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The MEAL plan is a tool, originally developed by Duke University, that you can use to guide the development of body paragraphs in your scholarly writing.
The MEAL plan is an acronym for four essential components of a scholarly paragraph: Main Idea, Evidence, Analysis, and Lead Out. In the body of your paper, each paragraph should typically include all of these components. Similar to the way paragraphs contribute to an argument about a paper’s topic, MEAL components contribute to a brief argument about a paragraph’s topic.
A topic sentence that states the focus of your paragraph.
Paraphrases or direct quotations, usually from scholarly sources, that support your topic sentence's claim.
Your explanation and evaluation of the evidence, stating its relevance in your own words.
A statement that concludes the paragraph and connects it to the rest of your paper.
Click each button in the example MEAL plan paragraph to display the explanation.
There is a wide range and progression of physical development characteristics that children will exhibit from 2 to 4 years old [Main Idea]. Children around age 2 are typically running, climbing, bumping into things, and self-feeding (Stassen Berger, 2018) [Evidence]. These skills and behaviors continue to progress, and by the age of 4, children may be catching balls, hopping on one foot, using scissors, and pouring from a pitcher without spilling (Stassen Berger, 2018). The running and climbing practiced as a 2-year-old help prepare the child at 3 and 4 to hop, pedal a tricycle, and maneuver stairs without the use of hands [Analysis]. Developments in both fine and gross motor skills mean children can do more complex and precise movements as time passes [Lead Out].
The main idea is usually (but not always) the first sentence of the paragraph. It establishes the focus for the rest of the paper.
Paraphrases from scholarly sources, including citations, support the paragraph’s topic with evidence.
The writer’s analysis explains the significance of the evidence.
The lead out concludes the paragraph and connects it to a broader argument.
Read the sample first draft and consider these questions:
Click each sentence in the example first draft of a paragraph to learn more about its MEAL components. Then click Revision to see an example of how it could be improved using the MEAL plan.
Click on each button to learn more about each element of this first draft.
Electronic medical records (EMRs) allow patients to view their medical records in a password-protected online environment, print out immunization records, and perform other necessary tasks with an immediacy that paper records do not allow (James, 2021). Also, rather than spending the time and money copying, faxing, or printing records, healthcare professionals can simply transfer information via the EMRs programs (Hunter, 2023) [Evidence]. This ease of access for patients and medical personnel creates transparency[Analysis].
The first two sentences of this paragraph are evidence—we know this because they include source information with citations.
While recapping the main points that support the argument, this sentence also emphasizes the topic’s importance—shifting to a later start time would have a real-world, positive effect on students’ health and academics.
This paragraph includes Evidence, but it needs a Main Idea to establish its focus. With only one sentence of Analysis and no Lead Out, the connections between the two pieces of evidence and the broader argument aren’t quite clear.
Click on each button to learn more about each element of this revision.
Electronic medical records promote patient satisfaction in their ease of access [Main Idea]. Electronic medical records (EMRs) allow patients to view their medical records in a password-protected online environment, print out immunization records, and perform other necessary tasks with an immediacy that paper records do not allow (James, 2021) [Evidence]. The convenience of immediacy spans also to healthcare professionals who may need to transfer records to other medical institutions for a patient's procedure [Analysis]. Also, rather than spending the time and money copying, faxing, or printing records, healthcare professionals can simply transfer information via the EMRs programs (Hunter, 2023) [Evidence]. This ease of access for patients and medical personnel creates transparency [Lead Out].
Click each button in the sample conclusion to display the explanation.
This sentence introduces the paragraph’s focus—electronic medical records. Adding this sentence eases the reader into the paragraph and prepares them for the information that follows.
Another sentence of analysis between the two sentences of evidence helps clarify the relationship between them.
After adding a Main Idea and more Analysis earlier in the paragraph, this last sentence now functions more like a Lead Out, providing closure to the topic introduced by the Main Idea.
With these additions, the paragraph now includes all of the MEAL components and more clearly addresses its topic.
The MEAL plan is a tool, not a formula. In some situations a paragraph may not need all of the MEAL components, and the order and number of the MEAL components can vary—for example, you may need to introduce multiple pieces of evidence, followed by analysis, followed by yet more evidence and analysis before your lead out. Your paragraphs still can and should vary in length and structure to most effectively address their topics.
The MEAL plan is a tool that can help you write clear, well supported, and fully developed paragraphs.
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