PEE paragraphs
Writing PEE paragraphs requires you to follow the structure:
P = Point
E = Evidence/Example
E = Explanation
sometimes, if the question is very specific you can add an L into it.
L=Link back to the question asked
If you have to write a PEE Paragraph on a study of text then:
Firstly you have to make a point using an issue or debate that we've covered (see AS home page for the full list)...
One issue with Milgram's study is ecological validity
Second you have give an example or evidence from the study to support your point...
Milgram's study took place in a laboratory, which was an environment that the participants would not have been familiar with. The task was very unusual as we are not normally asked to give electric shocks to strangers in our daily lives, especially not under pressure from an experimenter.
Lastly give an explanation on your quote or point...
As a result, it is possible that the behaviour they produced would not have been representative of their normal behaviour in everyday life. We should therefore be cautious about generalising Milgram's findings to the real world.
P = Point
E = Evidence/Example
E = Explanation
sometimes, if the question is very specific you can add an L into it.
L=Link back to the question asked
If you have to write a PEE Paragraph on a study of text then:
Firstly you have to make a point using an issue or debate that we've covered (see AS home page for the full list)...
One issue with Milgram's study is ecological validity
Second you have give an example or evidence from the study to support your point...
Milgram's study took place in a laboratory, which was an environment that the participants would not have been familiar with. The task was very unusual as we are not normally asked to give electric shocks to strangers in our daily lives, especially not under pressure from an experimenter.
Lastly give an explanation on your quote or point...
As a result, it is possible that the behaviour they produced would not have been representative of their normal behaviour in everyday life. We should therefore be cautious about generalising Milgram's findings to the real world.
PEE squaresA helpful way to organise your PEE points is PEE squares. Start in the middle and work outwards.
As you fill in your square, remember that you can have more than one piece of evidence or example. Equally, there can be more than one bit of explanation given if it is appropriate. Many thanks to Ms Kemp at JIS for this excellent resource. |
'So what?' issues. Working on your explanations...Probably the phrase that I write on students' work more often than any other is "so what?" What I mean by this is that you haven't told me why the point that you've made is relevant or useful to the debate in question.
Looking at the PEE ideas above, a 'so what?' issue relates to you missing the final 'E', the explanation about why it is important. Look at the example evaluation point made above. Now read it without the second 'E'. Still sounds ok, but the point hasn't actually said why this is a problem! This is what the explanation point should do - explain clearly why the evaluation point that you've made is a good/bad thing for the theory in question. |
Practising avoiding 'so what?' issues.
The following examples all give PE_ points, without the final E explaining what the problem actually is. Next to all of these I would write "so what?" What would you add to them to ensure that the point was properly explained?
- There was a small sample, as there were only 12 participants.
- It was a lab experiment as it was in a controlled environment.
- The sample may not be representative as it was an opportunity sample.
- There was low ecological validity as the task was unrealisitic.
- There may have been demand characteristics as participants knew which groups they were in.
- The theory is reductionist as it only looks at biological changes and ignores cognitive and social processes.
- Because only children from South America were used, there may be ethnocentric bias in the findings.
- There may be a problem with ethics as children were used.
- The qualitative data collected makes it hard to compare the two conditions.
- Animals were used to collect these results, so they should not be generalised to humans.