Freshman Studies, Fall 2001

Bloom

Paragraphs that Analyze Quotes—Do’s and Do Not’s

DO provide a topic sentence that summarizes what the paragraph argues and explains
briefly how this paragraph helps prove the thesis statement.
DO provide a final sentence that summarizes what we’ve learned from the paragraph and
pushes us forward to the next paragraph
The Socratic education system is designe d to put some mental safeguards in
place, in an attempt to prevent the guardians from breaking the bonds of
trust between themselves and the rest of their society. Socrates puts forth the
idea that poetry and prose must not depict the gods or the heroes as doing
anything deceitful or evil. In portraying the gods and heroes in such a fashion, the
writers give the readers the idea that the gods and heroes who are the sons of the
gods are less than perfect and will cause the audience to be "lenient towards their
own shortcomings if that [evil] is and was always done by the relatives of the
gods" (89). In portraying the heroes as less than perfect, the poets give the
audience members the idea that it is perfectly acceptable that they, as mere
mortals, are flawed. Socrates would do away with all literature in the educating
of the guardians that treats gods this way. If the guardians are only allowed to
see the good and glorious works of the gods and heroes, they will be instilled
with what is right, or so says Socrates.

DO feel free to break up the quote, using only those pieces that are useful to your claim.
It can be highly effective to substitute some of the language of the text for your own, as
long as you analyze key terms.
Just as the stories themselves are to exemplify the just man, so must the story-
tellers exhibit goodness. More specifically, Plato says these educators must
"severe rather than amusing," must "portray the style of the good man," and in
their poetry "abide by the principles we laid down for them" (98). In other words,
they must not be silly or humorous, they must not act as unjust men (95-96), and
the stories the y tell must uphold and glorify the virtues of the city (73-89).

DON’T assume that your paraphrase of a quote automatically proves your point. Make
the extra effort to clarify the significance of the quote to your argument.
DO analyze specific words/phrases from the quote if they help prove your argument
about the text.
And DO demonstrate how each of your claims in the paragraph relates to the others.

… The phrase "principles we laid down for them" suggests that if individuals
weren't forced to follow the principles that were laid down, they would not do the
right thing--they wouldn't be able to be trusted. It suggests that individuals
 inherently don't have their own principles. The word "attempt" in the above
quote also signifies Plato's he sitancy to put full faith in the individuals--the
education of the military class may well fail due to the lack of cooperation of the
story-tellers and poets.

DON’T announce explicitly to your reader that you’re about to quote the text.
This quote shows how through stories and literature Plato wants to glorify those
who stick to their assigned task: “We shall for our own good…

At the same time DON’T drop a citation into the paragraph without giving the reader
some warning.

DON’T assume the meaning of a quote is self-evident.

The reader should be able to read your paper without reading long quotes and still
grasp the gist of your evidence.