Discursive Essay Phrases Spanish
Clotilde Wilks
If Spanish is not your first language, memorizing specific phrases can help you improve your essay-writing skills and make you sound more like a native speaker. Thus below, you will find a list of useful phrases categorized by groups to help you appear more proficient and take your essays to the next level!
Based on my vast experience as a freelance writer, I can say that starting an essay is undoubtedly the most challenging part of essay writing. Nonetheless, many phrases have proven to help organize my thoughts and form cohesive and intriguing introductions, such as:
It is also crucial that you know how to finish your essay. A good conclusion will allow you to tie all your ideas together and emphasize the key takeaways. Below, a few ways in which you can begin a concluding argument:
There you have it! A list of 60 useful phrases you can memorize to make your essays sound more professional and become more appealing to readers. However, if you are struggling and need further assistance with your essay, here you can see an Spanish essay example that can help you to structure and edit your work.
When I first started teaching AP Spanish, I panicked. How was I going to teach students how to write an argumentative essay for AP Spanish Language and Culture when I had never learned? (Or, if I HAD learned, that information was irretrievable from the depths of my brain.)
Using their templates and resources (I spent months reading books), I created PowerPoints and activities in Spanish to help my students succeed on the argumentative essay (previously called the persuasive essay). The curriculum took several years to perfect.
During this period of trial and error, I revised the lessons to further help students do their best writing. And they DID some excellent writing, organizing their essays, using transitions, and supporting their thesis statements. I was so proud of them!
Provide students with the vocabulary for expressing cause and effect, addressing opposing views, citing sources, introducing topics, expressing opposing viewpoints, and making comparisons. Teach them transition words and phrases as well as synonyms to prevent repetition of words. Give them lists of vocabulary that they can use as a reference as well as model essays using the vocabulary.
Before teaching students how to organize their essays, teach them how to write a thesis statement with three reasons and practice with them until they have mastered it. Show students model thesis statements.
Model how to include the requisite components of the intro paragraph: the hook, the thesis statement with three reasons (a strong opinion), some effects, and a conclusion or transition. And, of course, practice, practice, practice. Tell students to pair up and write an introductory paragraph.
Move on to paragraphs and teach them how to write topic sentences that correspond to the three reasons in the thesis. Teach the developing paragraphs separately. Have students peer edit using a checklist. If not possible, give samples of student work with no names or samples you have made up.
After teaching students the components of each part of the essay, have them analyze a model essay and label the parts: 3 reasons, topic sentences, transitions, hook, topic sentence, evidence. (I divide the class up and use this activity as a competition.)
Teach students how to use the third person instead of the first and second. Give them informal sentences with the first and second person and have them convert them to the third person, then do the reverse. These FORMAL ESSAY TASK CARDS help students practice.
After the students turned in the revised versions, I corrected them twice again, for organization and grammar, this time writing in the corrections and giving them a grade. I staple their essays to the College Board Rubric, circling the areas on the rubric where they need to improve.
Teaching AP Spanish is rewarding, but also a time sucker. If you would rather not spend hours writing lesson plans in addition to correcting a mountain of essays and other assignments, use the ones I have created. Everything is done for you! All you have to do is teach, correct, and go home. Click on the link to see them.
AP Spanish Lesson Plans and Curriculum for an Entire Year: Tringulo aprobado
If you would like to give your Spanish Four students a good foundation in expository essay writing, essential to success in writing an argumentative essay, click on the following link: How to Write an Essay in Spanish No-Prep Lesson Plans and Curriculum
Hi, Chris: So sorry I took so long getting back to you. There is no way for students to improve their writing without a ton of practice. If you have a limited amount of time, focus on essay writing and listening practice because those are the hardest parts for the students.
Yes, I would have students practice writing by hand since that is what they will be doing on the exam. The more similar the practice activities are to the exam itself, the better for the students. It also relieves test anxiety.
I taught world language for 31 years and have created countless resources for Spanish and French during that time. I am a top seller on Teachers Pay Teachers and for the past 11 years I have devoted my time and energy to helping teachers save time, avoid burn-out, and bring their students to proficiency in the target language through the use of my proven resources. During the five years that I taught AP Spanish, all but one of my students (primarily non-native speakers) passed the AP exam most with fours and fives.
Writing clearly involves using good sentence structure and using connectives to link your ideas. Using connectives properly makes your work easy to read and understand, but using them unnecessarily can confuse readers.
Different assignments in your degree may need different styles and encourage different word choices. Your university assignments will usually use an academic and formal style. You should choose your words carefully to demonstrate your point clearly and succinctly.
Connectives link sentences, phrases and ideas in your writing to guide your reader through your work. Transition terms are a type of connective that specifically indicates some kind of change or development.
Avoid stating that something is 'definite' in your work because you probably can't explore all potential outcomes of the statement in your essay. Use academic caution to suggest conclusions in your writing, and avoid terms like 'obviously', 'undeniably', 'certainly' and 'definitely' (unless you're quoting someone else).
Evidence can come from a range of sources. Your field will have specific requirements and reputable sources. Your evidence could come from data, results, findings, newspapers, databases, documentaries, or sound logical thinking and argument.
Your reader should be ware of where they are in your work. It's easy to lose your place when reading extended writing so you should include some guidance in your assignment. Expressing sequence also demonstrates that you're thinking logically and systematically to present your points or argument, and keeping in touch with how elements relate to each other.
The Latin verb discurrere meant "to run about", and from this word we get our word discursive, which often means rambling about over a wide range of topics. A discursive writing style generally isn't encouraged by writing teachers. But some of the great 19th-century writers, such as Charles Lamb and Thomas de Quincey, show that the discursive essay, especially when gracefully written and somewhat personal in tone, can be a pleasure to read. And the man often called the inventor of the essay, the great Michel de Montaigne, might touch on dozens of different topics in the course of a long discursive essay.
Learn how to plan lessons that support English learners' language development, build background knowledge, and give students opportunities to access grade-level content. This article is part of our Strategies for ELL Success guide.
In content-area classes, English language learners (ELLs) face a double challenge: they must learn language and content at the same time. In order to succeed in these classes, ELLs need the literacy, language skills, and background knowledge necessary to master that new content knowledge.
One way to address that challenge is through effective lesson planning. Depending on their different stages of English proficiency and literacy, ELLs will benefit from the skills that a well-designed lesson can address. For additional tips on language instruction, see our tips for mainstream teachers.
Note: This article also includes some research-based recommendations offered by Dr. Diane August in her 2018 American Educator article, Educating English Language Learners: A Review of the Latest Research.
Effective lesson planning requires a number of steps from initial preparation to the final review of material. This blog post on lesson planning with sheltered instruction offers a general roadmap for that process.
Select key vocabulary that students need to understand the content. Dr. Diane August notes that there are different kinds of vocabulary words that may need to be taught across different content areas:
Academic language, or the language of schooling, is the language that students need to succeed in their content-area classes. It is important for educators and students alike to understand the differences between social and academic language and why textbooks, tests, assignments, or class presentations may be more challenging for students than social conversations.
For example, what is the difference between the language students use to write a science report vs. the language used in a class message board? Sharing examples and teaching specific phrases or structures, especially when they related to a specific content area, can be a helpful way to help students feel comfortable in multiple settings.
Scaffolding instruction means to put in place some supports that can help students access grade-level content. In addition, your students may be at varying levels of English language proficiency, and some differentiation might be necessary. It's ok to start small -- and remember that this is an area where an ESL teacher can provide some helpful ideas!
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