Guide for Composition 2


In this two page or longer typed exposition (double spaced, 12 Times Roman), you will need to describe a Hispanic cultural practice.

In order to find information related to your topic and avoid creating extensive (or even "erroneous") vocabulary lists, you may need to search the Internet in Spanish. To do this, for example, you will need to choose a Search page like "Google.com" and opt for an "Advanced Search" that allows you to limit the results of your search to pages written only in Spanish.

In any case, you should be careful to avoid plagiarism and direct quoting. Also, you may want to read ahead in this chapter so as to be aware of the passive voice (see p. 108).

If you have not already consulted the model for exposition papers you may want to now (Exposition)

This following list of themes may help you generate your own idea:

  1. Historical Event: The Conquest, The City, Mexican Revolution, La onda, Nationalism, Independence, Los desaparecidos, Caciquismo, Positivism, Prehistoric Civilization(s), La Guerra del Pacífico, etc...
  2. Cultural tradition or practice: Food Habits and Preparation, The Role of Women in Society, Indigenous Identity, Adolescence, Quinceañera, Madre/Amor/Amante, Amazon Cultures, Andean Cultures, Race, Machismo, Agri-culture, La coca, el ayllu, etc...
  3. Artistic tradition: Types of Music and singers, Art and Painters, Weaving, Platería, Industrial Design, Technology in Latin America, Theater, Tango, Merengue, Salsa, Dance, Poetry, Turupukllay, Death, Colonial Art, Chamanismo, etc..
  4. Historical or Cultural Figure: Che Guevara, Jorge Luis Borges, Eva Perón, San Martín, Simón Bolívar, García Márquez, Salvador Dalí, Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, Hernán Cortés, Cristóbal Colón, Antonio Gaudí, Sor Juana, Torquemada, Juan Rulfo, Cantinflas, José María Arguedas, Moctezuma, Laura Sobrino, Agustin de Iturbide, César Chávez, Julio Cortázar, Miguel Hidalgo, Vicente Huidobro, Francisco Madero, José Martí, José Orozco Clemente, Quetzalcoatl, Heitor Villa Lobos, etc., etc...