What does PETAL mean?

It's a paragraphing structure for essay questions- Point, Evidence, Technique, Analysis, Link

The acronym PETAL refers to Point, Evidence, Technique, Analysis, Link

P= The point outlines your understanding of the text, linked to the question. You can use the following sentence starter to demonstrate your point e.g The writer presents a positive/negative perspective …

E= The evidence makes reference to a certain section or idea within a text. • Ideally, this should always be written as a quotation. You can use the following sentence starter to illustrate your example e.g For example, “…”

T=The technique looks at methods of construction, language, or structure that the writer has chosen to use in the text. You can use the following sentence starter to explain the technique you have chosen e.g The writer uses (adjectives, metaphor, similes, etc) to illustrate ......

A= The analysis is the dissection of a quotation, idea, or method: What is the meaning of the quotation? You can use the following sentence starter to explain your analysis e.g This suggests...…

L=The link concludes that section of your argument, by linking back to the question. You can use the following sentence starter to explain the link e.g This is significant, because…...

PETAL is a commonly used structure for answering questions.

Point: make your point clear and relevant to the question and your argument.

Evidence: How can you support your point with the relevant evidence found in the text?

Technique: What technique is used in the evidence you have identified (e.g: metaphor, simile, repetition)?

Analysis: Analyse the evidence and techniques to the point you are making, what is being said? Why has the writer used this technique? What does it show?

Link: Make sure to link your analysis to the question and your argument!

P-Point: State your overall point that clearly answers the question

E-Evidence-Provide textual evidence to support your point

T- Technique-State the literary technique that is being used by the write to convey this point

A-Analysis- Describe the effects that this evokes on the reader

L-Link-Link this back to your overall point

PETAL stands for point, evidence, technique, analysis, link. This is a paragraph structure that teachers encourage you to use when writing analytically.

For example, in response to the question: Explain how the writer uses language to describe the character of Aunt Lydia and the world that she lives in. 

Point - Atwood captures Aunt Lydia’s developing conscience by having Aunt Lydia admit that she has made mistakes,

Evidence - “bloody fingerprints are those made by ourselves.”

Technique - This metaphor shows that Aunt Lydia is able to acknowledge that she has created harm to others.

Analysis - Blood commonly goes hand in hand with the connotation of violence. This therefore could suggest to the reader that Aunt Lydia has a violent side and is trying to come to terms with her actions. This is further strengthened by the confession of “bur[ying] a lot of bones.”

Link - From this the reader is likely to be wary of Aunt Lydia as she is admitting to potentially horrific acts. 

Point - State what your paragraph will be about

Evidence - Use a quote to support your point

Technique - State the technique in the quote

Analysis - Explore the meaning of the quote

Link - Explain how it may make the reader feel or use contextual information to further explore the quote

I find that you can quite easily group Point, Evidence and Technique together in the opening sentence of your paragraph

Point

Example

Technique

Analysis

Link

Point Example Technique Explain Link

PETAL stands for Point, Evidence, Technique, Analysis, Link.

This is how you should structure you paragraphs when answering an essay question in order to make your argument clear and concise.

PETAL is an acronym of these words;

Point, Evidence, Technique, Analysis and Link. Please have it in your mind that petal( with lowercase letters) means " the Corolla of a flower"

They are typically coloured .

PETAL is a way of structuring English Lit paragraphs at KS3 and GCSE.

P - point

E - evidence

T - techniques

A - analysis

L - link

The absolute key to understanding how to use a PETAL para to get better at English itself, to think well and therefore to get great grades, is actually that to come up with a P Point, you need to START with the E for Evidence and explore it by seeing what the writer is making you think and feel. That's why we look at T for Techniques and A Analyse the impressions created.

So in reality, what you do in your head is read the exam or homework question, then find some evidence which seems to be relevant, explore it by seeing what the writer has done (T+A) and THEN you'll be able to generat a P point.

After that work in your head and maybe making some notes, you can write out your opinions nice and clearly and in an organised, detailed way, using the PETAL structure.

The L link on the end people often struggle with a bit. Best bet? Link it back to the question and think of it as a kind of mini-conclusion.

PETAL means Point, Evidence, Technique, Analysis, Link. It's one of many ways of learning how to structure an analytical paragraph, although it can be quite mechanistic. The Point could also be thought as 'What', establishing the beginning of what you want to discuss in that paragraph. The Evidence is usually a quotation (this is the 'How'), which should be brief, allowing you focus on one or two particular words within the quotation. Technique is a reminder to use the language of analysis, to be able to say whether a phrase is a metaphor, for example, or a word is an adjective, for example. Please note: you don't get any reward for just labelling a word or phrase. The important thing is Why the writer is using it: what is the intended effect on the reader, or what are the connotations of that word or phrase. That is the Analysis bit, and should be the longest part of your paragraph. 'Link' is a reminder to make sure you keep on track with what the question is asking by referring back to it and then using a discursive marker such as 'However' or 'Consequently' the develop your answer into the next paragraph.

P = Point

E = Evidence

T = Technique

A = Analysis

L = Link

Point

Evidence

Technique

Analysis

Link

PETAL stands for how you structure you answer in English Literature exams.

Structure the answer in the following order;

1 Point; this means your understanding of the text, as related to the question.

2 Evidence; what does the text say to back up your point?

3 Technique; what method of language construction has the author decided to use?

4 Analysis; now go on to consider the dissection of a quote, or an idea or a method.

5 Link; the link concludes your argument and should relate back to the original question.