school essay in spanish

855-997-4652 Login Try a Free Class

How to Write an Amazing Essay in Spanish

Has your teacher asked you to write an essay in Spanish? Essays are probably the most common type of homework around the world. Teachers want you to write essays because they’re a way to improve your abilities when you’re learning a new language.

Writing essays may not seem like fun, but it actually improves your cognitive abilities! The act of researching, organizing, and writing pushes you to increase your knowledge on different topics, strengthens your critical thinking skills, and advances your ability to communicate and express your thoughts.

With all these benefits in mind, it’s no wonder you want to write a great essay in Spanish. But there are times when your ideas vanish and your mind goes blank—you wonder, where do I begin and what steps do I follow?

Even if you’re a pro when it comes to writing in English, writing an essay in Spanish can be a challenge. In this blog post, I’ll help you overcome this small hurdle to help you make your Spanish essay cohesive, persuasive, and as professional as possible.

Are you ready to write an amazing essay in Spanish?

Basics and Benefits of Writing Essays

Strong writing skills are important for school, college, and a professional career. It’s likely that Spanish is not your first language, but if you’re learning the language then writing a research-fueled Spanish essay gives you all sorts of advantages. It enables you to practice grammar, spelling, vocabulary, as well as synthesize your ideas and thoughts surrounding the topic you’re writing about.

Writing a terrific essay in Spanish requires planning, organization, and structure. Having a process saves you time and once you’ve established a system that works for you, the writing comes easy!

How to Structure an Essay in Spanish

Similar to when you’re telling a story, your essay should follow a traditional story arc. This means that you start with an appealing introduction, after which you develop your idea within the body of the essay, and finally, you close your thoughts or argument with a summary and conclusion.

Let’s take a deeper look at these 3 parts of an essay in Spanish:

1. Introduction

Start your essay with a summary of the topic you’ll cover throughout your piece. The introduction reflects the argumentative line that your whole essay follows. It should be brief but not too short. I recommend making the intro 10% of your whole essay.

A good introduction gives enough information by stating a problem or the reason why you’re writing the essay and why the reader should be compelled to read it.

Some writers choose to write the introduction after they’ve written the body and conclusion. I think it’s a good strategy that allows you to summarize and evaluate the body of your whole essay before you aim to highlight important points in your introduction.

My biggest advice is to make it clear what the reason for your essay’s existence is, so that your reader can feel excited to know more, and invited to learn from you.

This is the main part of your essay. I recommend that you dedicate 80% of your whole essay to the body. This critical section develops the core ideas of your essay in Spanish as it’s where you present the main ideas and their arguments in relation to the topic you’re writing about.

This part requires you to do research from reputable sources, fact checking, and tying all your ideas together in a cohesive way.

3. Conclusion

The remaining 10% of your essay in Spanish should focus on bringing the essay to a close. You want to summarize all the main ideas of your topic and establish your final posture on it.

Preferably, leave no loose ends and make sure the ending of your essay has the ability to create a discussion or invite the reader to find out more about the topic.

Steps to Follow to Write an Essay in Spanish

Every writer has a unique system that works for them. What works for me might not work for you, and vice versa.

The steps and path you follow for writing an essay in Spanish depend on the knowledge and fluency you have of the language as well as your familiarity with writing.

Nevertheless, I recommend some basic steps that will help you if you’re a beginner when it comes to writing an essay in Spanish.

1. Define a Topic

Choose a topic of interest to you. If the topic is not assigned by your teacher, go for a current issue or interesting topic that will inspire you to research as much as possible. Check the local media, or go online and find out what topics are available for you to discuss.

2. Do Your Research

This aspect is critical—you must find reliable sources of information for your essay. Go to a library if possible, find academic papers online, and gather as much documentation as possible that helps you understand the central themes and patterns of your chosen topic.

As a plus, if you do your research in Spanish, you’ll see other essays in Spanish that will help you develop your own Spanish writing style, tone, and personality.

