This comes from a handout created by Central Professor Kaitlin McClanahan. It could be a useful tool when working with students on how to incorporate sources.

Integrating Sources into Your Writing at the Paragraph Level

When integrating an author’s ideas into your own writing in an analytical essay, use the PIE format for your body paragraphs. You generally don’t want to start a paragraph or end a paragraph with a quotation; instead, you want to “sandwich” it between your own ideas. Make sure there’s a reason you’re using an author’s idea at that particular place in your essay. It should belong there and support your point.

Point: Introduce the point you want to make in that section of the paper. A point is not simply a retelling of what an author says; instead, it’s your idea about what the author says. The point should reflect analysis and/or interpretation, not summary.
Illustration: Use a quotation from the text to illustrate and support your point.
Explanation: Explain specifically how the quotation relates to your point and overall thesis. Explain why the quote is significant and how it backs up your idea.

Note: In writing, there are always exceptions to every “rule.” There are certainly variations on the PIE structure. Think of PIE as a guideline and a way to make your analytical writing more clear and effective rather than as a limitation.

Here’s an example of a body paragraph in the PIE format from a student essay that analyzes “Rape: A Bigger Danger Than Feminists Know”:

Paglia’s self-assured tone is present throughout her argument. Early on, she reveals that her upbringing was highly influenced by her strong Italian background. Later, she relays personal life lessons derived from her family traditions by advising her audience in a thoughtful and confident manner. Referring to her background, she states, “The Italian philosophy of life espouses high-energy confrontation. A male student makes a vulgar remark about your breasts? Don’t slink off to whimper. . . . Deal with it. On the spot. Say, ‘Shut up, you jerk! And crawl back to the barnyard where you belong!’” (224). Paglia’s assertive style succeeds in this example for several different reasons. While she uses an aggressive tone, in this case it reveals her confidence and thus garners admiration from her audience. In addition, she offers a useful strategy for dealing with harassment head on, thus establishing herself as an authority and role model. In this sense, the blunt and confident tone throughout her essay benefits her argument because it forms a personal connection with her audience.