the meaning. Some quotes collected from social platforms, jokes or memes should usually not be used in serious academic writing.
• However, using inspirational quotes can increase the possibility of your readers adopting your arguments and resonating with the essay.

In conclusion, writing an essay with a quote can be purposeful and interesting if you take the time to follow the proper steps and have a well thought our process. For more great college tips, check out the other blogs on College Basics .

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A Guide to Using Quotations in Essays

Quotations Add Credibility to a Persuasive Essay

• Love Quotes
• Great Lines from Movies and Television
• Quotations For Holidays
• Best Sellers
• Classic Literature
• Plays & Drama
• Shakespeare
• Short Stories
• Children's Books
• M.B.A, Human Resource Development and Management, Narsee Monjee Institution of Management Studies
• B.S., University of Mumbai, Commerce, Accounting, and Finance

If you want to make an impact on your reader, you can draw on the potency of quotations. The  effective use of quotations  augments the power of your arguments and makes your essays more interesting.

But there is a need for caution! Are you convinced that the quotation you have chosen is helping your essay and not hurting it? Here are some factors to consider to ensure that you are doing the right thing.

What Is This Quotation Doing in This Essay?

Let us begin at the beginning. You have a chosen a quotation for your essay. But, why that specific quotation?

A good quotation should do one or more of the following:

• Make an opening impact on the reader
• Build credibility for your essay
• Make the essay more interesting
• Close the essay with a point to ponder upon

If the quotation does not meet a few of these objectives, then it is of little value. Merely stuffing a quotation into your essay can do more harm than good.

Your Essay Is Your Mouthpiece

Should the quotation speak for the essay or should the essay speak for the quotation? Quotations should add impact to the essay and not steal the show. If your quotation has more punch than your essay, then something is seriously wrong. Your essay should be able to stand on its own legs; the quotation should merely make this stand stronger.

How Many Quotations Should You Use in Your Essay?

Using too many quotations is like having several people shouting on your behalf. This will drown out your voice. Refrain from overcrowding your essay with words of wisdom from famous people. You own the essay, so make sure that you are heard.

Don't Make It Look Like You Plagiarized

There are some rules and standards when using quotations in an essay. The most important one is that you should not give the impression of being the author of the quotation. That would amount to plagiarism . Here are a set of rules to clearly distinguish your writing from the quotation:

• You may describe the quotation in your own words before using it. In this case, you should use a colon (:) to indicate the beginning of the quotation. Then begin the quotation with a quotation mark ("). After you have completed the quotation, close it with a quotation mark ("). Here is an example: Sir Winston Churchill made a witty remark on the attitude of a pessimist: "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
• The sentence in which the quotation is embedded might not explicitly describe the quotation, but merely introduce it. In such a case, do away with the colon. Simply use the quotation marks . Here is an example: Sir Winston Churchill once said, "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
• As far as possible, you should mention the author and the source of the quotation. For instance: In Shakespeare ’s play "As You Like It," Touchstone says to Audrey in the Forest of Arden, "The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool." (Act V, Scene I).
• Ensure that the source of your quotation is authentic. Also, verify the author of your quotation. You can do so by looking up the quotation on authoritative websites. For formal writing, do not rely on just one website.

Blend Quotations In

An essay can seem quite jarring if the quotation does not blend in. The quotation should naturally fit into your essay. No one is interested in reading quotation-stuffed essays.

Here are some good tips on blending in your quotations:

• You can begin your essay with a quotation that sets off the basic idea of the essay. This can have a lasting impact on your reader. In the introductory paragraph of your essay, you can comment on the quotation if you like. In any case, do ensure that the relevance of the quotation is communicated well.
• Your choice of phrases and adjectives can significantly boost the impact of the quotation in your essay. Do not use monotonous phrases like: "George Washington once said...." If your essay is written for the appropriate context, consider using emphatic expressions like: "George Washington rocked the nation by saying...."

