Starting off an essay with a quote

Purpose-written paragraphs have broader latitude to do so than have found quotations. To start with a quote is not wrong, but you may do better, as onomatomaniak suggested, to "think of an engaging first sentence that makes the reader think you have something interesting to say.".

It is better to find a quote of a person who isn’t well-known. You can use a part of a long quote not to bore your reader in the very beginning of your paper. If you have found an interesting saying, don’t rush to use it for your piece of writing. You need to conduct research on the history of the quote and create a successful methodology.

To start with a quote is not wrong, but you may do better, as onomatomaniak suggested, to "think of an engaging first sentence that makes the reader think you have something interesting to say."

Quotations should always appear with quotation marks around them. Failing to use quotation marks may result in plagiarism. 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.