Today, I will share a Spanish essay example in the end of the article and talk about the steps and hacks to help you craft the perfect Spanish essay.
As an experienced writer, I understand how hard it can be to write in a language different from your mother tongue. But, know that learning how to write a good Spanish essay has more to do with following a structure than it has to do with understanding the language.
Of course, you need to have a basic understanding of spelling and grammatical practices; as well as a vast vocabulary to avoid sounding monotonous.
However, learning how to write a Spanish essay is not impossible if you follow these simple steps:
- Draft an outline
- Create a list of words and terms
- Start writing the body of your essay
- Write the introduction
- Formulate the conclusion
- Proofread and edit
As you can see, learning how to write a good Spanish essay requires a lot of planning and organization. And although it might be counter-intuitive at first, following the structure above will save you a lot of time. Plus, once you have the system down, you will be able to create exciting pieces without breaking a sweat!
Before we dive in, I always recommend you do a little research. So, look up Spanish essay examples online and analyze the way the writer structured the piece. Bonus points if you can find useful examples of essays within your topic of choice. The idea is not to copy what others are saying but to understand how to write a Spanish essay that is well crafted, appealing, and informative — all at the same time.
Now that you have done your homework; it is time to start writing your essay by following the steps I mentioned earlier:
1. Draft an outline
An outline is vital when you are learning how to write a Spanish essay, as it will allow you to organize your arguments and ideas. Plus, given that you are not writing in your first language, an outline will help you translate keywords or phrases from English to Spanish (if need be).
As you can see from the Spanish essay example, I have shared it after the text. You must keep it simple. Nonetheless, make sure you have enough information to elaborate on 6-7 paragraphs. Also, do not forget to include any quotes, statistics, or other information (from credible sources) that could support your arguments.
2. Create a list of words and terms
I always recommend that before you start writing, you create a list of keywords or phrases that are vital to your essay. More often than not, these terms will appear as part of your outline, but, in other instances, these could be hard-to-translate terms.
You do not need to write every word or term you will be using throughout the piece as you can always use a English-Spanish dictionary if you cannot recall a specific term.
The list is a way of double-checking. keywords to make sure you are using the correct term in Spanish and not using a literal translation. For instance, in the list of our Spanish essay example, the word “must-have” is not translated to “debes tener,” as that would be a literal translation. Instead, the phrases “cualidades indispensables” is used, which would be the appropriate term in Spanish.
3. Start writing the body of your essay
The body of the essay is where you fully develop your argument. It might seem odd, but you should ignore your essay’s introduction and go straight to the body.
If your goal is to master how to write a good Spanish essay make sure your body has a good flow in between paragraphs, so they do not end up being separate mini-essays. It is also essential that each body paragraph contains only one main argument or claim. However, this central idea can (and should) be supported by approximately 5 to 6 other sentences.
Spanish essays are usually wordier/more complicated than your average English essay as the language is richer. So, do not be afraid to write longer sentences to get the message across.
Lastly, do not forget to add relevant examples, evidence to support your arguments, and quotes from experts or credible sources (i.e., academic books and journal articles). You can see one example of a quote here.
Let’s be honest, most students do not do that, but shows the teacher you have put effort to research your topic.
Go back to our Spanish essay example and dissect each paragraph. Pay attention to the transitions here and here, the way we incorporated quotes, and how each paragraph’s main idea is developed. In doing so, you will be gaining valuable insight as to how to structure your document.
4. Write the introduction
Once you have finished writing your entire essay’s body, write the introduction. Why? Simple. If the job of an introduction is to set the tone for what will follow. You will have a more precise and more detailed idea of what that is once you’ve written the entire piece.
An introduction should state a problem or introduce a subject of discussion. It should also tell the reader why you are writing this essay and why he/she should feel compelled to read it.
Let’s look at our Spanish essay example. Here, the introduction, although it is short, gives us enough information. It allows us to understand that we will know how to manage a remote team by choosing the right candidates and establishing an effective strategy after reading this essay. And that is precisely what you want an introduction to be doing!
5. Formulate the conclusion
When learning how to write a Spanish essay, you have to be really careful with how you formulate the conclusion. In Spanish, your conclusion should always begin by restating your main argument. In other words, this is your chance to tie all of your main points together and give the reader a succinct takeaway.
For instance, in our Spanish essay example, the conclusion is everything. Think about it, if you only read the title and this last paragraph, you almost do not need to read the body. All the main points are there, and as a reader, I got what I came looking for: strategies to manage a remote team effectively.
6. Proofread and edit
To finish our easy steps on how to write a Spanish essay, we must not leave our editing and proofreading! This step is critical to composing a great essay. Most readers will not even finish reading articles if they spot a spelling mistake, typo, or grammatical error. Thus, take the time to go over your essay.
Furthermore, when editing your essay, pay attention to:
- Readability
- Content
- Consistency of the language
- Argument reasoning and rationale
- Transition between paragraphs
- Writing style
- Citations and referencing
Lastly, given that Spanish is not your first language, I always recommend having someone else proofread your final draft before sending it out or printing it. A native Spanish speaker can easily spot mistakes that you might have missed, which could affect your article’s natural flow.
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How to Make your Spanish Essay More Persuasive
Now that you have finished writing a good Spanish essay, you might want to go the extra mile by making it more persuasive.
A Spanish persuasive essay or any persuasive essays’ goal is to convince the reader to think like you or validate your perspective. But, some topics can be more subjective than others. Thus, to make sure your essay is effective, always rely on others.
In other words, don’t let your argument stand-alone—research statistics, graphs, information, and data that can back up what you are saying. Citing or quoting experts in the field is also a great way to go about it as it allows your message to carry more weight.
