Learning to analyse a text in detail will hugely raise your grade. Some teachers call this method Point-Evidence-Explain (PEE). Others call it Point-Evidence-Analyse (PEA), or Point-Quote-Comment (PQC). It’s all the same thing. My own paragraphs usually look more like PEEPEPEAEEAEPEAEEA than PEA. However, PEA is a good place to start.
The Method1. Choose a quote with strong or interesting words, metaphors (etc) or strong contrasts. This quote will be your ‘evidence’. This quote should be approximately eight words long. Shorter is good.
e.g. ‘You’re going to reach the sky, fly … beautiful child’
Now, take note of the context. This quote is about
a boy with a severe facial deformity (as in the picture but worse), who is severely bullied through the excellent novel, Wonder, by RJ Palacio.
a boy with a severe facial deformity (as in the picture but worse), who is severely bullied through the excellent novel, Wonder, by RJ Palacio.
2. Highlight the key words inside your main quote. Now explain the connotations of the words, and how they link/contrast and relate to the context.
Here is a PEA paragraph on Wonder, by RJ Palacio, written by one of my eleven year old students. The character with the facial deformity is called August.
Student PEA-PEE-PQC Paragraph
‘beautiful child’ can be interpreted that August is much loved and has inner beauty – this is shown by how the other characters behave. This quote can also be interpreted as being ironic since August is not ‘beautiful’ or even normal.‘You’ may seem like a minor word in this quote but it actually shows that someone believes in August and someone is caring for him.‘fly’ is a metaphor of August being superhuman, having freedom and power – this makes us think of him having a very strong character and being able to follow his dream.
is a metaphor of (freedom/power) …
links to the idea of …
builds up a mood of …
‘beautiful child’ can be interpreted that August is much loved and has inner beauty – this is shown by how the other characters behave. This quote can also be interpreted as being ironic since August is not ‘beautiful’ or even normal.‘You’ may seem like a minor word in this quote but it actually shows that someone believes in August and someone is caring for him.‘fly’ is a metaphor of August being superhuman, having freedom and power – this makes us think of him having a very strong character and being able to follow his dream.
Good Phrases to Use
makes us think of … [explain/analyse/ comment]
creates a feeling that…
suggests …