How to Write a Peel Paragraph

A paragraph is one of the most fundamental units of composition. Whether it is the introduction, body, or conclusion, it will serve a specific purpose and thus must be written in a format that helps it fulfill its goal.

And for many academic writings, one of the major ways or techniques of writing paragraphs is using the peel method. This unique style mainly helps students in their thinking process and allows them to write a unique and coherent paper.

But what is the meaning of a peel paragraph, how can you write one, and how long are they?

Here are the details.

What Is a Peel Paragraph

A peel paragraph is a writing technique used in academic and research papers and presents a single clear argument or point in each paragraph. The name comes from its resemblance to the skin of an onion and stands for point, evidence, explanation, and link.

Therefore, your paragraph starts with a point, gives evidence, explains, and finally shows the relationship between the point and the thesis statement or topic.

A peel paragraph should be able to “peel away” layers of information to get to the core of what you’re talking about. It’s like peeling an onion where you remove layer after layer until you reach something essential.

In addition, it is a preferred method because it helps readers follow your argument easily throughout the paper. Further, each paragraph contains a single idea and other supporting information such as evidence, explanation, and link. This means readers do not get confused within paragraphs.

Also see: How to write a 3 paragraph essay 

Ideally, it is designed to give the reader a clear understanding of your writing. In other words, the style provides you as the writer a chance to start with the most basic information and gradually add more details and information as you go along.

How to Write a Peel Paragraph

As explained, the peel paragraph is a popular way to write a research-based essay. It combines the four main parts of the writing process; point, evidence, explanation, and link. Here is how to write a peel paragraph

Start with the point

This is where you state your thesis or main idea. The idea should be crisp and clear, yet it can also be broad if you write an essay on a general topic. If you are writing an argumentative essay on a specific topic, narrow your focus to one particular aspect of the subject.

For example, your topic might be the reasons for unemployment. After writing your introduction, your second paragraph should have one of the reasons for unemployment: lack of in-demand skills. 

Therefore this will be the first sentence in the paragraph and is also known as the topic sentence. This sentence is an introduction for this paragraph and informs a reader what the paragraph will cover.

Evidence

The next part of your paragraph will be the evidence that supports your point. Generally, you can opt for one piece or several pieces. However, ensure your section does not become too long. The evidence will support your point and help readers see that what you’re saying makes sense and is backed up by facts or real-life examples. 

Make sure that every line of evidence supports the overall point of your paragraph. Your evidence should come from credible sources. For example, in the topic sentence stated (lack of in-demand skills), your sources can be HR professionals, government sources, or books. If you use your real-life situations, ensure to be clear and precise until the reader can connect and see why it is credible evidence.

Explanation

The third part is the explanation, providing more information on why and how the evidence supports your point. For example, in the lack of in-demand skills as a reason for unemployment, your explanation might be lack of these skills makes an individual lack the requisite knowledge and skills to perform a certain function or duty.

The Link

Finally, the link is the last paragraph point and is generally a sentence that restates how your point, evidence, and explanation match. Further, it serves as a transition to the next paragraph. For example, this part can read, ‘You must possess in-demand skills to survive the employment world because, without them, someone else will replace you, rendering you unemployed.

What Makes a Good Peel Paragraph

Several combinations make a good paragraph, but the major one follows the point, evidence, explanation, and link structure. If you do not follow this sequence, your peel paragraph ceases to be one and technically cannot be a peel paragraph.

Generally, a good peel paragraph has three key elements;

• A clear topic sentence that includes a specific detail about the topic
• Credible evidence supporting the topic sentence
• Supporting sentences that provide examples or explanations for the topic sentence
• A concluding sentence that states why you wrote this paragraph or what it means for readers

In addition, the following tips also make an excellent peel paragraph.

Start with the basics. If you thoroughly understand what you’re writing about, it’s much easier to write a good peel paragraph. Don’t get bogged down with technical details. Instead, give your reader a broad overview of what they need to know.

Use examples. If there are any relevant examples, use them. Illustrations can make your point clearer and more memorable and show your readers that you understand the topic.

Make sure every word counts. This includes words in sentences and punctuation marks because you want readers to focus on your message, not on how many mistakes they see in each sentence.

Is a Peel Paragraph One Paragraph

As the name suggests, a peel paragraph is a single paragraph containing the point, evidence, explanation, and linking sentence.

Ideally, this is one paragraph and cannot be split into multiple paragraphs because doing so distorts the flow and may confuse readers. It is advisable to make the paragraph short but still provide all the necessary information to make your point understandable.

Further, this technique recommends adhering to one sentence for the point, 2-3 for the evidence and explanation, while the last part should be one. This way, your paragraph will not be too long but will still be valuable.

How Many Sentences in a Peel Paragraph

A Peel paragraph is a basic paragraph containing one idea, an opinion, a description, or an explanation. It consists of one or several sentences, but the number of sentences depends on the writer’s purpose and how they want to present their idea.

Generally, the starting point will be one sentence, the evidence and explanation will be two or three, and the link will be one sentence. This means your peel paragraph will have eight sentences or less depending on the topic or how you decide to structure it.

Peel Paragraph Sentence Starters

Starting peel paragraphs is largely similar to other paragraphs, although there are a few differences. Generally, they begin with topic sentences that inform a reader what the paragraph will cover.

However, each sentence will begin differently from the previous one or the next one. The starter can be a transition but carefully used to provide value and show a point, evidence, explanation, and linkage.

The following are some of the common starters to use

Point starters include phrases such as first of all, I believe, another point to consider, firstly, secondly, I strongly believe, among others. Evidence sentence starters include, for example, this is illustrated by, data shows, this is supported by, this is evidenced by, this can be seen, and a recent survey.

Similarly, explanation sentence starters include, therefore, because of this, this means, this shows, and also, among others. On the other hand, link sentence starters include in conclusion, it is clear that, we can therefore see, from this we can conclude, and in the end.

However, these are not fixed phrases; you can change them to make your paragraph flow smoothly.