Quick questions on The PEEL paragraph explained: O-Level Literature in English

An essay is built from paragraphs, and each body paragraph should make and prove one point that supports your thesis. A reliable paragraph structure ensures every paragraph does the full job: states a point, gives evidence, analyses it, and links back. The best-known structures are PEEL and the very similar PETAL. They are scaffolds, not straitjackets, but for O-Level they keep your paragraphs complete and analytical.

The single most important part is the Explanation (or Technique and Analysis): this is where you actually analyse, naming the method and unfolding its effect on meaning and the reader, the feature-plus-effect habit from every reading skill. It should usually be the longest part of the paragraph, because analysis is where the marks are. A paragraph with a point and a quotation but no real explanation is just assertion plus evidence; it never analyses, and so it scores low.

The structure exists to keep you analysing, not summarising. A common failing is to make a point, give a quotation, and then paraphrase what the quotation says ("this shows the city is dark at night"), which is summary, not analysis. Instead, explain how the language works and what it achieves ("the metaphor makes nightfall feel like a deliberate, gentle act"). If your explanation could be replaced by "this means", it is summary; push it toward method and effect.

Paraphrasing what the quotation says ("this means he was careful") instead of explaining how the language works and what it achieves.

Leaving paragraphs disconnected from the thesis and each other, so the essay reads as scattered observations rather than an argument.

What do the four letters of PEEL stand for? [2 marks]

Why should the Explanation usually be the longest part of a PEEL paragraph? [2 marks]

How can you tell whether your "explanation" is genuine analysis or just summary? [3 marks]