Using Long Quotations

It is usually better to have short and crisp quotations in your essay. Generally, long quotations must be used sparingly as they tend to weigh down the reader. However, there are times when your essay has more impact with a longer quotation.

If you have decided to use a long quotation, consider paraphrasing , as it usually works better. But, there is a downside to paraphrasing too. Instead of paraphrasing, if you use a direct quotation , you will avoid misrepresentation. The decision to use a long quotation is not trivial. It is your judgment call.

If you are convinced that a particular long quotation is more effective, be sure to format and punctuate it correctly.   Long quotations should be set off as block quotations . The format of block quotations should follow the guidelines that you might have been provided. If there are no specific guidelines, you can follow the usual standard—if a quotation is more than three lines long, you set it off as a block quote. Blocking implies indenting it about half an inch on the left.

Usually, a brief introduction to a long quotation is warranted. In other cases, you might need to provide a complete analysis of the quotation. In this case, it is best to begin with the quotation and follow it with the analysis, rather than the other way around.

Using Cute Quotes or Poetry

Some students choose a cute quotation first and then try to plug it into their essay. As a consequence, such quotations usually drag the reader away from the essay.

Quoting a verse from a poem, however, can add a lot of charm to your essay. I have come across writing that acquires a romantic edge merely by including a poetic quotation. If you are quoting from poetry, keep in mind that a small extract of a poem, say about two lines long, requires the use of slash marks (/) to indicate line breaks. Here is an example:

Charles Lamb has aptly described a child as "A child's a plaything for an hour;/ Its pretty tricks we try / For that or for a longer space; / Then tire, and lay it by." (1-4)

If you use a single line extract of a poem, punctuate it like any other short quotation without the slashes. Quotation marks are required at the beginning and at the end of the extract. However, if your quotation is more than three lines of poetry, I would suggest that you treat it like you would have treated a long quotation from prose. In this case, you should use the block quote format.

Does Your Reader Understand the Quotation?

Perhaps the most important question you must ask yourself when using a quotation is: "Do readers understand the quotation and its relevance to my essay ?"

If the reader is re-reading a quotation, just to understand it, then you are in trouble. So when you choose a quotation for your essay, ask yourself the following questions:

• Is this too convoluted for my reader?
• Does this match the tastes of my audience ?
• Is the grammar and vocabulary in this quotation understandable?
• How to Use Block Quotations in Writing
• Definition and Examples of Direct Quotations
• Definition and Examples of Quotation in English Grammar
• How to Use Shakespeare Quotes
• Guidelines for Using Quotation Marks Correctly
• What Is an Indentation?
• Practice in Using Quotation Marks Correctly
• How To Write an Essay
• Difference Between "Quote" and "Quotation": What Is the Right Word?
• The Five Steps of Writing an Essay
• What Is a Blockquote?
• 501 Topic Suggestions for Writing Essays and Speeches
• Writing a Descriptive Essay
• How and When to Paraphrase Quotations
• Write an Attention-Grabbing Opening Sentence for an Essay

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How to Start an Essay With a Quote

Last Updated: September 7, 2022 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Jake Adams . Jake Adams is an academic tutor and the owner of Simplifi EDU, a Santa Monica, California based online tutoring business offering learning resources and online tutors for academic subjects K-College, SAT & ACT prep, and college admissions applications. With over 14 years of professional tutoring experience, Jake is dedicated to providing his clients the very best online tutoring experience and access to a network of excellent undergraduate and graduate-level tutors from top colleges all over the nation. Jake holds a BS in International Business and Marketing from Pepperdine University. There are 8 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 450,422 times.

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.

Finding the Perfect Quotation

• 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.

• 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 additional (brief) details.
• Do not use a quote that could be offensive to the audience unless you plan to contradict the quotation.
• 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.

Quoting Correctly

• Use the quote as a sentence predicate. The subject of the sentence will be the person who said the quote, and the verb will most likely be a synonym of “said.” For example, "Jane Smith said, 'blah blah blah.'"
• Preview the content of the quote. 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.'"
• Begin with the quote. 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."

