Free reference guide · HSC English
TEEL Paragraph Structure for HSC English
TEEL commonly means Topic sentence, Explanation, Evidence and Link. Use it to establish a claim, clarify it and support it with textual detail.
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Quick reference
- Topic sentence
- Identify the aspect of the question the paragraph will answer.
- Explanation and evidence
- Clarify your reasoning, then ground it in an example and analyse that example in context.
- Link
- State what the paragraph has established and how that advances the larger argument.
Start with a topic sentence that answers the question
Topic sentence: The narrator’s memories change how she sees her home. Explanation: Familiar places become reminders of relationships she has lost. Evidence and analysis: In the phrase “a doorway shaped by departures”, the metaphor makes absence feel built into the house. Link: The house reflects an emotional history as well as a physical setting.
Schools use TEEL variants, including swapping explanation and evidence. Follow your teacher’s version and make sure the reasoning next to each piece of evidence shows how it supports the paragraph’s claim.
Try it yourself
Improve the topic sentence “The author uses imagery”. Say what the imagery helps the text communicate and tie the claim to a question about change.
Show the response check
“The changing street imagery presents progress as uneven” offers a claim that evidence can support or complicate. Follow it with one image and explain what changes across the passage.
Keep practising
These examples are original. For official assessment materials, see the NESA English Advanced HSC standards materials and check your course requirements.