Note that student work varies significantly from one assignment to the next, even within the same
mark range. The intent behind providing samples such as this one is to guide students in
recognizing key criteria of assignments and in assessing their own work.
SAMPLE QUOTATION ANALYSIS – SATISFACTORY
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Strengths:
• Points are focused on the quotation (thinking).
• This analysis is clearly written in terms of sentence structure and diction (communication).
Tips for Improvement:
• Segments of the original quotation need to be integrated into the explanations (application).
• Topic sentences need to clearly state point of significance (thinking).
• Explanations need to be developed fully. Use more literary terms to describe Pyle's writing
(thinking).
• Reduce repetition in the last few sentences (communication).
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"The water was full of squishy little jellyfish about the size of a man's hand. Millions of
them. In the centre of each of them was a green design exactly like a four-leafed clover. The
good-luck emblem. Sure. Hell, yes" (357).
This quotation comes from a descriptive essay by Ernie Pyle, an American war
correspondent, in which he describes the American invasion of Normandy during World War II.
This paragraph is very important as it comes close to the start of the essay. The water
represents the many places where war took place, may it be battlefields, bodies of water, or the
open sky. In all these places people fought – millions of soldiers, just like the jellyfish. They
inhabited the land, the sky, the water, just as the jellyfish call the water their home. His reference
to the jellyfish portrays some of the characteristics of the men who fought, looking at them as a
group and as individuals. They didn't have much influence or say in their futures or if there
would even be a future for them. All this was left to fate and luck; in other words, they were in
God's hands. The jellyfish were small in the scheme of things, leaving room for so many to
occupy the water. Similarly, the soldiers were not very important to those running the war.
Although they were many, they could not change much as individuals. Luck is further viewed
through the idea of a four-leafed clover. The fact that the design in the centre of each jellyfish
meant such a thing is meaningful. Firstly, that luckiness and good fortune could be associated
with the war in any way is odd. The majority of those involved were not lucky, and good fortune
did not come upon many individuals as a result. Most still had hope that they would be one of the
lucky few. The soldiers really hoped to be lucky. The reason they kept going was on the basis of
hope, and luck was what their central goal was.
Work Cited
Pyle, Ernie. "On the Road to Berlin." Echoes 12: Fiction, Media and Non-Fiction. Ed.
Francine Artichuk et al. Don Mills: Oxford University Press, 2002. 357. Print.