Writing in Spanish might seem hard and horrible but you don’t need to be Cervantes to get good marks. The best thing to do is a healthy mix of reviewing your verbal tenses, improving your vocabulary and *drumroll please* FOLLOW THIS GLORIOUS LAYOUTI promise you if you take these steps writing your Dialogue will be significantly less painful than winging it.
I. The Basics
Where does it appear: Written Production. Section C. 1. a
How many marks: 25 marks
To be finished in 35 minutes
II. Tips for writing a great dialogue
1. Read the whole dialogue before attempting to answer,
This will give you clues as to how formal you should be.in this “conversation”. Basically, if you need to use “Tú” or “Usted” and what the general topics are going to be.
2. Keep your grammar on point.
This is a fantastic opportunity to flex your grammar level…or to mess it up. Be sure to check your use of ser/estar , the verbal tenses, especially “Me gusta”, and agreements between nouns and adjectives as well as pronouns. Lastly, there is usually at least one subjunctive so it is a good idea to review that. Using the verb correctly is the most important part of this task.
3. Do not use this as a translation exercise
It is critical that you answer to the meaning, not the literal translation. A good idea is to practice as many dialogues as possible, as well as when preparing for the oral and write down common expressions and mistakes.
Example: “It’s raining cats and dogs”
| Phrase | Meaning | Literal translation | Good meaningful translation | Bonus points similar phrase |
| Its raining Cats and Dogs | It’s raining heavily | Están lloviendo gatos y perros. THIS DOES NOT WORK | Está lloviendo muchísimo | muchísimoEstá lloviendo a cántaros |
If you say this to a Spanish native they won’t understand what you mean. What you want to communicate is “It’s raining heavily” so go for that instead, a “Está lloviendo muchísimo” will suffice. Alternatively, Spanish does have a similar expression, “Está lloviendo a cántaros” which will get you good points if you can place it correctly.
4. Always attempt each turn.
There are no negative marks but you might get some marks on a question you though you didn’t know how to answer.
Originally 30marks with 6marks per “turn” You need 5 well-constructed answers
III. Use this glorious layout.
A.1. Paper’s part B.1. Cue with what you have to reply. Your actual answer.
A.2. Paper’s part B.2. Cue with what you have to reply. Your actual answer.
A.3. Paper’s part B.3. Cue with what you have to reply. Your actual answer.
A.4. Paper’s part B.4. Cue with what you have to reply. Your actual answer.
A.5. Paper’s part B.5. Cue with what you have to reply. Your actual answer. |
IV. Practice writing the dialogue.
And there you have it!
All that is needed now is to rinse and repeat, get dialogue prompts (your Spanish Class-book and the internet are packed with them), and start practicing.
Good luck!
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