Document outlines steps to formulating a thesis statement in Spanish and basic steps for structuring a literature review in the social sciences and humanities in Spanish.

Written quiz via Google Docs that covers important figures and terminology related to the Dirty War and Transitional Justice structures.

Written quiz via Google Docs that covers important figures, institutions, and terminology related to the Dirty War and Transitional Justice structures.

Reflective writing assignment in which students use their acquired knowledge based on reading and discussions to answer a broad question with relevant textual evidence and analysis. This assignment has prompts that encourage intertextual analysis and critical reading.

This semester-long assignment is a collaborative Google Doc in which students pose questions for discussion prior to class and answer them to brainstorm before in-class sessions. Oral presenters of the day propose 8-10 cogent discussion questions as a starting point and the rest of the class responds by answering, adding more questions, citing quotes from relevant texts, supporting or refuting the assertions of their peers, etc. These questions guide the discussion and scaffold learning, allowing for class time to be utilized for more in-depth conversation on the texts of the day.

Example of an annotated bibliography, which is one step of the semester-long research paper project. Early in the semester, students select a topic and prepare a tentative bibliography that will support their investigation. Students evaluate the sources and prepare a succinct summary of the text. They explain why the source is relevant to their research. Guidance is given at this point regarding other possible sources or suggested revisions to the working bibliography in a brief consultation meeting. This step prepares students to write their literature reviews, the next step in the process.

The literature review outlines the theoretical framework for the final paper presentation and helps students learn how to situate their work within the larger field. Students summarize the arguments of texts they will reference in their essay as a point of departure and walk the reader through their process of argumentation, connecting each text with the thesis statement. The literature review provides a sketch of relevant texts in the field and shows that students have an understanding of how their project connects with the larger corpus of existing research on the subject. It also helps ensure that students have a plan for their project in terms of coherence and structure in the argument.

The Final Essay is the culmination of the writing process in which students submit a 10-15 page paper of their research over the course of the semester. As an upper division course, this prepares students to write longer essays that could be presented at conferences or submitted for publication in a journal. Using the process of peer review in class, students become accustomed to receiving several rounds of feedback on their work and completing revisions to make their writing stronger. This process prepares students for larger future projects such as honors theses or assignments they may have in graduate school in the future.