• The quote only needs to be capitalized if it begins the sentence or if the first word of the quote is a proper noun, like the name of a person or a place.
• In American usage, end punctuation should be placed inside the quotation marks. For example, “this is the quote.”
• Paraphrased material (someone else’s idea put into your own words) need not have quotation marks around it, but should be attributed to the original speaker.
• If you introduce the quote with the speaker’s name and a verb, provide a comma before the beginning of the quotation. For example: "Jane Smith said, 'blah blah blah.'"

• 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 famous quotes.

• You may also need to substitute a word (like a name rather than a pronoun) for clarity. 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.'"
• Be sure 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.

Incorporating the Quotation into Your Introduction

• In your introduction, you need to be clear about what you're going to talk about and how you're going to talk about it.

• Be sure that the quotation you use supports your thesis.
• Be sure that using the quotation enhances, rather than distracting from, your argument. [12] X Research source

Community Q&A

• Find a quote that is meaningful to you, not just one you found in a list on the internet. If the context and wording of the quote speak to you, you’re more likely to connect it to your essay effectively. Thanks Helpful 4 Not Helpful 0

• Some college professors never want to see a quotation begin an essay. Because the method is often overused, there is some bias against it. You can overcome this by doing it very well. Thanks Helpful 4 Not Helpful 1

You Might Also Like

• ↑ http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/cliches/
• ↑ https://www.esu.edu/writing-studio/guides/hook.cfm
• ↑ https://www.ccis.edu/student-life/advising-tutoring/writing-math-tutoring/introduce-quotations
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/punctuation/quotation_marks/index.html
• ↑ https://www.ursinus.edu/live/files/1160-integrating-quotespdf
• ↑ http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/quotations/
• ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/quotations/
• ↑ http://www.otago.ac.nz/classics/otago055219.pdf

About This Article

To start an essay with a quote, introduce the quote by including the name of the author, such as, “John Keats once said…” When you include the quote, put quotation marks around it and make sure to put any punctuation inside the quotation marks. If the quote is long, you can use only part of it or remove sections as long as you insert an ellipses. Once you’ve introduced the quote and the author, provide some context for the quotation and how it ties into the thesis of your essay. 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

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Using Quotations

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How much should I quote?

The focus of your essay should be on your understanding of the topic. If you include too much quotation in your essay, you will crowd out your own ideas. Consider quoting a passage from one of your sources if any of the following conditions holds:

• The language of the passage is particularly elegant or powerful or memorable.
• You wish to confirm the credibility of your argument by enlisting the support of an authority on your topic.
• The passage is worthy of further analysis.
• You wish to argue with someone else’s position in considerable detail.

Condition 3 is especially useful in essays for literature courses.

If an argument or a factual account from one of your sources is particularly relevant to your paper but does not deserve to be quoted verbatim, consider

• paraphrasing the passage if you wish to convey the points in the passage at roughly the same level of detail as in the original
• summarizing the relevant passage if you wish to sketch only the most essential points in the passage

Note that most scientific writing relies on summary rather than quotation. The same is true of writing in those social sciences—such as experimental psychology—that rely on controlled studies and emphasize quantifiable results. (Almost all of the examples in this handout follow the MLA system of citation, which is widely used in the humanities and in those social sciences with a less quantitative approach.)

Visit our handout on paraphrase and summary .

Why is it important to identify my sources?

Quotations come from somewhere, and your reader will want to know where. Don’t just parachute quotations into your essay without providing at least some indication of who your source is. Letting your reader know exactly which authorities you rely on is an advantage: it shows that you have done your research and that you are well acquainted with the literature on your topic.

In the following passage, the parenthetical reference to the author does not adequately identify the source:

The ancient Greeks never saw a need to justify wars that were waged outside the walls of the city state. “Hence we must turn to Roman antiquity to find the first justification of war, together with the first notion that there are just and unjust wars” (Arendt 12). Yet the Roman conception of a just war differs sharply from more modern conceptions.

