ShmoopTube

00:04

writing a cohesive essay a la shmoop writing an essay is like building a

00:09

robot you don't just need quality parts you also have to put them together in [man building robot part]

00:12

the right way if the head of your robot is attached to the legs well this might [head of robot where pelvis is supposed to be]

00:17

happen so how do you write a cohesive essay and know you can't just program

00:22

your robot to do it for you much as we'd like that coherence basically means you [robot at a laptop]

00:27

want it to hold together it needs to make logical sense and it needs to flow

00:31

you don't want any logical leaks in your paper leakage is embarrassing there are

00:37

many parts necessary to make a cohesive essay got it the first is the thesis

00:42

which should be clear strong and arguable here's the thesis there's the

00:48

thesis make sure you're taking a stand for something your thesis is like the [thesis example on screen]

00:58

faucet from which all your good ideas flow remember I'm Rand and that

01:02

Fountainhead thing yeah kind of like that well anyway your evidence whether

01:07

it be quotes charts statistics or whatever is like the foundation holding

01:12

everything together a shaky foundation means everything could get swallowed up [foundations of a house collapse during earthquake]

01:15

by a sinkhole any moment and you know just look what's happening in Florida [Florida map with sink holes]

01:19

you need to analyze your evidence too and maybe offer a little reflection [copies of Dave pop up and echo]

01:23

reflection if the evidence spoke for itself you wouldn't need to write the

01:28

essay your opinion gives everything the context it needs to be a good essay the

01:35

analysis and reflection are the pipes that carry your ideas to the reader make

01:39

sure the water coming out of those pipes runs clear if people want a glass of [sewage dumped on girl]

01:43

brown chunky water they'll go to Dunkin Donuts here the structure of your essay

01:48

is most important when it comes to cohesion you might be writing a typical

01:52

five paragraph essay with each paragraph presenting evidence analyzing it and

01:56

reflecting on it or it might be a more narrative style sold in chronological

02:00

order there are many different structures each one appropriate for

02:03

certain essays choose wisely if your essay is one big oil pipe dream then

02:07

your structure gives it shape and for the structure also hinges on the quality

02:12

of your transitions you have to make sure everything flows smoothly so that

02:16

your reader isn't along for a bumpy ride a rusty transition could cause the whole

02:24

thing to spring a leak also don't forget to add your own personal style any essay [copper pipes spring leaks]

02:33

could use a little flair as long as you don't sacrifice clarity and brevity for

02:36

style though writing a cohesive essay is a combination of a strong thesis

02:41

evidence analysis reflection and most importantly structure and style it takes

02:48

a lot of work but it pays off trust us it's easier than building a robot to

02:52

write your essay for you [badly built robot]

03:20

we know because we've tried what did the Buffalo say to his son as

03:26

he left for school bye son okay bad joke but if you survived it how about

03:32

clicking the subscribe button below and if you're looking for more jokes from

03:36

yours truly why not check out our website at everyday bit of shmoop calm

03:40

if you want to get updates on what's new well check us out on Facebook and

03:43

Twitter too please check our Facebook and Twitter pages

Full Transcript