ShmoopTube
Where Monty Python meets your 10th grade teacher.
Search Thousands of Shmoop Videos
Essay Writing Videos 71 videos
This video offers some rules of thumb for writing a good introduction. It covers everything from tone (confidence is key!) to phrases and clichés...
Even the best essays can go wrong in the conclusion—this video covers what not to do in a conclusion to help avoid any essay-ending problems. The...
You want to be as picky with your citations as Goldilocks was with her porridge—not too many, not too few... juuust right. You want to prove that...
How a Thesis Statement Fits With the Rest of the Essay 2132 Views
Share It!
Description:
The London Bridge may be falling down, falling down, falling down....but your essay will be one stalwart structure that stands the tests of time.
Transcript
- 00:00
Thank you We sneak in how a thesis statement fits
- 00:05
with the rest of the essay Allah shmoop and s
- 00:08
a is like a bridge from one place to another
- 00:11
Hopefully a better one Your reader is fleeing their horrible
- 00:14
homeland a place of ignorance fear and misinformation You're leading
Full Transcript
- 00:19
them to enlightenment Aren't you just the best you say
- 00:24
You don't know anything about building bridges Well here's a
- 00:29
quick architecture lesson A bridge needs a keystone this thing
- 00:34
or it'll fall apart An essay needs a keystone to
- 00:38
in an essay that would be your thesis Let's Talk
- 00:40
about where to place your keystone so that your bridge
- 00:43
doesn't collapse crushing your readers under the weight of some
- 00:46
truly painful writing Your thesis is probably the first sentence
- 00:50
you write or at least it's up there after all
- 00:54
it's The whole reason you're writing this thing in the
- 00:56
first place however the first time you write it it's
- 01:01
going to be a little lumpy but it's also going
- 01:03
to be the last sentence You right you'll need to
- 01:05
return to your thesis after writing your paper and chisel
- 01:08
it to fit perfectly like this guy If your essay
- 01:12
goes way off topic you may need to change your
- 01:14
thesis entirely Well let's say you initially thought you were
- 01:17
going to write about how bridges bring people together But
- 01:23
you end up focusing on how bridges just cause horrible
- 01:26
traffic jams Guess what it's totally okay to change your
- 01:29
thesis What You want to refine your thesis shape its
- 01:37
edges make it a specific as possible Ask yourself questions
- 01:45
about your essay then answer Why do bridges cause horrible
- 01:48
traffic jams Because they have few lanes because people are
- 01:51
scared to drive on them and go slow Include all
- 01:54
that in your thesis No pressure but your thesis needs
- 01:59
to be perfect Okay that's A lot of pressure we
- 02:02
admitted but pressure makes diamonds Once you shaped your thesis
- 02:10
where does it go A keystone for bridge usually goes
- 02:13
in the middle of the structure but that's a bad
- 02:15
place for a thesis statement You also don't want to
- 02:18
put it at the very beginning of your essay or
- 02:20
at the end that's How things fall apart No not
- 02:24
the book The best place for your thesis is the
- 02:28
last line of your introductory paragraph or thereabout It sounds
- 02:33
tough but crafting and fitting your faces is simple It
- 02:35
needs to be concise specific On on topic On it
- 02:48
should go with the end of your introductory paragraph Following
- 02:51
these rules will keep your readers from being crushed to
- 02:53
death Or at least save them from a nasty paper
- 02:55
cut as they rapidly flip through the pages racing to 00:02:58.818 --> [endTime] get to the end Oh oh oh
Related Videos
This video defines a primary source and what makes it different from a secondary source. What counts as original material? And where can we find th...
Want even more deets on wordiness? Click here to review. Or take a look at our entire grammar section for all the goods.
Want even more deets on tenses? Click here to review. Or take a look at our entire grammar section for all the goods.
Want even more deets on semicolons? Click here to review. Or take a look at our entire grammar section for all the goods.
Asking questions can help spice up an essay. Just make sure you don't get too spicy and forget to answer those questions. You don't want to leave y...