ShmoopTube

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[Dino and Coop singing]

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A research essay can seem pretty intimidating.

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Seriously, not only does it have the word "research," which means a lot of reading and [Girl looking hesitantly at the word research]

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studying… [Girl is covered in books]

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…but it also has the word "essay," which means a whole lot of writing. [Girl is covered in writing paper]

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But don't worry!

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If you're feeling stressed about research essays, just say the following thing with

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us:

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Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, whyyyyyy?????? [Girl looks depressed]

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…Once you've finished doing that, we've got some actual good news! [Coop pointing at a blackboard]

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If you follow some simple steps, it doesn't have to be a nightmare.

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But it is still fun to say, ughhhh whyyyyy????? [Girl smiling]

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So therapeutic!

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The first step is picking a topic.

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You should try to find something that's interesting to you, because you and your topic

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are gonna be spending a lot of time together… [Boy handcuffed to the word topic]

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Seriously.

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A lot of time.

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You should also be sure to pick a topic that's the right size to be covered in a research

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essay.

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If you pick a topic that's too big…

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…then you might find yourself writing an encyclopedia instead of an essay. [Boy finishes writing his essay and a massive book appears]

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On the other hand, pick a topic that's too small, and you'll run out of stuff to say. [Guy looking through a microscope to see a tiny topic]

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After all, you want to end with an essay, not a leaflet.

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But who doesn't love a good leaflet?? [Cross appears over the leaflet and a tick over the essay]

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It even has a fun name….leaflet…heh. [Kid laughing]

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The second step is to find sources.

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Believe it or not, a research essay does require….y'know…research…so take a trip to the library to hunt down any [Dino pointing at a blackboard]

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books, magazines, or newspapers that relate to your topic. [Books, magazines and newspapers appearing]

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This will not only help you collect a whole bunch of relevant sources… [Guy surronded by research material]

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…but also allow you to make a few "research material angels," the warmer, paper-ier cousin

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of the snow angel. [Guy says the paper is so snuggly]

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It's also worth looking up a few online sources, even though they won't add much to your research [Guy using a computer]

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material angels.

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Next come two steps that happen at once: reading, and taking notes.

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All those books and print materials are good for more than just research material angels;

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they're also worth reading.

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Yup. [Boy looks shocked]

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Who wouldda thunk.

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And as you read, be sure to take notes.

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This makes it way easier to hold onto all of the relevant info you find. [Coop pointing at a blackboard]

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As you read more and more sources, your essay should start to come into focus, like a distant

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ship approaching.

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Except it should look more like an essay than a boat. [Girl standing on a cliff looking out to sea]

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If it looks like a boat, you probably did something very, very wrong… [A paper boat appears]

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The final step is to draft your essay.

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Find the main ideas of your essay and elaborate on them with strong details. [Details appear under the main ideas on a essay outline]

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As you write, be sure to use good paragraph structure.

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Y'know, starting with a topic sentence, elaborating, then finishing with a concluding sentence. [The structure appears on paper]

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And just like that, you're done!

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And you have plenty of cool research material angels to show for it! [Guy looks happy with his research material angles]

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…Uh, actually, be sure to clean up the library…as festive as that looks, no librarian wants

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to deal with your boredom-fueled mess. [Angry looking librarian]

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