Various Approaches to Spanish Essays
The term “Spanish essays” covers a lot of territory. It must first be defined. Is the essay about the Spanish people, language or the country of Spain? Each of these possibilities holds plenty of promise for a lengthy and interesting essay. A writer can easily create a 1000 word essay on this topic.
Spanish people have a long history and a multitude of interesting traditions that define them as a group. But even the Spanish people have some differences. Are the Spaniards those who continue to live in Spain? Basques, live in Spain and are Spanish in that sense, but they hold so tightly to their own history that a group of them, Basque separatists, have attacked other Spanish people in terrorist fashion.
The Spanish Conquistadors traveled to the New World and left their influence all over Central and South America. The Spanish spoken by their descendants is slightly different from the language used by those in Spain. In the United States, a high school (or even college) Spanish class is generally the Mexican version. It is mixed with euphemisms particular to Mexicans. It is also mingled with influences from Aztec, Mayan and other ancient tribes that once flourished in the Americas before the arrival of Europeans. So, if the Spanish essays are to be written in the Spanish language, which version? Perhaps it would make an interesting essay to delineate the different versions and compare them.
Flamenco dancers are traditional Spanish dancers. The Mexican version is very similar. Many foods have Spanish origins, but have changed to accommodate the different ingredients that were found in the New World as opposed to what was available in Spain. If the Spanish essays must deal with food or the arts, which version will you use? Or will it be a comparative essay?
Perhaps it’s the use of the Spanish language that will be required. If you have been assigned a Spanish language essay, you probably speak, read and understand enough to manage without any help from anyone else. Even basic Spanish can be used to write a competent essay. However, if you haven’t studied enough, or have forgotten a lot, or want to do a better job than you might, the internet can be a great help (as can a library). Translations are readily available without much of a search. Another excellent resource for writing an essay in Spanish is a friend or neighbor who is fluent in the language. I needed some advertising done in Spanish and asked my good friend, Ramon, to help me out. It took us over an hour, but the ads turned out very nicely. I don’t recommend having someone else do all the writing of a Spanish essay, of course, but a little help is not a bad thing.
In conclusion, the first thing required for Spanish essays is to determine what sort of essay you’re going to write and do a thorough job when you research essay topics. “Spanish” is a big subject. The second thing required is to locate the best information and consider how to use it. Whether historical or modern, the Spanish language, culture and people are interesting subjects. Just make sure that you stick with your exact topic when writing the introduction to an essay, you don’t want to ramble about the broad term.
