How to write the perfect PEACE paragraph for A-Level Politics essays
It’s a beautiful Saturday evening in June and whilst most people are enjoying themselves and having fun, I’m gearing myself up for another year of exam marking, which is due to start at 9 a.m. tomorrow morning.
Over the next month or so, I will mark literally thousands of scripts. Some will be bad, some will be good, and some will blow my socks off. The bad won’t have much to say. The knowledge will be patchy and the essay won’t be focused on the question in hand. The good will competent. The candidates will demonstrate what they have learned before arriving at a neat and reasoned judgement. But the ones that will blow my socks off… well, they’re the special ones, and they usually have something in common: perfect PEACE paragraphs.
So, how does a student of A-Level Politics achieve a perfect PEACE paragraph?
Firstly, you need to remember how to structure your essay answers. In my experience, students are getting much better at this with each passing year, but generally speaking you need an introduction, three PEACE paragraphs and a conclusion.
The PEACE paragraphs are essential because the marks you get are spread between AO1 (knowledge), AO2 (analysis) and AO3 (evaluation). The beauty of the PEACE paragraph is that you get to hit all of the AO’s in one go, so it’s easy for an examiner to award you highly.
Secondly, you need to nail the PEACE paragraph structure. PEACE stands for Point, Evidence, Analysis, Counter, Evaluate. Please note, evaluate does not mean ‘link to the question’ - it means explain why your argument is stronger than the counter argument!
So, a PEACE paragraph on whether the UK Constitution requires further reform might look something like this:
POINT - It is clear to see that the UK Constitution requires further reform.
EVIDENCE - This is because the UK is a quasi-federalist state as Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each have their own legislative bodies whereas England does not. Asymmetrical devolution has led to a number of constitutional problems for the UK, namely that different regions have different powers. For example, Scotland - which now has ‘devo-max’ - has the ability to make policy decisions on health, education, justice and the environment. It also has tax-varying powers. By contrast, however, there is no English Parliament. This has given rise to the West Lothian Question - the idea that Scottish MPs in Westminster can vote on English laws, but English MPs have no say over Scottish laws, such as in 2010 when Scottish MPs voted to raise tuition fees in England despite the fact that tuition fees do not exist in Scotland.
ANALYSIS - Following from this, there have been calls for an English Parliament in order to create a fully federalist UK and give an extra layer of democracy to the English people who currently lack regional representation.
COUNTER - However, there are some others who assert that the UK Constitution works fine as it is and that there is no need for an English Parliament. They say that an English Parliament would undermine Westminster and also point to the existence of Metro Mayors, such as Andy Burnham, who do a good job of advocating for the citizens of local regions.
EVALUATION - Yet, this argument is flawed. A clear division of powers will not only allow for a greater level of democracy in the UK, it will also likely prevent the break up of the union by clearly delineating between the powers reserved to central government and those granted to the regions, weakening the voice of those calling for independence.
The above paragraph is really nice, but be aware that the best students will go a step further by adding some extra analysis to their essays. You can do this with just a few flourishes. See below for some ideas:
POINT - It is beyond question that the UK Constitution requires further reform.
EVIDENCE - This is because the piecemeal nature of devolution has created a quasi-federalist state as Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each have their own legislative bodies whereas England does not. Asymmetrical devolution has led to a number of constitutional problems for the UK, namely that different regions have different powers. For example, Scotland - which now has ‘devo-max’ - has the ability to make policy decisions on health, education, justice and the environment. It also has tax-varying powers. By contrast, however, there is no English Parliament. This has given rise to the thorny issue of the West Lothian Question - the idea that Scottish MPs in Westminster can vote on English laws, but English MPs have no say over Scottish laws, such as in 2010 when Scottish MPs voted to raise tuition fees in England despite the fact that tuition fees do not exist in Scotland.
ANALYSIS - Following from this, there have been calls for an English Parliament in order to create a fully federalist UK and give an extra layer of much needed democracy to the English people who currently lack regional representation.
COUNTER - However, unsurprisingly, there are some others who assert that the UK Constitution works fine as it is and that there is no need for an English Parliament. They say that an English Parliament would undermine Westminster and also point to the existence of Metro Mayors, such as Andy Burnham, who do a good job of advocating for the citizens of local regions.
EVALUATION - Yet, this argument is flawed. A clear division of powers will not only allow for a greater level of democracy in the UK, it will also likely prevent the much feared and likely disastrous break up of the union by clearly delineating between the powers reserved to central government and those granted to the regions, weakening the voice of those calling for independence.
So, there you have it - a perfect PEACE paragraph for your A-Level Politics essay!
Best wishes,