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Scholarly Writing
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).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) [Evidence]. 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.
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Read your paragraph closely.
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Identify each component of the MEAL plan.
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If any component is missing or unclear, revise the paragraph.
For each example, read the sample first draft and consider these questions:
counter_1 Does the paragraph include all of the MEAL components?
counter_2 If not, what’s missing?
counter_3 What effect does the absence or presence of a MEAL component have on the paragraph?
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.
Monzon and Hays (2025) found that AI tools can help instructors adapt content to learners’ individual needs, improving engagement and retention in digital learning environments [Evidence]. Instructors may need additional training to use these tools effectively and in accordance with their institutions’ rules regarding academic integrity [Analysis].
The first sentence of this paragraph is evidence—we know this because it includes source information with a citation.
A sentence of analysis follows the evidence, contextualizing and showing the significance of this information. It doesn’t include a citation because it comes from the author’s perspective—it’s their idea about the evidence.
This paragraph includes Evidence, but its significance isn’t clear, and the paragraph isn’t focused on a specific topic.
Click on each button to learn more about each element of this revision.
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly being used throughout higher education to personalize students’ learnings [Main Idea]. For example, Monzon and Hays (2025) found that AI tools can help instructors adapt content to learners’ individual needs, improving engagement and retention in digital learning environments. This adaptability allows instructors to address diverse learning preferences while also freeing up more time for mentoring and higher-level instruction [Analysis]. Instructors may need additional training to use these tools effectively and in accordance with their institutions’ rules regarding academic integrity [Lead Out].
Click each button in the sample conclusion to display the explanation.
This sentence introduces the paragraph’s focus—AI in higher education. Adding this sentence eases the reader into the paragraph and prepares them for the information that follows.
Adding this sentence of analysis identifies the significance of the evidence.
With the addition of a Main Idea and Analysis, this Lead Out sentence now more clearly connects the paragraph to a broader argument.
With these additions, the paragraph now includes all of the MEAL components and more clearly addresses its topic.
The Caring Campus initiative, developed by the Institute for Evidence-Based Change, has demonstrated that when faculty and staff engage in intentional, caring behaviors, students feel more connected to their institutions, leading to improved persistence and completion rates (Bickerstaff et al., 2021). Moreover, faculty involvement in such initiatives can help instructors feel more satisfied with their jobs and connected to their students (Barnett & Cho, 2023) [Evidence]. These findings suggest that deliberate efforts to build supportive relationships and inclusive classroom cultures can yield significant benefits, even in traditionally impersonal settings [Analysis]. As higher education continues to evolve to meet diverse learner needs, embedding communities of care into institutional frameworks can promote equity, belonging, and student success.
This evidence is useful, but the paragraph’s focus isn’t clear—is it specifically about the Caring Campus initiative? Or is it about a variety of initiatives?
This analysis gives a sense of the importance of the evidence provided, but more specificity would help the reader understand how each piece of evidence fits into the writer’s argument.
While this paragraph is longer and includes more evidence than the first example, it also lacks a clear focus, and the significance of the evidence isn’t fully articulated.
Implementing communities of care within higher education institutions significantly enhances student engagement, retention, and overall academic success [Main Idea].For example, the Caring Campus initiative, developed by the Institute for Evidence-Based Change, has demonstrated that when faculty and staff engage in intentional, caring behaviors, students feel more connected to their institutions, leading to improved persistence and completion rates (Bickerstaff et al., 2021). For example, the Caring Campus initiative, developed by the Institute for Evidence-Based Change, has demonstrated that when faculty and staff engage in intentional, caring behaviors, students feel more connected to their institutions, leading to improved persistence and completion rates (Bickerstaff et al., 2021) [Analysis]. Moreover, faculty involvement in such initiatives can help instructors feel more satisfied with their jobs and connected to their students (Barnett & Cho, 2023). These findings suggest that deliberate efforts to build supportive relationships and inclusive classroom cultures can yield significant benefits, even in traditionally impersonal settings. As higher education continues to evolve to meet diverse learner needs, embedding communities of care into institutional frameworks can promote equity, belonging, and student success.
Adding a Main Idea gives the paragraph a clear focus: the benefits of communities of care in higher education.
An additional sentence of analysis establishes the importance of the paragraph’s first piece of evidence, distinguishing it from and logically connecting it to the second piece of evidence.
With the addition of a Main Idea sentence and another sentence of analysis, the paragraph’s focus and overall logic are clearer.
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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