3. Determine Your Position

After you’ve gathered enough research, you’ll begin to see an angle or position you can take in relation to the information. The angle or position you take is essentially your “point.” Ask yourself, “What’s my point in writing this?” When you’ve answered that, you’ve discovered your position.

To support your position, your research should include quotes, statistics, and any relevant information you can find from credible sources.

4. Draft an Outline

This step is vital for organizing your arguments and ideas. Since Spanish is not your first language, an outline will allow you to translate words or phrases. In addition to listing Spanish notes in your outline, keep this basic process in mind:

Know your audience
Gather all notes, research, and supporting materials
Organize them into a cohesive flow
Be sure to organize by how each subtopic relates to the main topic and to each other

5. List Spanish Words and Terms

Since you’re writing an essay in Spanish, it’s only befitting that you have a list of specific words and terms you want to include in it.

Draft a list of terms that are relevant to your essay in Spanish, whether they’re reminders in your outline or they’re unfamiliar terms that beg to be further researched.

The terms you choose allow you to set a tone and define whether you’re using standard Spanish, informal Spanish, or literary and formal language.

The tone you choose to follow in your essay guides your word choice.

Here’s a list of words and phrases in Spanish that can help with your writing:

6. Write the Body of Your Essay

Focus on fully developing your argument with relevant examples and evidence to support your position. Each paragraph should focus on only one argument along with supporting evidence, and the flow from one paragraph to the next should sound natural and rational.

Spanish is a richer language, so don’t be afraid of writing longer sentences than usual, but make sure you combine them with short dynamic phrases. It’s essential to keep your reader interested!

7. Write an Engaging Introduction

Once you’re done with the body of your essay, start writing the introduction. The purpose of your intro is to set a tone and prepare the reader for what follows.

Putting together your introduction at the end allows you to absorb what you’ve written and define how to present the topic and express your point.

8. Summarize and Conclude

The conclusion is your essay is an opportunity to tie all your points together and restate the main argument. Since some essays are meant to be objective, I recommend you include a paragraph or sentence that stimulates reflection and enriches the reader’s perspective on the topic.

9. Final Edits and Proofreading

This final step is the second most critical when it comes to writing an essay in Spanish! Edit for correcting typos, punctuation, grammatical errors, and spelling.

I recommend you share your Spanish essay with a native speaker who can proofread it before you turn it in. Another person’s perspective can help you spot an error or a section that lacks cohesion.

A Few Final Tips

Read your essay as many times as possible.

I find myself making changes to essays after reading them at least 4 or 5 times. You need to check your essay for:

readability
consistency
transitions between paragraphs,
unnecessary fillers, and
adequate adverbs and adjectives.

Think and write in Spanish, if possible

By drafting an outline, doing your research, and organizing your ideas in Spanish from the beginning, you fully immerse yourself and make writing an essay in Spanish more efficient.

On the contrary, by writing and researching in English with the goal of translating, you’ll end up in a tough spot with way much more work than intended.

Ready to Write Your First Essay in Spanish?

I hope by sharing my essay-writing experience in this blog post that you feel more confident about writing your essay in Spanish. I know it can be frustrating and challenging at times, but don’t be afraid to make mistakes and correct them later.

The truth is, the more comfortable you feel speaking Spanish, the more your writing skills in Spanish will improve.

If you’re ready to take the next step and work on your speaking skills, join us at Homeschool Spanish Academy! You can sign up for a free trial class with one of our native, Spanish-speaking teachers. Before you know it, you’ll be speaking Spanish and writing essays like a pro!

Ready to learn more Spanish vocabulary? Check these out!

