it is now time to create a 150-250 word borrador (draft) comparing and contrasting what you used to do in the summertime as a child with what you specifically did last summer. In Lesson 9, you selected vocabulary and wrote an outline for your essay. In this lesson you will produce a high-quality draft of your paper. Follow these process steps to assist you in this exercise:
1. El Borrador – Getting it down. From your outline, and using the previous lists of vocabulary and verbs, write a draft of your narrative as a word processing document. Keep your sentences simple and descriptive. Try to think in Spanish. Don’t worry about grammar and spelling so much at this point–just get your ideas written.
Below is a list of organizing phrases that may be helpful.
Useful Vocabulary for Organizing
antes
before
ahora
now
cuando
when
por eso
that’s why; therefore
primero
first
segundo
second
entonces
then
luego
later
después
afterwards
aún más tarde
even later on
de nuevo
again
por la mañana
In the morning
por la tarde
In the afternoon
por la noche
In the evening
por fin
finally
afuera (de)
outside
el verano pasado
last summer
el verano que viene
next summer
2. El Borrador – Refining what you wrote. Look at your draft. Are you satisfied with the activities and description you selected? Do you want to delete or add more information or description? Does the organization still work? Could the reader follow it? Check your verb forms. The imperfect indicative would be used if you are describing what you used to do over the summer. The preterite would be used to narrate what you specifically did last summer. Make any changes you feel the draft needs at this time. Be sure to save your word processing document frequently so you don’t lose your work.
3. Redactar (editing/proofing). Look at your narrative again. Does it “flow” well? Does it have a beginning that captures the reader’s attention and interest? Does the ending bring the narrative to a conclusion?
4. Redactar – la gramática. Check for the following grammatical items in your narrative:
- Spelling of words. Are they spelled correctly, especially the gender of any nouns used?
- Noun/adjective agreement. Do the nouns and adjectives agree in gender and number?
- Noun/verb agreement. Do the subject and verb agree in each sentence? Are the verbs conjugated into their correct forms?
- Punctuation. Do your sentences start with a capital and end with a period or other appropriate punctuation mark in Spanish?
Your essay should be organized into 4 paragraphs. The first paragraph should have your introduction. The introduction should capture the reader’s interest and contain a concise thesis statement. The second paragraph should describe the summers of your youth. Where did you go? What did you do? Who were you with? Be sure your verbs are in the proper tense to indicate what you “used to do” during the summer. The third paragraph should describe last summer. What did you do last summer? The same things as when you were younger, or different things? Again, your verb tense should clearly indicate this is something you did last summer. Then your fourth paragraph should be a conclusion. The conclusion should sum up your past summer activities and include a few ideas for next summer.
