The Writing Prompt: Writing About a Quote Catherine Wishart Literacy Coach Copyright © All rights reserved.

Responding to an Inspirational Quote

Sometimes quotes are inspirational:Sometimes quotes are inspirational: –If you can imagine it, you can achieve it; if you can dream it, you can become it.” William Arthur Ward quotes.info/inspirational-quotes-1.html What does this quote mean?What does this quote mean? –It’s talking about how people make their own destiny by their attitude What does this quote mean to me?What does this quote mean to me? –Think of a personal story where your attitude helped you achieve something you didn’t think you could achieve

A Sample Response to this Quote Introduction: –Write name of author and quote in a sentence. –“Of course, this quote means different things to different people.” –“But what does this quote mean to me? As for me…. (thesis that lists three ideas) Paragraph 2, 3, and 4 –Topic sentence (paragraph 2 for first part of thesis, paragraph 3 for second part of thesis, and paragraph 4 for last part of thesis –In each paragraph, give one or two examples to prove the topic sentence is correct ConclusionConclusion –“In conclusion, (the author) was right (or wrong!) –Explain why you agree or disagree with the author –Restate your thesis statement using different words

Planning a Response to This Quote: The Introductory Paragraph State the quote and the author in the first sentence.State the quote and the author in the first sentence. Point out that this quote means different things to different people.Point out that this quote means different things to different people. Ask, “But what does this quote mean to me?”Ask, “But what does this quote mean to me?” Write a thesis statement. Your thesis statement will change according to your response.Write a thesis statement. Your thesis statement will change according to your response. –You can start your thesis statement with: “As for me….” Try to list three ideas in your thesis statement that you will talk about. These three ideas will be your outline for your essay.Try to list three ideas in your thesis statement that you will talk about. These three ideas will be your outline for your essay.

A Sample Response to this Quote: The Introductory Paragraph According to William Arthur Ward, “If you can imagine it, you can achieve it; if you can dream it, you can become it.” Of course, this quote means different things to different people. But what does this quote mean to me? As for me, this quote reminds me of my hard work to become better at math. In order to become better at math, I had to make a plan, follow it through, and check for results.

The Second Paragraph: Answering the First Part of the Thesis Statement Thesis statement: In order to become better at math, I had to make a plan, follow it through, and check for results.Thesis statement: In order to become better at math, I had to make a plan, follow it through, and check for results. This paragraph should talk about the plan to get better at math.This paragraph should talk about the plan to get better at math.

A Sample Response to this Quote: The Second Paragraph I knew that getting bad grades in math was a big problem. So I had to make a plan to get better grades in school. For my plan to work, I had to change some things about how I spent my time. First of all, I needed to spend at least one hour four nights a week on studying math. Second of all, because I didn’t understand some of the things in my math book, I had to spend some time each weekend at the library to find other books that explained things so I understood them. Finally, I decided that part of my plan would be to get my sister to help me one day a week. My sister is very good at math, so if we spent an hour a week together, I thought she would be able to help me understand what was confusing me.

The Third Paragraph: Answering the Second Part of the Thesis Statemen t Thesis statement: In order to become better at math, I had to make a plan, follow it through, and check for results.Thesis statement: In order to become better at math, I had to make a plan, follow it through, and check for results. This paragraph should be about how to follow through with the plan.This paragraph should be about how to follow through with the plan.

A Sample Response to this Quote: The Third Paragraph Now I had to follow through on my plan. To make sure I followed through on my plan, I got a calendar. I spent time deciding when I would study, when I would go to the library, and when I would ask my sister for help. I put little boxes next to each entry on the calendar so I could put a check mark next to each thing that I did on the calendar. I also decided that I was allowed to skip only one thing on the calendar every week. I wanted to make sure that if I missed something, I wouldn’t just give up. The first week was hard, but after that it was easier to follow my own plan.

The Fourth Paragraph: Answering the Third Part of the Thesis Statement Thesis statement: In order to become better at math, I had to make a plan, follow it through, and check for results.Thesis statement: In order to become better at math, I had to make a plan, follow it through, and check for results. This paragraph should be about how to check for results that math grades went up.This paragraph should be about how to check for results that math grades went up.

A Sample Response to this Quote: The Fourth Paragraph After I studied for five weeks, I had to check to make sure that my plan was working. I had three math tests since I started my plan. The first grade was bad, the second grade was a little better, and the third grade was passing. My grades didn’t go from failing to A’s right away, but my grades were getting better. I asked my teacher if I could talk to her about my grades. She said that my grades were getting better and that she thought I could earn a passing grade for the marking period if I kept working hard.

The Fifth Paragraph: Planning the Conclusion Start out with “In conclusion,” and then say that the author of the quote was right (or wrong!).Start out with “In conclusion,” and then say that the author of the quote was right (or wrong!). Explain why the author was right (or wrong) in one sentence. You can use part of the quote in your answer.Explain why the author was right (or wrong) in one sentence. You can use part of the quote in your answer. Restate your thesis statement. Try to use different words to say the same thing.Restate your thesis statement. Try to use different words to say the same thing.

A Sample Response to this Quote: The Conclusion In conclusion, William Arthur Ward was right. I imagined myself doing better in math, and I was able to achieve it. I had to prepare, I had to make sure I did what I said I was going to do, and then I had to check to make sure my plan was working. My grades are better now, and I know that I can get even better grades in math if I keep working at it.

Putting It All Together According to William Arthur Ward, “If you can imagine it, you can achieve it; if you can dream it, you can become it.” Of course, this quote means different things to different people. But what does this quote mean to me? As for me, this quote reminds me of my hard work to become better at math. In order to become better at math, I had to make a plan, follow it through, and check for results. I knew that getting bad grades in math was a big problem. So I had to make a plan to get better grades in school. For my plan to work, I had to change some things about how I spent my time. First of all, I needed to spend at least one hour four nights a week on studying math. Second of all, because I didn’t understand some of the things in my math book, I had to spend some time each weekend at the library to find other books that explained things so I understood them. Finally, I decided that part of my plan would be to get my sister to help me one day a week. My sister is very good at math, so if we spent an hour a week together, I thought she would be able to help me understand what was confusing me. Now I had to follow through on my plan. To make sure I followed through on my plan, I got a calendar. I spent time deciding when I would study, when I would go to the library, and when I would ask my sister for help. I put little boxes next to each entry on the calendar so I could put a check mark next to each thing that I did on the calendar. I also decided that I was allowed to skip only one thing on the calendar every week. I wanted to make sure that if I missed something, I wouldn’t just give up. The first week was hard, but after that it was easier to follow my own plan. After I studied for five weeks, I had to check to make sure that my plan was working. I had three math tests since I started my plan. The first grade was bad, the second grade was a little better, and the third grade was passing. My grades didn’t go from failing to A’s right away, but my grades were getting better. I asked my teacher if I could talk to her about my grades. She said that my grades were getting better and that she thought I could earn a passing grade for the marking period if I kept working hard. In conclusion, William Arthur Ward was right. I imagined myself doing better in math, and I was able to achieve it. I had to prepare, I had to make sure I did what I said I was going to do, and then I had to check to make sure my plan was working. My grades are better now, and I know that I can get even better grades in math if I keep working at it.

Take Your Choice Carefully read both of the quotes listed below. Decide to which quote you would like to respond. “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm” (Ralph Waldo Emerson).“Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm” (Ralph Waldo Emerson). “To climb steep hills requires a slow pace at first” (Shakespeare).“To climb steep hills requires a slow pace at first” (Shakespeare).

Works Cited Easy Literacy. Literacy. Inspirational Quotes. Quotes.