Señora vs Señorita: Who Is She?
Learn These 20 Types of Fish in Spanish [+ More Vocab]
200+ Beginner Spanish Vocabulary Words PDF: Learn Spanish Fast!
The Most Extensive Guide Ever to House Vocabulary in Spanish
‘How Much Is It?’ in Spanish: A Guide to Travel and Shopping
Familial Bonds: Expressing ‘Sister-in-Law’ in Spanish and Family Vocabulary
100 Easy Spanish Words for True Beginners
Earth Day Projects for Kids + Spanish Earth Day Vocabulary
Recent Posts
29 Cool and Catchy Spanish Phrases To Use With Friends [+Audio] - January 8, 2023
A Fun Kids’ Guide to Opposites in Spanish (Free Lesson and Activities) - December 29, 2022
10 Fun Spanish Folk Tales for Kids - December 10, 2022

45+ mission trip spanish phrases you need to know, 44 essential spanish quotes and proverbs to fuel your motivation, spanish body parts: vocabulary, idioms, and culture, spanish 101: greetings and farewells, leave a comment cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Learn Spanish with free, communicative lessons

Talking about your School and Classes in Spanish

Hola and welcome to our site. In this lesson, we will cover a list of common words, questions and phrases that can be very useful to talk about your school and classes in Spanish. We have included many audio examples, as well as two listening activities for you to read, listen and practice this important topic. Let’s start…

Vocabulary Introduction: About my school and classes in Spanish

We will begin this lesson by reading and listening to some questions related to the school. They have been divided in two sections: one regarding general things about the school, and another about school work and expressions in Spanish that you may need to interact with other students or your teacher.

Talking about your school in Spanish

Here are some common questions people may ask about your school in Spanish, as well possible ways to reply to those questions. Most of these questions are very basic with SI/NO answers, whereas others will include Spanish question words like “Cuándo, Cómo…”, etc. Click on the Play button to listen to their pronunciation.

Talking about your classes in Spanish

Next, we will learn a list of phrases and questions related to things that students say about their school and classes in Spanish, including class activities, the classes they like and opinions about their teachers. Listen to the examples and then move on to the first listening activity in the lesson.

Listening Activity No. 1: Talking about school and classes in Spanish

Key phrases in the conversation:.

¿Ya estás lista?… means “Are you ready?”
Me parece buena idea means “It sounds like a good idea to me”
“Ya había escuchado eso” means “I had heard that before”

Listening Activity No.2: School in Spanish-speaking countries

In Latin America, some countries organize their education system into Preschool, Primary School and Secondary School. In that scenario, middle and high school are part of secondary school . During secondary school (la secundaria), we take some very useful classes, including both Spanish and English. There, we learn the grammar rules for our own language and how to use it properly.

Related Spanish Worksheets:

The Classroom in Spanish – PDF Worksheet

You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser or activate Google Chrome Frame to improve your experience.

52 Spanish Essay Phrases for Your AP Exam

In order to do well on the AP Spanish exam’s free-response section, you must be able to write a persuasive essay based on three Spanish-language sources.

Here we’ve put together a list of 52 vocabulary words and essays phrases that will come in handy for making and supporting arguments in your AP Spanish essays.

Handy Essay Phrases for Writing a Strong Spanish AP Composition

Starting your essay, agreeing and disagreeing, stating an opinion, supporting an opinion, contrasting (or comparing), transitional phrases, changing topics, concluding your essay, how to prepare for the ap spanish essay, what are the details of the ap spanish essay, and one more thing….

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

Para empezar – To begin with

Hoy en día – Nowadays…

Hoy en día, las personas están en Internet hasta ocho horas por día. (Nowadays, people are on the Internet up to eight hours per day.)

A manera de introducción – We can start by saying…

Como punto de partida – As a starting point

Al principio – At the beginning…

En primer lugar – To start…

Empecemos por considerar – Let’s begin by considering…

Estoy de acuerdo/No estoy de acuerdo — I agree/I disagree

Estoy de acuerdo con lo que dice el autor. (I agree with what the author says.)

No estoy de acuerdo con la idea principal de la fuente número dos . (I disagree with the main idea of source number two.)

En mi opinión — In my opinion

En mi opinión, los jóvenes deberían comer más sano. (In my opinion, young people should eat healthier.)