When you are making decisions about how to integrate quotations into your essay, you might imagine that you are reading the essay out loud to an audience. You would not read the parenthetical note. Without some sort of introduction, your audience would not even know that the statement about Roman antiquity was a quotation, let alone where the quotation came from.

How do I introduce a short quotation?

The following offers just one way of introducing the above quotation:

The ancient Greeks never saw a need to justify wars that were waged outside the walls of the city state. As Hannah Arendt points out in On Revolution , “we must turn to Roman antiquity to find the first justification of war, together with the first notion that there are just and unjust wars” (12). Yet the Roman conception of a just war differs sharply from more modern conceptions.

Since the quotation is relatively short, the brief introduction works.

You could, however, strengthen your analysis by demonstrating the significance of the passage within your own argument. Introducing your quotation with a full sentence would help you assert greater control over the material:

The ancient Greeks never saw a need to justify wars that were waged outside the walls of the city state. In On Revolution , Hannah Arendt points to the role the Romans played in laying the foundation for later thinking about the ethics of waging war: “we must turn to Roman antiquity to find the first justification of war, together with the first notion that there are just and unjust wars” (12). Yet the Roman conception of a just war differs sharply from more modern conceptions.

In these two examples, observe the forms of punctuation used to introduce the quotations. When you introduce a quotation with a full sentence, you should always place a colon at the end of the introductory sentence. When you introduce a quotation with an incomplete sentence, you usually place a comma after the introductory phrase. However, it has become grammatically acceptable to use a colon rather than a comma:

Arendt writes: “we must turn to Roman antiquity to find the first justification of war . . .”

If you are blending the quotation into your own sentence using the conjuction that , do not use any punctuation at all:

Arendt writes that “we must turn to Roman antiquity to find the first justification of war . . .”

If you are not sure whether to punctuate your introduction to a quotation, mentally remove the quotation marks, and ask yourself whether any punctuation is still required.

Finally, note that you can deviate from the common pattern of introduction followed by quotation. Weaving the phrases of others into your own prose offers a stylistically compelling way of maintaining control over your source material. Moreover, the technique of weaving can help you to produce a tighter argument. The following condenses twelve lines from Arendt’s essay to fewer than two:

What Arendt refers to as the “well-known realities of power politics” began to lose their moral legitimacy when the First World War unleashed “the horribly destructive” forces of warfare “under conditions of modern technology” (13).

What verbs and phrases can I use to introduce my quotations?

Familiarize yourself with the various verbs commonly used to introduce quotations. Here is a partial list:

argues writes points out concludes comments notes maintains suggests insists observes counters asserts states claims demonstrates says explains reveals

Each verb has its own nuance. Make sure that the nuance matches your specific aims in introducing the quotation.

There are other ways to begin quotations. Here are three common phrasings:

In the words of X , . . .

According to X , . . .

In X ‘s view, . . .

Vary the way you introduce quotations to avoid sounding monotonous. But never sacrifice precision of phrasing for the sake of variety.

Visit the U of T Writing Website’s page on verbs for referring to sources .

How do I introduce a long quotation?

If your quotation is lengthy, you should almost always introduce it with a full sentence that helps capture how it fits into your argument. If your quotation is longer than four lines, do not place it in quotation marks. Instead, set it off as a block quotation :

Although Dickens never shied away from the political controversies of his time, he never, in Orwell’s view, identified himself with any political program:

The truth is that Dickens’ criticism of society is almost exclusively moral. Hence his lack of any constructive suggestion anywhere in his work. He attacks the law, parliamentary government, the educational system and so forth, without ever clearly suggesting what he would put in their places. Of course it is not necessarily the business of a novelist, or a satirist, to make constructive suggestions, but the point is that Dickens’ attitude is at bottom not even destructive. . . . For in reality his target is not so much society as human nature. (416)

The full-sentence introduction to a block quotation helps demonstrate your grasp of the source material, and it adds analytical depth to your essay. But the introduction alone is not enough. Long quotations almost invariably need to be followed by extended analysis. Never allow the quotation to do your work for you. Usually you will want to keep the quotation and your analysis together in the same paragraph. Hence it is a good idea to avoid ending a paragraph with a quotation. But if your analysis is lengthy, you may want to break it into several paragraphs, beginning afresh after the quotation.

