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Part of the process of creating rhetorically sound arguments is learning to develop texts with attention to arrangement and style.

As Moxley explains:

“Paragraphs are a powerful formatting technique, an element of visual language. Paragraphs are visual cues that help readers understand how chunks of information relate to other chunks of information.”

Though the attributes of your paragraphs may change based on the rhetorical situation you’re writing in—with attention to purpose, genre, and audience especially—each paragraph should contain some key elements.

Every paragraph should:

• (M): State a main point with a transition
• (E): Incorporate evidence using citations and signal verbs
• (A): Analyze what the evidence means in your voice
• (L): Link your main point and evidence to your thesis

THESIS

First, your thesis should state your claim and be an anchor point to link back to throughout the text. Each paragraph after your introduction will build on the foundation you create with your thesis statement.

Example:

Universities must provide more support and services for students applying for and maintaining financial aid while keeping in mind students’ financial needs and priorities are varied and complex.

Remember your thesis should provide a clear argument or main idea, be based on research and evidence (not just preconceived notions) and directly respond to the project’s Research Question.

(M) MAIN POINT: Introduce a claim

In each paragraph after your introduction, you should begin by stating the main point of the paragraph, often referred to as the claim. You may have heard this called a topic sentence before.

Usually, the main point is introduced using a transition of some kind to help readers make connections between paragraphs. These can also help you as the writer organize your project and link smaller ideas within your text.

Examples:

First and foremost, adequate financial aid can help retain first-year students.

In addition to providing services during the academic term, contacting students over breaks and via email provides support for students beyond the on-campus experience.

Setting up the main idea in the first sentence is like making a mini-thesis for your paragraph. All content in that paragraph should refer to that claim.

(E) EVIDENCE: Use a source and signal verb

After introducing the main point, you should support that claim with evidence from experience and primary or secondary research. An unsupported claim won’t do much to convince your readers so integrating credible and relevant evidence is essential.

Examples:

First and foremost, adequate financial aid can help retain first-year students. In Myers study of first-year retention at U.S. colleges and universities they establish financial aid is “the number one concern of seventy-two percent of students” (11).

You can and often should incorporate multiple threads of evidence to support your claim. When you weave multiple sources together to form connections and conversation you’re synthesizing evidence.

In addition to providing services during the academic term, contacting students over breaks and via email provides support for students beyond the on-campus experience. Parker and Harpe point out when universities instituted this practice most students felt comforted knowing their university cared about their wellbeing and were surprised by the additional messages they received over breaks (252). These messages lead to students’ increased confidence and motivation to return. Bridgers likewise argues “students feel encouraged when institutions remember they exist even when not on-campus” (76).

(A) ANALYSIS: Explain what the support means

Analysis is about “loosening” or breaking up information to its more easily understood. Representing evidence in your voice helps readers understand it and its role in the text.

Examples:

First and foremost, adequate financial aid can help retain first-year students. In Myers study of first-year retention at U.S. colleges and universities they establish financial aid is “the number one concern of seventy-two percent of students” (11). Students increasingly face financial insecurity and are wary of accruing student loan debt meaning financial aid and resources to offset tuition costs are often the deciding factor for whether they reenroll or withdraw from school.

You can even refer back to previous claims and paragraphs to help provide context and explanation for your analysis.

In addition to providing services during the academic term, contacting students over breaks and via email provides support for students beyond the on-campus experience. Parker and Harpe point out when universities instituted this practice most students felt comforted knowing their university cared about their wellbeing and were surprised by the additional messages they received over breaks (252). These messages lead to students’ increased confidence and motivation to return. Bridgers likewise argues “students feel encouraged when institutions remember they exist even when not on-campus” (76). Although, as Myers argues, finances are important to students, they also value the relationships they form at their institution and want to feel like an individual not just another tuition check.

(L) LINK: Connect to your thesis

Finally, each paragraph must support the thesis directly with a link. The link should be an explicit reference to the overarching argument presented in your thesis. Think of your paragraphs like patches in a quilt: you can place them side by side but that won’t connect them. You need to form those connections with transitions and links to your thesis—the thread of your quilt.

Another analogy is to think of your project as a wall. Each paragraph is “another brick in the wall” and the thesis is the mortar holding those bricks together.

The link is the piece of the paragraph that demonstrates its relevance to the text overall. It’s the answer to “why is this paragraph in this text?” or more simply “so what?”

Examples:

First and foremost, adequate financial aid can help retain first-year students. In Myers study of first-year retention at U.S. colleges and universities they establish financial aid is “the number one concern of seventy-two percent of students” (11). Students increasingly face financial insecurity and are wary of accruing student loan debt meaning financial aid and resources to offset tuition costs are often the deciding factor for whether they reenroll or withdraw from school. If finances are the number one stressor for students as Myers claims, universities should focus the most attention on creating transparent, accessible financial support for not just first-year but returning students as well. That support must address students’ varied and complex financial needs.

As you incorporate more evidence and synthesis, the links may become more complex.

In addition to providing services during the academic term, contacting students over breaks and via email provides support for students beyond the on-campus experience. Parker and Harpe point out when universities instituted this practice most students felt comforted knowing their university cared about their wellbeing and were surprised by the additional messages they received over breaks (252). These messages lead to students’ increased confidence and motivation to return. Bridgers likewise argues “students feel encouraged when institutions remember they exist even when not on-campus” (76). Although, as Myers argues, finances are important to students, they also value the relationships they form at their institution and want to feel like an individual not just another tuition check. If universities want to not only retain students but maintain relationships with them after they graduate, they must start early. Students that feel seen and valued for their complex and rich lives beyond school become alumni that do too.

Apply this MEAL Plan to your text.

• Consider your thesis Does it make a clear claim based on evidence?
  • If not, how can you revise the thesis to respond to your Research Question and make a claim?
  • If yes, move on to your body paragraphs.
• Highlight M–E–A–L in your text using different colors
• What do you notice about the distribution of content?
• Are there paragraphs where you’re missing one of the components?
• Are there paragraphs where you have unbalanced components (e.g. six sources but one sentence of analysis?)
• Make a revision plan to balance the M–E–A–L in each body paragraph.