Critical Essay
Writing
Body Section
Critical Essay - Body
Purpose
The Body section of a Critical Essay should attempt to answer the
essay question that has been set.
Content
• The Body section should consist of a series of Points about the
text which attempt to answer the essay question.
• Each of these Points needs to be supported with Evidence.
– This Evidence should be a brief Quotation from the text(s)
being written about.
– In order for the reader to understand the Quotations
(remember, they may not have read the text(s) being written
about), the Context of each Quotation in the texts(s) should
be provided.
• There should be an Explanation of how each piece of evidence
supports the Point being made.
Critical Essay - PCQEs
Like other sections of the Critical Essay, there are
ways in which the Body section can be broken
down into structural elements, or building blocks.
One of these ways is called the PCQE.
PCQEs are building blocks which can combine to
form the body of a Critical Essay.
POINT
CONTEXT
QUOTATION
EXPLANATION
} EVIDENCE
Critical Essay – PCQE Example
Essay Question:
Choose a novel which you believe contains sympathetic characters
that are nevertheless flawed.
Demonstrate how the author has made these characters likable, but
nevertheless shows them to be imperfect.
Text: “Of Mice and Men”, by John Steinbeck
George is not perfect, as is demonstrated by his bullying of
Lennie. This is shown in Chapter three when George is talking to
Slim, the head ranch hand, about Lennie:
“I’ve beat the hell outta him, and he coulda bust every bone in
my body jus’ with his han’s, but he never lifted a finger against
me.”
Here, George is not perfect because he hits Lennie and bullies
him. He only does this because Lennie doesn’t hit him back,
which is very cowardly and takes advantage of Lennie’s docile
nature.
Critical Essay – PCQE Example
Heaney makes it clear that he is initially seduced by the
agricultural lifestyle. This is evident when he describes
the first blackberry of the season. Heaney refers to it
as:
“a glossy purple clot”
The word choice of “glossy” and “purple” suggests the
richness of the colour and texture of the berry,
presenting it as extremely desirable. Additionally, the
colour purple has associations with royalty, suggesting
that the young Heaney sees the berries as being special
and sophisticated.
Critical Essay – PCQE Example
Carol Ann Duffy uses imagery effectively to suggest
that the war photographer’s job is an important one.
This is evident in the opening stanza of the poem,
when Duffy uses a simile to describe the war
photographer as he develops images of war in his
darkroom:
“as though this were a church and he a priest”
A priest is usually seen to be an important figure in
society, offering comfort and guidance to his
congregation. By associating the photographer with a
priest, Duffy suggests that that the war photographer’s
job is similarly important.