Academic Skills

Division of Student Success

P E A L model of paragraph structure

P - Point
• Says what the paragraph will be about, referred to as topic sentence
• The point takes the reader to the next stage of your argument
• The main points of your argument are outlined in the introduction. Their order
should be the same in both the introduction and in the body of the essay.

E - Evidence
• The material that supports the point of the paragraph
• This is the evidence from the literature and research
• Each point will have a reference and be relevant to the essay topic

A - Analysis
• This helps to tie your paragraph together and shows that you understand the
evidence that you have used to support your points.
• You will:
✓ Explore implications of data
✓ Interpret data
✓ Question arguments of others
✓ Challenge the validity of assumptions
✓ Use in-text citations

L - Link to next paragraph

• The last part of the paragraph is designed to lead into the following paragraph
• It links your analysis to the next point in your paper
• The addition of a linking sentence (or phrase) helps to make your writing cohesive
and assist your reader to understand your logical line of argument

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