QUOTE EXPLICATIONS

1. QUOTE EXPLICATIONS It is possible to write them without getting all stressed out! (and they can be well-written, too!)

2. What the heck is a quote explication? Yet another new invention created by English teachers to torture students? WRONG! We don’t need new ways to torture you. The old ways are quite good.

3. WHAT IS A QUOTE EXPLICATION? An explication is a single paragraph that focuses its argument on one particular passage in a piece of literature.

4. Operative Word #1: PARAGRAPH • You are being asked to write a single paragraph. Roughly, a mere eight sentences. • All the rules regarding paragraph and essay writing still apply here.

5. Basic Rules Sentence #1: Topic Sentence/Argument • It is a statement of what you will prove in the paragraph. • The sentence MUST address the prompt you are given.

6. Basic Rules Sentence #2: FIRST piece of evidence to support your argument. • This sentence must include a direct quote from the passage. • Don’t use your strongest quote for this sentence.

7. Basic Rules Sentence #3: Analysis of or commentary on the quote you used in sentence #2. • What does the quote show to help you prove your thesis? • Clearly explain the connection.

8. Basic Rules Sentence #4: MORE analysis of the quote you used in sentence #2. • What else does the quote show to help you prove your thesis? • If the quote is good, then you should have more to say about it.

9. Basic Rules Sentence #5: SECOND piece of evidence to support your argument. • This sentence must also include a direct quote from the passage. • This is the strongest piece of evidence. Save the best for last.

10. Basic Rules Sentence #6: Analysis of the quote you used in sentence #5. • What does the quote show to help you prove your thesis?

11. Basic Rules Sentence #7: MORE analysis of the quote you used in sentence #5. • What else does the quote show to help you prove your thesis?

12. Basic Rules Sentence #8: Concluding sentence. • Demonstrate that you are finished proving your argument through summation.

13. Operative Word #2: ARGUMENT • Your paragraph must contain an argument. This is not a verbal conflict. NO ONE IS YELLING! argument = something you need to prove

14. Operative Word #2: ARGUMENT • This is the key to your explication. • The better your argument is, the easier the explication will be to write. • The more sophisticated your argument is, the better your grade will be.

15. Operative Word #2: ARGUMENT Your argument must address the prompt given for the explication.

16. Example “Every day I had to work in the garden. Every day I reclaimed from the rocky soil of the hill a few more feet of earth to cultivate. The land of the llano was not good for farming, the good land was along the river. But my mother wanted a garden and I worked to make

17. Example (continued) her happy. Already we had a few chile and tomato plants growing. It was hard work. My fingers bled from scraping out the rocks and it seemed that a square yard of ground produced a wheelbarrow full of rocks which I had to push down to the retaining wall.” (Anaya, 10-11)

18. EXPLICATION PROMPT How does the author, Rudolfo Anaya, use imagery to create an analogy or parallel between Tony’s work in the garden and the struggles of his life in general?

19. Now what do I do? Read the prompt carefully, making note of the important words and phrases. Look up words you do not understand!

20. Look up words you do not understand! imagery – the descriptive words and phrases an author uses to re-create sensory experiences (appealing to any one of the five senses) by referring to “concrete” objects, scenes, actions, or states of being.

21. Look up words you do not understand! analogy – a logical comparison of two pairs of items Pair #1 = Tony’s work and the garden Pair #2 = Tony’s struggle and life in general

22. EXPLICATION PROMPT How does the author, Rudolfo Anaya, use imagery to create an analogy or parallel between Tony’s work in the garden and the struggles of his life in general? THE ARGUMENT (SENTENCE #1) Through the imagery used to describe Tony’s efforts to create a productive garden in the rough terrain of the llano, Rudolfo Anaya constructs a distinct parallel to Tony’s struggles in his daily life.

23. Operative Word #3: PASSAGE • The easiest part about writing an explication is that you are GIVEN the passage you need to write about. (Don’t look for quotes elsewhere!)

24. THE ARGUMENT (SENTENCE #1) Through his descriptive imagery of Tony’s efforts to create a productive garden in the rough terrain of the llano, Rudolfo Anaya constructs a distinct parallel to Tony’s struggles in his daily life. FIRST EXAMPLE (SENTENCE #2) Working in the garden every day, Tony “reclaim[s] from the rocky soil of the hill a few more feet of earth to cultivate” (Anaya, 10).

25. FIRST EXAMPLE (SENTENCE #2) Working in the garden every day, Tony “reclaim[s] from the rocky soil of the hill a few more feet of earth to cultivate” (Anaya, 10). Notice how the quote is INTEGRATED into the sentence. Good QUOTE INTEGRATION means that words you take directly from the passage are woven smoothly into your own prose.

26. FIRST EXAMPLE (SENTENCE #2) Working in the garden every day, Tony “reclaim[s] from the rocky soil of the hill a few more feet of earth to cultivate” (Anaya, 10). ANALYSIS (SENTENCE #3) Tony’s act of reclaiming the earth of the llano suggests a conflict similar to the clash he experiences between the opposing lifestyles of the Marez and Luna families.

27. ANALYSIS (SENTENCE #3) Tony’s act of reclaiming the earth of the llano suggests a conflict similar to the clash he experiences between the opposing lifestyles of the Marez and Luna families. MORE ANALYSIS (SENTENCE #4) His Luna mother exerts her will not only over Tony and her husband Gabriel, but over the land itself, charging Tony, who is still a small boy, with the responsibility of changing the landscape of their lives.

28. THE ARGUMENT (SENTENCE #1) Through his descriptive imagery of Tony’s efforts to create a productive garden in the rough terrain of the llano, Rudolfo Anaya constructs a distinct parallel to Tony’s struggles in his daily life. SECOND EXAMPLE (SENTENCE #5) In his childlike desire to please his mother, Tony complies, but the effort of “scraping out the rocks” causes his “fingers [to bleed]” (Anaya, 10-11).

29. SECOND EXAMPLE (SENTENCE #5) In his childlike desire to please his mother, Tony complies, but the effort of “scraping out the rocks” causes his “fingers [to bleed]” (Anaya, 10-11). ANALYSIS (SENTENCE #6) The difficulty Tony feels in navigating between the conflicting desires of his parents is echoed in his labors to extract rocks from the soil.

30. ANALYSIS (SENTENCE #6) The difficulty Tony feels in navigating between the conflicting desires of his parents is echoed in his labors to extract the rocks from the soil. MORE ANALYSIS (SENTENCE #7) The constant scraping to remove the unwanted characteristics of his different heritages causes wounds so profound that he sheds blood.

31. MORE ANALYSIS (SENTENCE #7) The constant scraping to remove the unwanted characteristics of his different heritages causes wounds so profound that he sheds blood. CONCLUSION (SENTENCE #8) Anaya communicates that the struggles of life are not without pain and consequence. Just as soil must be prepared for growing a garden, so must we cultivate our lives in order to flourish beyond childhood.

32. Notice that my conclusion was actually two sentences long. That’s okay. No one is counting sentences. • What if I need more than two sentences to state my argument. That’s okay. No one is counting sentences. • What if I need more than two sentences to analyze my quote. That’s okay. No one is counting sentences.

33. Initially, it will be helpful to follow the eight sentence formula. Please do so. However, as you improve your writing skills, you should move away from this strict set of rules.