The short answer is that, in order of importance, the best quotes will contain or do the following things:
- Answer the question
- Contain one or more keywords (with powerful connotations)
- Contain language techniques or structure techniques
- Must be trimmed to the parts you want to analyse
Now, keep reading to find out why and also how you can make sure your quotes are up to scratch.
What Are Quotes In English GCSE?
We use quotations as evidence in English GCSE to prove our ideas about how writers create their magic. The examiner wants to see proof because they want to know that students’ ideas are based on things that they’ve actually noticed and seen within the writing of a particular text.
Quotations are mostly used as evidence for language techniques but they can also sometimes serve as quotes for structure techniques.
This guide will focus on finding and selecting quotations to serve as evidence for language analysis which involves analysing the effect of keywords, key phrases and language techniques.
If you want to learn more about analysing language, then read our:
GCSE English Language Analysis| EASY Beginner’s Grade 9 Guide
If you want to learn more about analysing structure and form, then read our:
GCSE English Structure And Form Analysis| EASY Grade 9 Guide
Right, let’s learn…
How To Pick The Best English GCSE Quotes:
How do we know what the best quotes look like?
In order of importance, we said above that the best quotes will contain or do the following things:
- Answer the question
- Contain one or more keywords (with powerful connotations)
- Contain language techniques or structure techniques
- Must be trimmed to the parts you want to analyse
We’ll cover the 4 points above, one-by-one. Let’s get stuck in!
.1 The best quotes: Answer the question
It might sound completely obvious that your quote must answer the question but not sticking to the question is a very common mistake!
When looking at any text in an exam, the first thing you should do is always highlight anything that you think could be evidence that will answer the question.
It’s always best to highlight all the quotes that you think could answer the question.
Then look at them again to see which ones contain lots of juicy keywords and techniques (don’t worry, we will come to this in a moment) that will allow you to explore and analyse ideas.
Right, let’s move onto the second requirement for what makes the best quotes…
2. The best quotes: Contain one or more keywords (with powerful connotations)
What is a keyword?
- Keyword means the most important or powerful word.
- It is the word in a sentence that makes the most impact.
- This impact could be an emotion or a mood (we call this ’tone’ in English GCSE).
- This impact could also be to create a more powerful image.
- There can be more than one keyword in any sentence.
Great keywords should help you link to other ideas and images (which are called connotations).
For instance, the connotations of the word ‘red’ are heat, passion, anger or love.
So, keywords help us to think of the ideas we need to explain how the quote works on the readers’ minds.
Here’s an example:
“The ribbon of road flowed across the landscape.”
The keyword “ribbon” has been underlined because…
The image “ribbon” creates is a beautiful road, long and winding road.
The emotions it creates are joy and the excitement and optimism of adventure.
There is also another keyword. I’ve underlined it for you too.
“The ribbon of road flowed across the landscape.”
The keyword “flowed” has been underlined because it adds more detail to the image…
The image “flowed” creates is that of water flowing as the road is like a meandering river; this could also link to the idea of unrestricted and total freedom.
The emotions it reinforces are joy and the excitement of freedom.
Golden Rule: If you can’t think of anything to say about the keywords in your quote, choose another quote!
STOP! If you’re feeling a little lost and want to learn about how to analyse the connotations of a keyword then visit our totally awesome:
GCSE English Language Analysis| EASY Beginner’s Grade 9 Guide
RECAP
Okay, now back to our main list about what makes the best quotes.
So far we’ve learned that the best quote:
- Answers the question
- Contains one or more keywords (with powerful connotations)
This brings us neatly to…
3. The Best Quotes Contain Language Techniques Or Structure Techniques
What are language techniques? How do I analyse language techniques in English?
Language techniques (also known as literary techniques) are writers’ tricks that create a special effect on readers.
They can also be used for poetry and structure. Even the form of a text and character development can be regarded as techniques.
Language techniques focus on words and the images they create in our minds through the senses they recreate (taste, touch, smell, sound and most commonly, sight).
For instance, metaphors, similes, alliteration and emotive language are all types of language techniques.
There are hundreds of language techniques, but luckily you only need to know about 25 to get a Grade 9 in GCSE English.
In this quote below, there is a metaphor with some cool keywords that can be analysed.
He was a wolf among sheep.
We know that the two keywords “wolf” and “sheep” are emotive language because they both create emotions of fear.
A metaphor is a language technique. These keywords are metaphors because:
- The man is compared to a “wolf” to create a more powerful image.
- The people around him are compared to “sheep” to create a more powerful image.
- There is no use of the words ‘like’ or ‘as’ to make the comparison (if there was, that would make it a simile).
Here’s what a paragraph answer would look like in response to a question about the writer’s methods.
How does the writer present the man?
The writer creates a sense of fear about the man in, “he was a wolf amongst sheep.” The metaphor “wolf” implies the man is a dangerous and powerful killer or predator. Furthermore, the additional metaphor “sheep” suggests that the other people are vulnerable, weak, innocent and gentle. Readers may worry for them because they are at risk.