Once in a while you can reverse the pattern of quotation followed by analysis. A felicitously worded or an authoritative quotation can, on occasion, nicely clinch an argument.

There is some flexibility in the rule that block quotations are for passages of four lines or more: a shorter passage can be represented as a block quotation if it is important enough to stand on its own. For example, when you are quoting two or more lines of poetry , you will probably want to display the verse as it appears on the page:

In the opening heroic couplet of The Rape of the Lock , Pope establishes the unheroic nature of the poem’s subject matter:

What dire offense from amorous causes springs, What mighty contests rise from trivial things. (1-2)

If you choose to integrate verse into your own sentence, then use a slash surrounded by spaces to indicate line breaks:

In Eliot’s The Waste Land , the symbols of a mythic past lie buried in “A heap of broken images, where the sun beats, / And the dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief” (22-23).

How do I let my reader know I’ve altered my sources?

If you need to alter your quotations in any way, be sure to indicate just how you have done so. If you remove text, then replace the missing text with an ellipsis —three periods surrounded by spaces:

In The Mirror and the Lamp , Abrams comments that the “diversity of aesthetic theories . . . makes the task of the historian a very difficult one” (5).

If the omitted text occurs between sentences, then put a space after the period at the end of sentence, and follow that by an ellipsis. In all, there will be four periods. (See Orwell on Dickens, above.)

Many people overuse ellipses at the beginning and end of quotations. Use an ellipsis in either place only when your reader might otherwise mistake an incomplete sentence for a complete one:

Abraham Lincoln begins “The Gettysburg Address” with a reminder of the act upon which the United States was founded: “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation . . .” (1).

Do not use an ellipsis if you are merely borrowing a phrase from the original:

In “The Gettysburg Address” Abraham Lincoln reminds his listeners of the principles that had inspired the creation of “a new nation” (1).

If you need to alter or replace text from the original, enclose the added text within square brackets . You may, for example, need to alter text to ensure that pronouns agree with their antecedents. Do not write,

Gertrude asks her son Hamlet to “cast your nighted colour off” (1.2.68).

Square brackets allow you to absorb Gertrude’s words into your own statement:

Gertrude asks her son Hamlet to “cast [his] nighted colour off” (1.2.68).

Alternatively, you can include Gertrude’s original phrasing in its entirety as long as the introduction to the quotation is not fully integrated with the quotation. The introduction can be an independent clause:

Gertrude implores her son Hamlet to stop mourning the death of his father: “cast your nighted colour off” (I.ii.68).

Or it can be an incomplete sentence:

Gertrude implores her son Hamlet, “cast your nighted colour off” (1.2.68).

How is punctuation affected by quotation?

You must preserve the punctuation of a quoted passage, or else you must enclose in square brackets any punctuation marks that are your own.

There is, however, one important exception to this rule. You are free to alter the punctuation just before a closing quotation mark. You may need to do so to ensure that your sentences are fully grammatical. Do not worry about how the original sentence needs to be punctuated before that quotation mark; think about how your sentence needs to be punctuated. Note, for example, that if you are using the MLA system of referencing, a sentence always ends after the parenthetical reference. Do not also include a period before closing the quotation mark, even if there is a period there in the original. For example, do not write,

According to Schama, Louis XVI remained calm during his trial: “The Terror had no power to frighten an old man of seventy-two.” (822).

The period before the closing quotation mark must go:

According to Schama, Louis XVI remained calm during his trial: “The Terror had no power to frighten an old man of seventy-two” (822).

