Body Paragraphs

An Overview

The body paragraphs are where you argue that your thesis is right. The prompt will usually tell you how many paragraphs you need (probably at least three). Whatever the exact number, they make up most of the essay.

Body paragraphs need to have MEAT: a Main Point, Evidence, Analysis, and a Transition. Each paragraph should only have one main point. However, you can include two pieces of evidence as long as you analyze them separately.

Your teacher may use terms like “PIE paragraph”, “TEA paragraph”, “PEA paragraph”, “PEAT paragraph” or even “TEXAS paragraph”. These are all ways of expressing the same thing so, if you see a weird food acronym, don’t worry about it!

Main Point

Every body paragraph needs a main point. It’s a single sentence that clearly says what you’re arguing in that paragraph. It needs to support the thesis somehow. An easy way to come up with main points is to divide your thesis into sections; then you can use each of those sections as a main point.

Evidence

Evidence is what you use to support your main point. Quotes are the most common form of evidence teachers expect, but they’re not the only kind. You might want to use a statistic or paraphrase something in your source; either way, you still need to cite it like you would if it was a quote.

It’s really important to set up your evidence. The best way to do this is with a little context (never more than a sentence or two). If you're citing a story, what's going on in that story when the quote is said? Who says it? If you're citing nonfiction, what is the author arguing? It doesn’t need to be a lot, but it does need to be there.

Analysis

Analysis is how you prove what you’re arguing, so it’s super important. Talk about the evidence. Don’t restate your quote. Instead, show how it supports your main point. Then show how your main point supports your thesis. This is the meat of your essay and it should always be longer than your evidence.

Transition

The last sentence or two of a body paragraph are the transition. They connect your current body paragraph to the next one. The transition is often part of the analysis. Two easy ways to do transitions are:

• Make a statement that builds off of your analysis but relates to your next main point.
• Find a word or concept in your next main point and include it in the last sentence of your analysis.

You can also build your transitions into the structure of your essay. What that means is that if your paragraphs have a logical order to them, you don’t necessarily need transitions. To do this, make sure each main point builds off of the previous main point.

 

 

This handout is courtesy of WRAC Center Tutors Merricat and Nayla SP23