It’s that easy! As long as you do the basics of keywords first, explore the connotations and link to the effect.
STOP! If you’re feeling a little lost and want to learn about how to analyse language techniques, then visit our incredible:
GCSE English Language Analysis| EASY Beginner’s Grade 9 Guide
You can always come back to this page afterwards – we’ll be waiting!
If you’re good then we’ll continue with the final part of our guide on how to pick the best quotes…
RECAP
Okay, that brings us into the final of the four parts of this about what makes the best quotes.
So far we’ve learned that the best quotes must:
- Answer the question
- Contain one or more keywords
- Contain techniques
This brings us finally to…
4. Quotes Must Be Trimmed To The Parts You Want To Analyse
Why do we need to trim quotes?
The GCSE exam mark schemes expect the best students to not only pick the best quotes (which we have covered above) but also only select the parts that they need.
As far as an examiner is concerned there is nothing worse than an overly-long quotation that isn’t fully analysed. The golden rule is: if you’re not going to analyse it then don’t include it (unless it helps to make sense of the quote).
How do I trim quotes for English GCSE?
Okay, there are two ways in which you trim down your quotes.
- Trim away anything that is not needed from either end.
- trimming out sections of text in between keywords that are not necessary.
Trim quotes at the ends.
Firstly, pick quotations that are between 4 – 5 words in length unless you have a very good reason. Also cut away any words that are unnecessary.
Here is an extract from the poem Remember by Christina Rossetti:
Remember me when I am gone away,
Gone far away into the silent land;
When you can no more hold me by the hand,
We want a quote that could be evidence of how Rossetti depicts love.
It is tempting to use the whole of the third line:
“When you can no more hold me by the hand”
However, the first part of the line – “when you can no more…” – is more to do with the death that might separate the two lovers rather than Rossetti’s depiction of love.
So we should trim it to:
“hold me by the hand” because this links directly to the question about love.
So, we end up with:
QUESTION: How does Christina Rossetti present love in the poem Remember?
Rossetti depicts the bond that is created through love in, “hold me by the hand.” The symbolism of “hold… hand” is traditionally viewed as providing safety and human connection. In the poem, readers imagine the intimacy that is implied by the physical contact between the narrator and her lover and feel empathy and sorrow about their potential separation.
NOTICE:
That we don’t just leave words in because they are part of the poem’s line.
We may also keep words that help the quote to make sense (for instance, “… me by the…”)
Examiners hate long quotes that have unanalysed sections.
Therefore, we only include:
- Words that help the quote make sense AND
- Words we will analyse.
GOLDEN RULE: If you include it in your quote then make sure you analyse it.
Trim quotes in the middle.
You probably noticed that we also trimmed the words away in the middle in the analysis above when exploring the symbolism of the keywords “hold… hand.”
You might also have to trim words away in the middle if two keywords that are connected but are separated by a number of words that will take you over your 5 – 7 word limit.
Again you can cut words away and replace them with ellipsis (which are three dots like this… ).
Here’s another example:
You might remember that we also did something similar when we discussed how to analyse structure above and we removed the text between two quotes from two different stanzas to show the relationship between the words “Rural England… foreign dust” from the poem War Photographer by Carol Anne Duffy.
Here are stanzas 2 and 3. The keywords are in bold. See how many words we trimmed away 10 lines from the middle to create the quote “Rural England… foreign dust.”
War Photographer by Carol Anne Duffy. (Stanzas 2 and 3)
He has a job to do. Solutions slop in trays
beneath his hands, which did not tremble then
though seem to now. Rural England. Home again
to ordinary pain which simple weather can dispel,
to fields which don’t explode beneath the feet
of running children in a nightmare heat.
Something is happening. A stranger’s features
faintly start to twist before his eyes,
a half-formed ghost. He remembers the cries
of this man’s wife, how he sought approval
without words to do what someone must
and how the blood stained into foreign dust.
“Rural England… foreign dust” allows us to place the 2 keyphrases next to each to help us analyse and contrast them side-by-side.
RECAP
Okay, that completes the four parts of this about what makes the best quotes.
- Answer the question
- Contain one or more keywords
- Contain language techniques or structure techniques
- Quotes Must Be Trimmed To The Parts You Want To Analyse
There’s one last thing about picking the best quotes.
Make sure your quotes are taken from across the text. They should never be concentrated in one area because you need to show understanding of the entire text.
Yes, this means that you should always discuss the ending and its relevance to the question you have been asked even if that is not the main purpose of the text.
That’s it! You hit the jackpot – everything you need to know about English GCSE quotes to get a Grade 9.
Now you just need to practise, practise, practise…
There’s a lot of information here – probably too much to remember in one go. So, bookmark this page and come back to it whenever you need a reminder when you next have to analyse something.
Good Luck !