However, if you are using footnotes, the period remains inside the quotation mark, while the footnote number goes outside:

According to Schama, Louis XVI remained calm during his trial: “The Terror had no power to frighten an old man of seventy-two.” 1

In Canada and the United States, commas and periods never go outside a quotation mark. They are always absorbed as part of the quotation, whether they belong to you or to the author you are quoting:

“I am a man / more sinned against than sinning,” Lear pronounces in Act 3, Scene 2 (59-60).

However, stronger forms of punctuation such as question marks and exclamation marks go inside the quotation if they belong to the author, and outside if they do not:

Bewildered, Lear asks the fool, “Who is it that can tell me who I am?” (1.4.227).

Why is Lear so rash as to let his “two daughters’ dowers digest the third” (1.1.127)?

Finally, use single quotation marks for all quotations within quotations:

When Elizabeth reveals that her younger sister has eloped, Darcy drops his customary reserve: “‘I am grieved, indeed,’ cried Darcy, ‘grieved—shocked'” (Austen 295).

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• Writing Tips

How to Introduce Quotes in Academic Writing

3-minute read

• 17th October 2019

It would be hard to write a good essay  without quoting sources. And as well as using quote marks , this means working quotations into your own writing. But how can you do this? In this post, we provide a few helpful tips on how to introduce quotes (short and long) in academic writing.

Introducing Short Quotations

The easiest way to quote a source is to work a short passage (sometimes just a single word) into your own sentence. For example:

The tomb was one of archaeology’s “most intriguing discoveries” (Andronicus, 1978, p. 55) and has fascinated researchers ever since.

Here, the only requirements placing the quoted text within quotation marks and making sure the quote follows grammatically from the surrounding text.

Quoting After a Colon

If you need to quote a source after a full sentence, introduce it with a colon:

On the basis of Philip II’s estimated date of death, Andronicus (1978) draws a conclusion :  “This, in all probability, must be his tomb” (p. 76).

When using a colon to introduce a quotation, the text before the colon must be a full sentence. The text after the colon, however, can be just a few words.

Quoting After a Comma

Alternatively, you can use a comma to introduce a quote. When doing this, the quoted text should follow from the preceding sentence (usually after a word like “says” or “argues”):

Andronicus (1978) says ,  “The weapons bore witness that the tomb could not have belonged to a commoner” (p. 73).

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However, when a quote follows the word “that,” no comma is needed:

Andronicus (1978) says  that “The weapons bore witness that the tomb could not have belonged to a commoner” (p. 73).

Block Quotes

Finally, for longer quotations, use a  block quote . These are also introduced with a colon, but they don’t have to follow a full sentence. Furthermore, quoted text should be indented and the block quote should begin on a new line. For example, we could introduce a block quote as follows:

Andronicus (1978) describes the fresco in the following terms:

The barely visible painting depicts three hunters with spears and five horsemen with dogs pursuing their prey, wild boars and lions. This and three other paintings discovered in the adjacent tomb are among the few extant examples of fourth-century BC Greek frescoes. (p. 72)

This emphasizes how important the discovery was for understanding…

Usually, you’ll only need block quotes for passages with more than 40 words (or four lines). The exact rules depend on the reference system you’re using, though, so be sure to check your style guide. And, when in doubt, you can always submit a document for proofreading . We can help make sure your quotations are fully integrated into the rest of your text.

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So much is at stake in writing a conclusion. This is, after all, your last chance to persuade your readers to your point of view, to impress yourself upon them as a writer and thinker. And the impression you create in your conclusion will shape the impression that stays with your readers after they've finished the essay.

The end of an essay should therefore convey a sense of completeness and closure as well as a sense of the lingering possibilities of the topic, its larger meaning, its implications: the final paragraph should close the discussion without closing it off.

