21 Killer GRE Essay Quotes You Should Be Using Right Now

[A] quotation is a handy thing to have about, saving one the trouble of thinking
for oneself, always a laborious business. A.A. Milne Chances are you too know
a few famous quotes, but you probably dont use them. I know so, because Im
guilty of neglecting quotes on the GRE. So, why should you use essay quotes on
the GRE? To start with, the right use of quotes in essays augments the power of
your arguments and makes your essays appear more convincing. Plus, essays with
quotes tend to score better than essays without them, because of the initial impact
the use of quotes create on the reader, and help strengthen your point. But we need
to exercise prudence. Only use quotes as is, if you are convinced that paraphrasing
would lower the impact or change the meaning of the original authors words or
when the argument could not be better expressed or said more succinctly. Here is
how you make sure you are doing it right.
How do I incorporate quotes into my essay?
At times, an essay can appear painfully discorded if the quotations are out of place
or if the essay is too stuffed with quotes. So, what should you do to avoid this? A
great quote plays one or more roles from the following:

Creates the initial impact on the essay grader.

makes your essay look more promising and interesting
establishes credibility
concludes the essay with a point to contemplate

If the quote doesnt serve any of the above then you are forcing it into the essay
and this could do more harm than good. You should start writing your essay with a
quote that lays foundation to the main idea behind the essay. This can have a major
impact on the evaluator. You can also comment on the quotation in this
introductory paragraph if you wish. Either way, to get a perfect score on the GRE
essay, use a relevant quote strategically but dont force it into the essay.
Can I alter the structure of the quotation?
Using the exact words from the original source is called quoting. You should quote
when you believe that the way the original author expresses an idea is the most

effective way to communicate the point you wish to make. If you want to borrow
an idea from the author but dont put the idea in their exact words, then its called
paraphrasing. (but remember that you still have to cite the original author even
when you are paraphrasing) For example, Ronald Reagan said, Trust, but verify.
You can alter the quotation on your own according to the passage, by saying: To
paraphrase Ronald Reagans famous quote, It is easier to trust when you can
verify. By doing this, you are not only citing the original author, but also gaining
extra points for using your own version of the quote.
How many quotes should I use?
If you deploy a lot of quotations in your essay, it appears as though several people
are talking about the topic apart from yourself. This would downplay your own
voice and leaves little room for your own ideas. It is your essay and it should be
your voice that needs to be heard, not some notable/famous persons. Quote as
infrequently as possible. So, dont cram every quote you know into the essay. As a
rule of thumb, refrain from using more than 2 quotes in any essay. (One in the
introductory paragraph and the other if necessary in the conclusion)
How do I introduce the quote in my own words?
The last thing you would want is get your score cancelled on account of
plagiarism. Its highly recommended that you cite the author of the quotation. If
you dont cite, you may give the impression that you claim to be the original
author and that could result in plagiarism. You should place the quote in double
quotation marks. Here is an example usage citing the author: Thomas Jefferson
once said The will of the people is the only legitimate foundation of any
government, and to protect its free expression should be our first object.
Categorization of GRE Essay Topics
The fascinating thing about the GRE essay topics is that theyre already published
on the official ETS website. This may sound crazy because giving out the
questions in advance is not normal. Now, use this to your advantage. You can find
all the GRE essay topics on the official ETS website. But theres a catch! You
were expecting a few, right? Well, there are close to 200 topics in all far too

many to practice responses in advance. Also, practicing each of these topics is not
advisable as it is going to take a lot of time and effort and there is no point in
mugging them up. You could as well spend this time on learning some math.
However, theres a good news. Just scanning through these two lists will give you
an excellent idea of the types of issues and arguments that show up on test day. I
just made things a bit easy for you, though. Most of the topics that show up on the
GRE essay section can be broadly grouped into five categories.

Education.
Arts
Government/Politics
Philosophy
Sciences and Technology

So, next time when you practice writing an essay response, make sure you write at
least one essay from each of these categories. And memorize a few quotes related
to each one of these topics, as they will be handy.
List of most useful essay quotes
Ive compiled a list of easy-to-digest quotes that should help you write the perfect
essay. Bookmark this page NOW for future reference. The following quotes from
great thinkers have been selected based on their relevance to common GRE essay
topics and for their ease of usage.
1. The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance Socrates
2. A people that value its privileges above its principles soon loses both Dwight
D. Eisenhower 3. In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. But
in practice, there is Yogi Berra
4. A little inaccuracy can sometimes save a ton of explanation H.H Munro
5. Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex and more violent. It
takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction
Albert Einstein

6. A consensus means that everyone agrees to say collectively what no one

believes individually Abba Eban
7. Non-cooperation with evil is as much a duty as is cooperation with good
Mohandas Gandhi 8. Whatever government is not a government of laws, is a
despotism, let it be called what it may Daniel Webster
9. Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people
will find a way around the laws Plato
10. Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work
worth doing Theodore Roosevelt
11. It is dangerous to be right, when the government is wrong Voltaire
12. The will of the people is the only legitimate foundation of any government, and
to protect its free expression should be our first object Thomas Jefferson
13. No nation is fit to sit in judgment upon any other nation Woodrow Wilson
(28th U.S President)
14. The artist is nothing without the gift, but the gift is nothing without work
Emile Zola
15. The world is full of educated derelicts Calvin Coolidge
16. A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a change to get its
pants on Winston Churchill
17. Its not the size of the dog in the fight, its the size of the fight in the dog
Mark Twain
18. Life contains but two tragedies. One is not to get your hearts desire, the other
is to get it Socrates
19. If women didnt exist, all the money in the world would have no meaning
Aristotle Onasis 20. Men are not disturbed by things, but the view they take of
things Epictetus
21. As a rule, men worry more about what they cant see than about what they can
Julius Caesar

Now, these are a handful of quotes. The goal is to memorize 5 or 6 of your favorite
quotes so youll be able to contextually fit one into the essay on the test day. While
practicing, you may look at the list of quotes found above however, if you can
remember a specific quote apposite to your essay topic, try to use it one quote for
every essay. For those avid writers, who believe the number of quotes above are
too low, we have the right tool for you. Ellipsoid created a random quote generator
tool that draws 5 famous quotes from Goodreads every time you reload the page.
The good news is these 5 quotes are always theme based so you know where to use
them.
Conclusion
Writing essays isnt all about the substance. Its the basics that many of us forget.
If you are going to put in the time to practice writing essays, might as well
maximize the score you could get by deploying a quote in your essays.