Quoting the passage does not complete the analysis. The evidence has to be followed by an explanation of what the writer is doing with that language and why it fits the rhetorical situation. If the sentence after the quotation could be attached to almost any passage, the commentary is still too general.
Choose evidence that contains a real choice
Not every quotable sentence contains a choice worth analyzing. Select evidence where the writer's decision is visible, a word that could have been a different word, a structure that could have been arranged differently, rather than a sentence that simply states plain content.
Quote only what you plan to analyze
When you quote, use only as much language as the analysis needs. A precise paraphrase or textual reference can also supply evidence.
Name the function before naming the effect
Before describing how a choice makes a reader feel, state what job that choice performs in the passage: does it establish a principle, create a contrast, or shift the audience's attention? Naming the function first keeps the analysis grounded in the passage's actual work, rather than jumping straight to a vague claim about impact.
Tie the choice to this audience
Explain a rhetorical choice in terms of what it does for the specific audience the writer is addressing, not audiences in general. A choice that works for one audience might fail for another, and naming why it works for this particular one is what makes commentary specific rather than generic.
Connect local language to the larger purpose
A single word or phrase's analysis should connect back to the passage's larger purpose, not remain isolated as a small, self-contained observation. Showing how a local choice serves the passage's overall goal is what turns an observation into an argument.
Replace summary with explanation
A sentence that restates what a quotation says, rather than explaining what it accomplishes, is summary, not commentary. If your sentence after a quotation could be produced just by paraphrasing the quotation, it has not yet done the work commentary needs to do.
Make every paragraph contribute to one interpretation
Each body paragraph's evidence and commentary should build toward the same overall interpretation the essay's thesis establishes, not toward a separate, disconnected point. A paragraph that could be removed without affecting the essay's larger argument has not yet been tied to that argument closely enough.
Check whether the commentary could fit another passage
After drafting commentary, test it by asking whether the same sentence could be attached to a completely different passage without needing to change a word. If it could, the commentary is still operating at a level too general to count as real analysis of this specific passage.
Exam Diamond
Commentary must be tied to this passage. Explain what the quoted language does here and connect that function to the writer's purpose in the situation.