To establish a sense of closure, you might do one or more of the following:

• Conclude by linking the last paragraph to the first, perhaps by reiterating a word or phrase you used at the beginning.
• Conclude with a sentence composed mainly of one-syllable words. Simple language can help create an effect of understated drama.
• Conclude with a sentence that's compound or parallel in structure; such sentences can establish a sense of balance or order that may feel just right at the end of a complex discussion.

To close the discussion without closing it off, you might do one or more of the following:

• Conclude with a quotation from or reference to a primary or secondary source, one that amplifies your main point or puts it in a different perspective. A quotation from, say, the novel or poem you're writing about can add texture and specificity to your discussion; a critic or scholar can help confirm or complicate your final point. For example, you might conclude an essay on the idea of home in James Joyce's short story collection,  Dubliners , with information about Joyce's own complex feelings towards Dublin, his home. Or you might end with a biographer's statement about Joyce's attitude toward Dublin, which could illuminate his characters' responses to the city. Just be cautious, especially about using secondary material: make sure that you get the last word.
• Conclude by setting your discussion into a different, perhaps larger, context. For example, you might end an essay on nineteenth-century muckraking journalism by linking it to a current news magazine program like  60 Minutes .
• Conclude by redefining one of the key terms of your argument. For example, an essay on Marx's treatment of the conflict between wage labor and capital might begin with Marx's claim that the "capitalist economy is . . . a gigantic enterprise of dehumanization "; the essay might end by suggesting that Marxist analysis is itself dehumanizing because it construes everything in economic -- rather than moral or ethical-- terms.
• Conclude by considering the implications of your argument (or analysis or discussion). What does your argument imply, or involve, or suggest? For example, an essay on the novel  Ambiguous Adventure , by the Senegalese writer Cheikh Hamidou Kane, might open with the idea that the protagonist's development suggests Kane's belief in the need to integrate Western materialism and Sufi spirituality in modern Senegal. The conclusion might make the new but related point that the novel on the whole suggests that such an integration is (or isn't) possible.

Finally, some advice on how not to end an essay:

• Don't simply summarize your essay. A brief summary of your argument may be useful, especially if your essay is long--more than ten pages or so. But shorter essays tend not to require a restatement of your main ideas.
• Avoid phrases like "in conclusion," "to conclude," "in summary," and "to sum up." These phrases can be useful--even welcome--in oral presentations. But readers can see, by the tell-tale compression of the pages, when an essay is about to end. You'll irritate your audience if you belabor the obvious.
• Resist the urge to apologize. If you've immersed yourself in your subject, you now know a good deal more about it than you can possibly include in a five- or ten- or 20-page essay. As a result, by the time you've finished writing, you may be having some doubts about what you've produced. (And if you haven't immersed yourself in your subject, you may be feeling even more doubtful about your essay as you approach the conclusion.) Repress those doubts. Don't undercut your authority by saying things like, "this is just one approach to the subject; there may be other, better approaches. . ."

Copyright 1998, Pat Bellanca, for the Writing Center at Harvard University

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How to Successfully Put a Quote in Your College Essay

If you have to write an essay, whether it is at school, university, or professional level, then you have to use a textual quotation to give it a better result. In case you have no idea how to add quotes in an essay, don’t worry because in this article you will find the help you need so that you can do it quickly and easily. Many students request “ write my essay ” because they fear plagiarism, in case they need to use quotes in their paper. There is nothing wrong with using essay writing services, but we want to help you figure out how to write the best essay possible on your own.

When writing academic texts, such as research and scientific articles, as well as any other type of writing, it is very important to recognize the origin of the information presented. Otherwise, you would be resorting to a fault that may even have legal consequences, since in the eyes of the whole world it would be plagiarism.

Applying a system for citation references in your research or essay will give solidity to your statements and hypotheses, in addition to providing reliability to your work. Thus, in a world where almost everything seems to be already said, it is quite rare to find an essay, a paper, or research that does not have bibliographic citations. Most likely it is a text with ideas taken from somewhere else.

What is the purpose of quotations in an essay?

