I also have to know what I'm going to write throughout my essay to find my first sentence.
Sometimes I use news in brief and something which has a connection with the suject of my essay. Or in France we like uing an author's sentence to begin with.
Our teacher, said us differently: the most mistakes that students do is - writte above the text in the right corner somebodies quotes!!! so, please don´t use this one, it is big problem here in England!!! Do it in your Countries, but not HERE!!!
Hello there Kanych,
I would just like to clarify the points you have made here.
I think what Michelle is saying is that, in France, a writer might like to quote from another author (or an authority on a subject) at the beginning of an essay. We also have this convention in some types of English writing. An interesting and thought-provoking quotation can be a very effective way to engage the reader and to introduce the overall theme of your essay.
However, it really does depend on the type of writing that you are doing. To begin your essay with a quote may not be appropriate in a scientific report, but it might be very suitable in an essay of literary criticism. But I would stress that it not something that is definitively "right" or "wrong" - it really comes down to choosing the most appropriate conventions for the type of writing you are doing. And the best way to learn those conventions is to read lots of articles and essays that have been written by experts and scholars in your discipline.
But as you say, we should certainly avoid writing quotes from other authors in the top right-hand corner of our essays!! However, you might scribble notes and quotes all over your early drafts while you're perfecting your writing!!
Thanks for the interesting discussion!!
Best wishes,
Martin