Spanish Essay Phrases: 40 Useful Phrases for an Impressive Writeup
Writing an essay in Spanish? Use these phrases to introduce ideas, connect arguments and conclude clearly.
These Spanish connectors and expressions can help you organize an essay. Choose each one for the relationship you mean: sequence, addition, contrast, cause, or conclusion.
Use them where they clarify your argument. Adding connectors at random will not make an essay clearer.
Spanish Essay Phrases
| Spanish Essay Phrase | English Translation | |
| 1 | para empezar | to begin with |
| 2 | en primer lugar | in the first place |
| 3 | al principio | at first; at the beginning |
| 4 | como punto de partida | as a starting point |
| 5 | por un lado | on the one hand |
| 6 | para continuar | to continue |
| 7 | durante | during |
| 8 | mientras tanto | meanwhile |
| 9 | además | in addition; also; moreover |
| 10 | también | too; also |
| 11 | luego | then |
| 12 | entonces | then |
| 13 | después de + infinitivo | after doing something |
| 14 | mientras | while |
| 15 | y | and |
| 16 | antes de + infinitivo | before doing something |
| 17 | sin embargo | nevertheless |
| 18 | a pesar de + nombre/infinitivo | despite; in spite of |
| 19 | aunque | although; even though; even if (context matters) |
| 20 | pero | but |
| 21 | en cambio | by contrast; on the other hand |
| 22 | por otra parte | on the other hand |
| 23 | por otro lado | on the other hand |
| 24 | sino; sino que | but rather (after a negative statement) |
| 25 | en realidad | in reality; really |
| 26 | hay que tener en cuenta / tomar en cuenta | one must take into account |
| 27 | lo importante es | the important thing is |
| 28 | por eso | that is why; for that reason |
| 29 | por lo tanto | therefore |
| 30 | desgraciadamente | unfortunately |
| 31 | afortunadamente | fortunately |
| 32 | para ilustrar | to illustrate |
| 33 | por ejemplo | for example |
| 34 | a causa de | because of |
| 35 | en conclusión | in conclusion |
| 36 | en fin | in short; anyway (depending on context) |
| 37 | finalmente | finally |
| 38 | en resumen | in summary; to summarize |
| 39 | para concluir | to conclude |
| 40 | para terminar | to finish; finally |
Después de estudiar means “after studying”; después de needs a noun or infinitive here. Aunque may mean “although” or “even if,” depending on the sentence and verb mood. After a negative statement, use sino before a noun, adjective, or infinitive (No es fácil, sino difícil) and sino que before a conjugated verb (No se quejó, sino que ayudó).
Additional Resources
You can also check out the following resources:
84 Spanish Expressions for Agreeing and Disagreeing
Expresiones útiles para escribir en español
Your turn!
Try using the Spanish essay phrases you learned in this lesson to write a few example sentences.