The quotation consists of the mention of a certain phrase, idea, or text, which is used to give the reader clarity about the origin of certain information. This will allow the reader to be able to go directly to the sources if they are cited correctly. The omission of this reference is the one that is punished because it would be a kind of deception that violates intellectual rights.

For the text of an essay to have a more professional and serious touch, it is necessary to include information from various sources, such as books, articles, or encyclopedias. And that’s precisely what essay quotes are for. To give you a clearer idea of the concept you are trying to explain, you can only quote the following:

• Another person’s idea, opinion, or theory;
• Word references;
• Third party’s words;
• Data, graphics, images, or any content that is not public.

How to make a textual quotation in an essay?

Several details should be taken into account to make a textual quotation in an essay optimally and simply. Although it only consists of adding a text in the essay, the steps to carry out this process with more details are as follows:

• Add the last name and first name of the original author;
• Enter the year of publication;
• Add the name of the book;
• Write the name of the publishing house that published the book.

The most widely used format for referencing bibliographic citations in the world of social sciences and behavioral sciences is the APA, which was developed by the American Psychological Association (APA) in 1840.

APA has established a series of rules that you must follow to the letter if you do not want to have problems when applying to any academic journal that requires APA. They are usually very strict with this type of regulation, which is why many papers end up being rejected by the institution or the related academic committee.

Here are some of the most important rules that you should keep in mind when writing your essay if it will develop any topic of social sciences:

• Place the respective reference every time you use a source in your essays, both directly within the text, as well as in a list of references that should go at the end of all pages, but before the appendices section;
• The reference that is placed directly in the text, when it is a paraphrase or a synthesis that you took from another author, you must specify, in parentheses, the last name of the author of the essay, followed by a comma and then the year in which it was published;
• If the reference is a quotation taken verbatim from another research, article, essay, or work, you must indicate, after the author’s last name, as in the previous case, a comma and the number of pages in which the information referred to is found;
• This information, by the way, is not only written in parentheses. If the author’s name was given in the same sentence or immediately before, you can omit it and place the missing one in parentheses;
• If you want to reference a text that does not have a page number (as is the case with many that are currently browsing the web, for example), you can use the number of the paragraph in which it is found, and if it does not have this type of information either, we recommend you count the paragraphs from the title onwards.

We hope you have managed to clear up all those doubts you had on this subject. Now you can make textual quotations in an essay, it is not complicated and you only have to follow the guidelines mentioned in this post.

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Exclusive-Biden to Put Tariffs on China Medical Supplies - Sources

FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Joe Biden speaks about student protests at U.S. universities, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, during brief remarks in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, U.S., May 2, 2024. REUTERS/Nathan Howard/File Photo

By Jarrett Renshaw and Trevor Hunnicutt

(Reuters) - The Biden administration is expected to issue new tariffs on Chinese-made medical devices like syringes and personal protective equipment when it unveils its new trade strategy next week, according to two sources familiar with the decision.

The expected moves are part of the administration's broader strategy to protect the U.S. against supply shortages seen during the COVID pandemic that left hospitals scrambling to find critical equipment, the sources said.

President Joe Biden is set to announce new China tariffs as soon as next week targeting strategic sectors including electric vehicles, solar panels and steel. The size and the scale of the tariffs on medical equipment is unclear.

The White House declined to comment.

For years, China’s leaders have worried that the country depended too much on foreign sources for everything from medical supplies to microchips and used subsidies, economic targets and other government inducements to emerge as a powerhouse in those important industries.

The COVID pandemic exposed a lack of U.S. production of critical medical equipment from gowns and masks to ventilators and the U.S. turned to China for help to fill the gap.

Imports of syringes from China peaked at $348 million in 2021, but have declined since to about $167 million last year, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

(Reporting By Jarrett Renshaw and Trevor Hunnicutt; additional reporting by David Lawder. Editing by Heather Timmons and Caitlin Webber)

Copyright 2024 Thomson Reuters .

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