Nonetheless, make sure you are only using reliable sources. Below a list of ways to vet a reference to make sure your Spanish persuasive essay uses only the best sources:
• Accuracy
Verify the information you already have against the data found in the source.
• Authority
Make sure a dependable author or institution writes the source.
• Currency
Depending on your subject, your currency needs will vary. Thus, make sure to check when was the book or article written/published.
As a rule of thumb, I consider a reliable source:
• Materials published within the last five years
• Official websites (.gov., .edu,.org)
• Academic databases
• Articles published by well-known authors or experts in a specific topic
There you have it! Six easy steps that will help you write a good Spanish essay and a few tips and tricks to make it more persuasive.
Spanish essay example – See below
Cómo desarrollar una estrategia efectiva de teletrabajo
[Start of the Introduction section]
El Covid-19 ha llevado a muchas empresas a migrar de un trabajo presencial al teletrabajo. Según Global Workplace Analytics [and in the end you can add the reference to your Bibliografía], unos 75 millones de trabajadores de los EEUU podrían teletrabajar al menos un parte de su jornada de trabajo. Sin embargo, para muchos sectores esto se ha convertido en un verdadero reto.
Aunque para muchos no sea obvio, los beneficios de trabajar con equipos remotos son incontables, siempre que construyas una política realmente efectiva y diseñes el proceso de reclutamiento acertado. Así es que si buscas desarrollar una estrategia efectiva de teletrabajo, debes asegurarte de que tus empleados o candidatos para trabajar a distancia, cuenten con las herramientas adecuadas.
[End of the Introdution]
Cuando comiences a reclutar personas (nuevas o dentro de tu mismo equipo de trabajo), asegúrate de informarles de las cualidades indispensables que buscas en un candidato. No todo el mundo podrá unirse a la modalidad de teletrabajo por más que la situación lo requiera.
Por ejemplo, si una de las características más importantes para el desarrollo del proyecto es la conectividad, los candidatos adecuados deben poder estar a tu disponibles a través de sus computadoras o dispositivos móviles. Mónica Zent [another reference in our Bibliografía section], fundadora de Foxwordy la primera red social privada para abogados, recomienda que a todos los candidatos se les debería preguntar acerca de sus hábitos digitales. Pues, los candidatos ideales para el teletrabajo son aquellos que tienen disponibilidad y buena disposición para mantenerse conectados o conectarse en el momento en que sea necesario.
Del mismo modo, debes infórmales sobre de tus reglas para el teletrabajo y ayudarlos a mejorar sus métodos de gestión del tiempo. La idea es que te apoyes en un equipo eficiente, pero que además sea capaz de lograr un buen equilibrio entre la vida y el trabajo. Aunque la flexibilidad es una de las características inherentes del trabajo remoto, debes construir una política firme según las necesidades específicas de tu proyecto para poder dirigir un equipo eficiente y efectivo.
Las horas laborales oficiales, dependerán de los requerimientos de tu proyecto, por lo que es importante que los miembros de tu equipo sepan a qué horario atenerse. En caso de que los miembros de tu equipo tengan distintos husos horarios, define uno oficial con el que todos se sientan cómodos.
Determina los días que necesites una videoconferencia con todo el equipo dentro del huso horario oficial. Estas llamadas les permitirán recordar que trabajan con otras personas aunque por lo general hagan sus tareas aislados. Promueve el uso de la webcam para que todos estén concentrados en la conversación y estén realmente presentes. El verse las caras permite la comprensión del lenguaje corporal y una mejor comunicación.
[End of body section]
[Start of the conclusion section]
En conclusión, una estrategia efectiva de trabajo remoto dependerá de la forma en la que buscas y vetas los candidatos en tu empresa. No todo el mundo tiene la capacidad de trabajar desde casa de manera efectiva.
Además, recuerda hacer hincapié en la modalidad de trabajo y plantea una estructura clara donde se establezcan horarios, reuniones y seguimientos para lograr los mejores resultados.
Si logras incoporar todas estas prácticas dentro de tu modelo de negocio, tendrás un equipo remoto efectivo, compenetrado y eficiente. Tres factores de vital importancia para sobrepasar la crisis mundial que nos ha tocado vivir este 2020.
Bibliografía
- Global Workplace Analytics, 2020. How many people could work-from-home. Consultado a 04.10.2020 en [https://globalworkplaceanalytics.com/how-many-people-could-work-from-home].
- Zent, Mónica, 2015. Monica Zent’s 5 Ways to Effectively Lead Remote Teams. Consutlado a 04.10.2020 en [https://medium.com/@MonicaZent/monica-zent-s-5-ways-to-effectively-lead-remote-teams-the-most-cutting-edge-companies-of-the-ab409c3db16a]
Outline
- Introducción
- “En los EE. UU., 4.7 millones de empleados trabajan desde casa al menos la mitad de la semana.”
- Qué estas buscando
- Conectividad
- Disponibilidad
- Compromiso
- El candidato ideal
- Tip de Mónica Zent
- Flexibilidad
- Modalidad de trabajo
- Estrategia/planificación
- Calendario
- Video conferencias/Uso de la webcam
- Fechas de entrega
- Conclusión
List of words
- Work remotely = Trabajo remoto/teletrabajo
- Flexibilty = Felixbilidad
- Availability = Disponibilidad
- 24/7 Connectivity = Conectividad las 24 horas
- Must-haves = Cualidades indispensables
- Video conference = Video conferencias
- Deadlines = Fechas de entrega
- Time zone = huso horario
- Webcam = webcam
