Examplar PEE Paragraph – Holmes essay

Point – the first sentence is a topic sentence

Evidence – a direct quotation or close reference from one of the
stories

Explanation – A commentary on how the evidence proves the

point made

The paragraphs are made up of simple, well constructed sentences

which have been carefully checked for sense.

The paragraph makes clear comparisons between the stories stiudied

Another means by which Doyle successfully creates and sustains tension is

through the use of carefully selected settings. While many of the cases begin
within the welcoming and familiar surroundingsof 221B Baker Street, Holmes and
Watson often find themselves in a range of unique and challenging locations. In
‘The Case of the Speckled Band’ for example, the detectives find themselves
squatting in total darkness within the ominous room where Julia Stoker was found
murdered. Doyle describes the family estate of Dr Roylett as a building of:

“grey, lichen-blotched stone, with a high central portion and two curving wings,
like the claws of a crab, thrown out on each side.”

The description emphasizes the prison like conditions under which their client
Helen Stoner is held and at the same time the reference to ‘wings’ and ‘claws’
are part of a wider lexical field of wild animal references associated with the
murderous Doctor. In contrast, the bare offices of the ‘League of Red Headed
Gentleman’ serve a very different purpose; to pique the curiosity of the reader
who is already suspicious of the vacancy for which JabezWilson has applied. In
both cases however, Doyle makes use of the setting to compliment the mood
and atmosphere of the story as it unfolds. By the conclusion of ‘The Red Headed
League’ Holmes and Watson are once again plunged into darkness as they await
the perpetration of a crime but in this case they find themselves in the interior of
a bank vault amongst more than 20,000 French gold coins; by no means an
everyday location! The locations then play an important role in the creation of
tension and at the same time of course, they would have been familiar to many
of ‘The Strand’s’ Victorian audience and so would have served as a further
source of curiosity.

Comparison word bank

Likewise, similarly, In both/all three stories... Equally In the

same way
In contrast, However, Whereas Conversely On the other
hand