La verdad es — The truth is

La verdad es que todavía hay mucha desigualdad en los Estados Unidos . (The truth is there is still a lot of inequality in the United States.)

Es verdad — It’s true

Es verdad que las redes sociales pueden ser peligrosas . (It’s true that social media can be dangerous.)

Es falso — It’s false

Hay gente que dice que las redes sociales son peligrosas, pero esto es falso . (There are people who say that social media is dangerous, but this is false.)

Me parece/No me parece — It seems to me/It doesn’t seem to me

Me parece bien que los niños asistan a colegios bilingües . (I think it’s a good idea that children attend bilingual schools.)

No me parece bien que los niños asistan a colegios bilingües . (I don’t think it’s a good idea that children attend bilingual schools.)

Remember that since me parece implies an opinion or emotion, you must conjugate the verb in the subjunctive tense.

(Yo) pienso que — I think that

Yo pienso que no hay nada más importante que la familia . (I think that there is nothing more important than family.)

(Yo) creo que — I believe that

Yo creo que todos los adolescentes deberían aprender a tocar un instrumento . (I believe that all adolescents should learn to play an instrument.)

The following phrases all have the same structure: Es + adjective + que .

This structure is similar to the English “It’s [adjective] that…” and is great for expressing and supporting opinions in a strong and confident manner. Here are some phrases that are especially useful when making and defending claims in a persuasive essay:

Es evidente que — It’s evident that

Es claro que — It’s clear that

Es cierto que — It’s certain that

Es obvio que — It’s obvious that

Es importante que — It’s important that

Es necesario que — It’s necessary that

Es probable que — It’s probable that

Es dudoso que — It’s doubtful that

For some of these phrases, the verb following the word que must be conjugated in the indicative, while others require the subjunctive . A good rule of thumb is that when implying that something is certain, use the indicative. When expressing doubt or expressing some other emotion, use the subjunctive.

On this list, evidente, claro, cierto and obvio use indicative verbs, and importante, necesario, probable and dudoso use subjunctive verbs.

Es cierto que nuestro clima está cambiando . (It is certain that our climate is changing.)

Es importante que la gente sepa hablar más de un idioma . (It’s important that people know how to speak more than one language.)

These words will help you refer to your three sources, which contain information that will help you support your argument. This section also contains transition words to connect one part of your argument to the next.

Según — According to

Según el autor… (according to the author…)

La fuente — The source

Según la fuente numero 1… (According to source number one…)

El tema — The theme/topic

Esto es un tema muy importante. (This is a very important topic.)

Mostrar — To show

La fuente muestra la importancia de la diversidad. (The source shows the importance of diversity.)

Remember, mostrar is an o-ue stem-changing verb—pay attention to conjugation!

Demostrar — To demonstrate

La tabla demuestra que muchos jóvenes en España juegan al fútbol. (The table demonstrates that many youths in Spain play football.)

Demostrar is also an o-ue stem changing verb. Luckily for you, it follows the exact same conjugation rules as mostrar !

Indicar — To indicate

La tabla indica que hay muchas familias pobres en ese barrio. (The table indicates that there are many poor families in that neighborhood.)

Apoyar — To support

Estos datos apoyan la idea de que el clima está cambiando. (This data supports the idea that the climate is changing)

Sin duda — Without a doubt

Sin duda, el cambio climático es el problema más grave que enfrenta nuestra planeta. (Without a doubt, climate change is the most serious problem that our planet faces.)

Por otra parte — On the other hand

Es importante que la economía crezca, pero por otra parte, tenemos que cuidar el medio ambiente. (It’s important that the economy grows, but on the other hand, we have to care for the environment.)

Aunque — Even though/Although

Aunque is followed by an indicative verb when the outcome is known, but a subjunctive verb when the outcome is speculative.

Aunque cuesta mucho dinero, tenemos que buscar una solución. (Even though it costs a lot of money, we have to search for a solution.)

