English II: Quote Analysis

Assigned: Tuesday, August 18 Due: Wednesday, August 19

Remembering the words of others is inspiring and important. For your first assignment, you will find and interpret a quote that means something to you. The quote can come from anywhere: a song, poem, book, movie, friend, family member, teacher, coach, prophetic dream, shoe commercial, or billboard. In short, it doesn’t matter where you get the words; they just need to hold meaning for you.

This assignment is worth 10 points and is considered a daily assignment. Break your analysis into two sections: Interpretation and Connection.

Interpretation: 4 points

Interpret the quote. Statethe meaning, as you see it, in your own words. Pull specific words or phrases from the quote to clarify and back up your interpretation. Length will vary from quote to quote. Overall, the analysis should clearly communicate the meaning of the quote as you see it. All sections of the quote should be sufficiently explained.

Personal Connection: 3 points

Your personal response should use specific details to fully discuss why you like this quote and how it relates to you and your life. Show why this quote, out of the many you could have chosen, has special meaning. To receive full points, it should be obvious that you put thought and effort into your personal connection.

Citations and conventions: 3 points

The quote you have chosen should be properly credited to the author and work. It should be free of any mistakes in spelling or punctuation. Also, your quote should be accurate and stated exactly as the author or speaker stated it.

  • If there is a known author, give proper credit to that author. If no one knows who said or wrote it, write “anonymous.”
  • Properly punctuate your quote by setting off what someone else has said or written with quotation marks. The period or other end mark goes inside these quotation marks.

Example: “We have nothing to fear but fear itself.” ~Franklin D. Roosevelt

  • The names of books and movies are underlined or italicized; the names of poems or songs are set off by quotation marks.

Examples:

“I am satisfied-I see, dance, laugh, sing.” ~Walt Whitman, “Song of Myself” (poem)

“…regardless of what weapons they try to use to effect silence, words will always retain their power.” ~ V for Vendetta (movie)

(If your quote comes from another written source, feel free to come to me with formatting questions.)