Raise your hand if you have heard of the ‘5-paragraph essay’. Organizing a relatively short set of ideas with an introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion may seem simple enough and effective for a multitude of assignments. However, when making complex arguments, reviewing a deep topic, or writing a lengthy term paper, you may need more than 5 paragraphs. What then?!
That’s where the TEAL paragraph formula comes in. Using TEAL (Topic Sentence, Example, Analysis, and Link to Thesis), provides you with a structure that will give you the best results to creating an organized and developed body paragraph. Here’s how to use it!
In this post, we overview how to use TEAL. Download a Word Doc with examples to see TEAL in action.
Begin with your Topic Sentence
A topic sentence should have a piece of your major argument or thesis included, and it should be clearly stated so that the reader can see a clear connection from your thesis to your body paragraph.
Your Topic Sentence should…
- Reference your thesis statement.
- Provide one specific idea and focus for the body paragraph.
- Clearly show the reader what this paragraph will be about and how it connects to your thesis.
Give Your Reader an Example
Along with providing you a template to discuss complex or in-depth topics, using this structure for your body paragraphs will also allow you to be sure that you are appropriately incorporating evidence into your draft.
Before you begin writing your body paragraph, the example or supporting evidence should be one of the first parts of your essay that you begin thinking about (even before you start writing your paper!). Providing your reader with an example may be the second part of TEAL (aka the second part in building your body paragraph), but you’ll want to think beforehand about how your example will support your topic sentence. If your example doesn’t support your topic sentence, then your topic sentence can’t support your thesis. Examples make it easier for you and your reader to find connections; connections that will lead to insightful points for analysis (up next!).
Examples can be direct quotations, paraphrased text, personal examples, data/statistics, etc. and no matter the type of example, you’ll want to make sure that your evidence is relevant and, again, connects to your topic sentence. Make sure every example is introduced and contextualized and that every example coming from a source other than yourself has a citation in the proper format!
Making Connections With Analysis
Analysis is an integral part of developing your body paragraphs. This is the section of your paragraph where you should be clearly explaining how your examples support your thesis and topic sentences.
Not sure where to begin? Look to your professor’s prompts and decide what they are asking you to address in the assignment. When you are sure that you are answering your professor’s prompt, you can also be sure that you are directly explaining how your support is addressing the key requirements of the prompt and assignment.
Things to consider…
- How does this example help your reader understand the topic sentence?
- What specific parts of this example show your topic sentence?
- What is important about this example in connection to your topic sentence?
- Aim for about 3-4 sentences of analysis per example to assure in-depth discussion
REMEMBER! Analysis will always come DIRECTLY after its respective example. You will introduce an example, provide the example, and then provide an analysis. Then, you will repeat this process until you are done giving examples. At the end, you will link the readers back to the thesis (think: T, E1, A1, E2, A2, L.)
Link Back to Your Thesis
When writing the last sentence of your body paragraph ask yourself: what is the key takeaway that the reader should get from this body paragraph? Cogitate how this paragraph (its topic sentence, example, and analysis) trace back to your thesis. How do they work together to help your reader understand your central argument? How does the evidence presented in this paragraph argue your main point? All in all, contemplate the relationship between the body paragraph that you have carefully crafted and your thesis statement.
While each body paragraph will vary in length and have its own number of examples, each paragraph must, however, incorporate each topic in TEAL. So once you have learned how to link back to your thesis in one paragraph, it’ll give you the confidence you need to do the same with the rest of your body paragraphs. It’ll also provide you with the tools to reinforce the assurance you’ve gained toward the evidence you’ve chosen and the thesis you’ve crafted before moving forward.
Bonus! Visit the Writing Center
As mentioned earlier, following the TEAL paragraph formula will often give you the best results in creating an organized and developed paragraph; however, it is not the only way to create strong paragraphs. Depending on the assignment and professor, you may need to vary this formula. Visit us at the Writing Center if you have any questions about how to incorporate the TEAL paragraph formula into your next paper or for additional clarification about how to organize your essay using TEAL to address the prompt!