Developing Strong Body Paragraphs (3 to 4 is the sweet spot)
- Once your introduction (around 150 to 200 words) sets the stage, and your conclusion (also 150 to 200 words) wraps it up, you’re left with roughly 1000–1200 words for the main body of your essay.
- That’s your real space to shine.
- With that word count, you should aim for 3 to 4 well-developed body paragraphs.
- Fewer than three, and you risk being too shallow.
- More than four, and you’ll probably spread yourself too thin or start repeating ideas.
- Each body paragraph should dive deep into a different angle of your argument, offering fresh evidence and analysis every time.
All you need is PEEL
- Each paragraph in your HLE should focus on one clear idea, and PEEL is your best friend here:
- Point: Start with your main argument for the paragraph. This should directly help you answer your line of inquiry. Think of it as your topic sentence.
- Evidence: Bring in a quote or reference a specific literary technique. You’re showing what the author is doing.
- Explanation: Now unpack it. How does this quote or technique actually prove your point? Zoom in on the effect, and make sure it links back to your LOI.
- Link: Tie your point back to your overall thesis. You can also hint at the next paragraph to keep things flowing smoothly.
Example
- PEEL Paragraph
- LOI: How does Jhumpa Lahiri use naming and renaming in The Namesake to explore the complexities of cultural identity and self-definition?
- P (Point): Lahiri uses names and renaming as symbols of Gogol’s internal struggle with identity.
- E (Evidence): Gogol reflects on his two names: “He wonders how his parents chose the weirdest namesake, a Russian writer they barely knew” (Lahiri 76).
- E (Explanation): The protagonist’s discomfort with his name represents his disconnect from both his cultural heritage and his personal identity. The name “Gogol” becomes a symbol of his struggle to define himself outside of his parents’ expectations. As he later changes his name to “Nikhil,” the transformation reflects his attempt to take control of his own narrative.
- L (Link): By illustrating Gogol’s fluctuating relationship with his name, Lahiri highlights the challenges of cultural duality, reinforcing the novel’s central theme of identity.
Example
- PEEL Paragraph
- LOI: How does Shakespeare use soliloquy in Macbeth to explore the disintegration of identity through unchecked ambition?
- P (Point): Shakespeare uses Macbeth’s soliloquies to show how unchecked ambition erodes personal identity and moral certainty.
- E (Evidence): In his famous soliloquy, Macbeth reflects, “I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition.”
- E (Explanation): The metaphor of “vaulting ambition” suggests a force that leaps beyond limits, uncontrolled and self-destructive. Shakespeare presents ambition not as motivation, but as a destabilising internal force that overrides Macbeth’s sense of self. His hesitation and inner conflict reveal the disintegration of his moral compass, as he struggles between who he is and who he wants to become. This internal battle ultimately strips Macbeth of his identity, turning him from a noble warrior into a tyrant.
- L (Link): Through Macbeth’s shifting inner voice, Shakespeare explores how ambition can fracture identity, aligning with the concept of selfhood being shaped, and destroyed, by internal desires and external pressures.