Aunque cueste mucho dinero, tenemos que buscar una solución . (Even though it may cost a lot of money, we have to search for a solution.)

Al igual que — Just like

Al igual que en los años 40, hoy en día hay mucha gente que no quiere ayudar a los refugiados de guerra . (Just like in the 40s, today there are many people who don’t want to help war refugees.)

Tanto… como… — … as well as…

Fill in this phrase with two nouns to emphasize that you’re talking equally about two different things.

Tanto chicos como chicas deberían aprender a cocinar, limpiar, coser y cuidar a los bebés. (Boys as well as girls ought to learn how to cook, clean, sew and care for babies.)

Sino — But rather

Remember that Spanish has two translations for the English word “but.” The word sino is like the English phrase “but rather,” used to introduce an alternative.

En comparación — In comparison

En comparación, la fuente número 2 indica que hay más obesidad en Estados Unidos que en España . (In comparison, source number 2 indicates that there is more obesity in the United States than in Spain.)

Leer no es una pérdida de tiempo, sino una manera de aprender y de conocer otras culturas . (Reading isn’t a waste of time, but rather a way to learn and understand other cultures.)

Además — Additionally

This word is usually seen at the beginning of a sentence, and it’s useful for transitioning from one idea or argument to another.

Además, es evidente que la tecnología nos ayuda mucho. (Additionally, it’s evident that technology helps us a lot.)

Sin embargo — However

This is another good transition word. In your essay, you may want to present an alternate argument and then explain why you disagree with it. Sin embargo is very helpful for this.

Obviamente, estudiar es muy importante. Sin embargo, es necesario que los adolescentes tengan tiempo para jugar con sus amigos . (Obviously, studying is very important. However, it’s necessary that teenagers have time to play with their friends.)

Por lo cual — For this reason/That’s why/Which is why

This phrase is used in the middle of a sentence to connect ideas.

La Amazonía tiene un alto nivel de biodiversidad, por lo cual la conservación de esta región debe ser una prioridad. (The Amazon has a high level of biodiversity, which is why the conservation of this region must be a priority.)

Sobre un tema relacionado — On a related topic

Sobre un tema relacionado con la inteligencia artificial, se están llevando a cabo investigaciones para mejorar la capacidad de aprendizaje de los algoritmos de machine learning. (Regarding a topic related to artificial intelligence, research is being conducted to enhance the learning capacity of machine learning algorithms.)

Cuando se trata de – When it comes to

Relacionado con esta idea — Related to this idea

Una idea similar es — A similar idea is

Una idea similar es utilizar la realidad virtual como herramienta educativa para mejorar la experiencia de aprendizaje de los estudiantes. (A similar idea is to use virtual reality as an educational tool to enhance the learning experience of students.)

Ahora estoy pasando a — Now moving onto

In your final paragraph, you’ll want to provide a summary of your main argument and your main supporting points. You can use the following helpful phrases:

En conclusión — In conclusion

En resumen — In summary

En fin — Finally

En conclusión,/En resumen,/En fin, las tres fuentes muestran que la contaminación del aire es un problema muy grave para todo el mundo . (In summary, the three sources show that air pollution is a very serious problem for the whole world.)

After summarizing your essay, you’ll want to restate your main argument in a succinct, strongly-worded sentence. Start with these phrases:

Por estas razones — For these reasons

Por eso — That is why

Así que — Therefore

Entonces — So

Por estas razones,/Por eso,/Así que/Entonces, afirmo que los adolescentes no deberían usar las redes sociales. (For these reasons, I affirm that teenagers should not use social media.)

In many ways, preparing for the free-response section is the same as preparing for the rest of the AP exam.

It involves studying grammar and vocabulary, and it also means immersing yourself in the Spanish language as much as possible.

There are also some targeted ways to practice for the free-response section.

