Mastering the PEEL Method for Writing, Presenting & Acing Essay Questions

Do you struggle with writing, answering essay questions, or creating presentations? While becoming an expert at writing requires wide reading and lots of practice, I do have a super simple method that will instantly make your writing clear, structured, and easy to follow. It will help boost you to the next level on the rubric. This method is called PEEL.

What is PEEL?

It’s a structure:

• P – Point

This is your main idea or argument. It’s the first sentence of your paragraph or slide or essay-question answer. It tells the reader what your stance/point is.

• E – Explanation

Here, you explain your point. It’s your analysis: Why is it true? How does it work? This helps the reader understand your thinking behind your point.

• E – Example

Give real-life examples, facts, statistic, or quotes that back up your explanation with evidence. This makes your argument stronger and more believable.

• L – Link

Wrap it up by linking back to your main idea or the overall topic. This shows how everything fits together and keeps your writing focused.

Now, let’s try a quick example to see how PEEL works on literally anything.

Topic: Avocados are just butter disguised as a vegetable

• P (Point): Don’t let them fool you – avocados are basically butter in disguise.

• E (Explanation): Think about it: they’re creamy, rich, high in fat, and used to make boring things taste better. That’s butter behavior, not vegetable behavior.

• E (Example): You don’t see people smashing broccoli on toast, but we do it with avocado. Avocado toast has become a trend. Even health influencers admit that one avocado has about the same fat content as a few tablespoons of butter.

• L (Link): So, avocadoes aren't your average green veggies. Let's call them what they are – plant-based butter.

Now let’s try PEEL with a more serious and complex topic, something I used in a debate.

Topic: Will building their own nuclear weapons make South Korea safer?

• P (Point): Building nuclear weapons will not make South Korea safer. On the contrary, it will put the country in serious danger.

• E (Explanation): Developing nuclear weapons will significantly increase tensions with North Korea and trigger extreme responses from them. Why? In the eyes of North Korea, their next-door neighbor is already richer, stronger, more tech-savvy, and has more allies. Now they are also building nuclear weapons?! This is going to alarm North Korea. History has shown us that North Korea has a long record of taking extreme measures when feeling pressured.

• E (Example): In 2010, in response to South Korea’s military drills near disputed maritime borders, North Korea sunk the South Korean naval ship Cheonan with a torpedo, killing 46 people onboard. Apparently, that was not enough for Kim Jong-un. In that same year, North Korea bombed Yeonpyeong Island, killing two South Korean soldiers and two civilians. Then between 2009-2017, North Korea carried out multiple nuclear tests – each one was a reaction to economic sanctions and rising political tension. In 2014, North Korea allegedly hacked Sony Pictures in retaliation for the movie The Interview because it depicted the assassination of Kim Jong-un, and obviously, Kim didn’t like it. And let’s not forget the murder in 2017: Kim Jong-nam, the estranged half-brother and a potential rival of Kim Jong-un, was killed with a chemical weapon at a Malaysian airport. It’s widely believed that Kim Jong-Un ordered the assassination, because four North Korean suspects, later confirmed as spies, left the airport shortly after the assassination and reached Pyongyang without being arrested . These are just a few of the many examples.

• L (Link): Clearly, North Korea has a pattern of taking extreme measures to deal with threats and provocations. Given their track record, can we imagine what they will do if South Korea builds nuclear weapons? Most likely, they will respond with pre-emptive strikes – strikes that are much more aggressive, much more damaging, and much more shocking than what they’ve done before. So, developing nuclear weapons won’t make South Korea safer. It will only cause dire consequences.

Final Thoughts

The PEEL method is a very effective method for improving writing and speaking. It's easy to implement as well. Even if you're not a word smith, if you use PEEL, you’ll score more points for clarity, logic, and a good flow. It will ensure your argument is well supported by evidence as well. Just remember: Make your Point, Explain it, Back it up with Examples, and Link it back to your main idea – PEEL.