Point, Illustration, and Explanation
In academic writing, a general principle to navigate when developing an argument is to make a claim about how a text does what (the “point” of PIE). This then requires that you display particular evidence from the text that relates in some way to your claim (the “illustration” of PIE). Then you must draw out and make explicit the value of your point in relation to the illustration (the “explanation” of PIE). Lastly, you need to make these three moves for a particular audience.
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Pitfalls (all of these interlock and conspire together):
Point:
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Illustration:
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Explanation:
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