Do practice exams and read sample essays. The College Board has posted the full AP exams from the last several years. Try to read the sources and write the essay in the allotted 55 minutes. When you’re done, go back and slowly revise your essay for errors in grammar, spelling and logic. After that, you can also check out the grading rubric provided by the College Board and several sample persuasive essays . Try to compare your essay against the rubric and the samples to see how you can improve your writing.
Practice summarizing and analyzing Spanish-language sources. Remember all those great resources listed above? Well, it’s not enough to just read or listen to them. The whole point of the presentational essay is to measure your ability to summarize, synthesize and argue. So, after you read or listen to a Spanish-language source, take five minutes to summarize it—on paper. Identify the main argument, and then make a bulleted list of important points. Finally, write a few sentences summarizing your personal opinion.
Learn targeted vocabulary for talking about opinions and arguments. Is there anything more frustrating than knowing exactly what you want to say, but not having the vocabulary to say it? This article lists many crucial vocabulary words for expressing and supporting opinions in persuasive essays. Using these words and phrases will help make your writing flow more smoothly, and allow you to argue with more credibility.

FluentU takes authentic videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.

You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app or Android app.

P.S. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month)

Try FluentU for FREE!

You can also find some great info on great news outlets , podcasts , YouTube channels and blogs —all in Spanish. Even following some Spanish Twitter feeds or listening to Spanish music can be a great way to work a little language practice into your day.

The free-response section of the exam is meant to test your ability to communicate with others in spoken and written Spanish.

There are two essays in the free-response section. The interpersonal essay asks you to respond to an email. The presentational essay tests how well you can draw information from Spanish-language sources, form an argument and write formally. This second essay is a little less straightforward, so we’ll walk you through it here.

So, how does it work?

The presentational essay is based on three sources . Two of them are written sources and one is an audio source.

These sources can be just about anything: Advertisements, articles, infographics, letters, maps, interviews, radio programs, podcasts and conversations are just some examples of the types of sources you may encounter.

You’ll have about 55 minutes to complete this particular essay. First, you’ll have six minutes to read the prompt and the two written sources, and then you’ll hear the audio source twice. Finally, you’ll have 40 minutes to plan and write your essay.

The essay is graded on the basis of Spanish language skills like reading, listening, writing and grammar—but it’s also based on your general ability to analyze the sources and make a strong, coherent argument.

Of course, learning vocabulary and essay phrases is just one way to prepare for the free-response section.

Remember to expose yourself to as many Spanish-language sources as you can before test day, and don’t forget to think critically about those sources as you read them!

If you've made it this far that means you probably enjoy learning Spanish with engaging material and will then love FluentU .

Other sites use scripted content. FluentU uses a natural approach that helps you ease into the Spanish language and culture over time. You’ll learn Spanish as it’s actually spoken by real people.

FluentU has a wide variety of videos, as you can see here:

FluentU brings native videos within reach with interactive transcripts. You can tap on any word to look it up instantly. Every definition has examples that have been written to help you understand how the word is used. If you see an interesting word you don’t know, you can add it to a vocab list.

learn-spanish-with-interactive-subtitled-videos

Review a complete interactive transcript under the Dialogue tab, and find words and phrases listed under Vocab .

Learn all the vocabulary in any video with FluentU’s robust learning engine. Swipe left or right to see more examples of the word you’re on.

The best part is that FluentU keeps track of the vocabulary that you’re learning, and gives you extra practice with difficult words. It'll even remind you when it’s time to review what you’ve learned. Every learner has a truly personalized experience, even if they’re learning with the same video.

Start using the FluentU website on your computer or tablet or, better yet, download the FluentU app from the iTunes or Google Play store. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)

40 Mexican Words for Party Time

Tú vs. Usted in Spanish: The Difference and How to Use Each One

Reply to this review cancel.

Thanks for choosing to leave a comment. Please keep in mind that all comments are moderated according to our comment policy , and your email address will NOT be published. Please Do NOT use keywords in the name field. Let's have a personal and meaningful conversation.