This document provides instructions for an assignment in an introductory Spanish course to assess students' skills in written communication, critical analysis, technological competence, and information literacy. Students must write a three-page research paper on an underrepresented group in a Spanish-speaking country or Spanish-speaking immigrants in the US. They must demonstrate knowledge of the group's cultural contributions, experiences, values, and struggles through thorough research using at least three academic sources. Specific guidelines are provided around paper structure, content, and formatting. The assignment will be graded based on a rubric.

1. General Education Common Graded Assignment:Spanish 101:
Introductory Spanish I
Please NOTE: This assignment is used in the 101 level of all
World Languages.
Introductory Spanish I is a general education course designed to
assist students in the development of critical life skills. One of
the goals of this assignment is to assess student competence for
each of these objectives:
I. Written communication skills-- write a coherent and well-
developed essay and conform to the grammar, punctuation, and
spelling rules of standard written English with a minimum of
errors.
II. Critical analysis and reasoning—communicate and organize
ideas clearly and concisely and provide thorough and relevant
supporting evidence.
III. Technological competence—utilize learning management
systems and word processing programs as appropriate to the
academic environment.
IV. Information literacy -- conduct independent research using
library electronic or print resources; evaluate resources for
authority, accuracy, reliability, coverage, and timeliness;
incorporate outside material into essays by summarizing,
quoting, and paraphrasing correctly; and provide documentation
for sources with a Works Cited page and parenthetical citations,
using the MLA or APA format.
VI. Local and global diversity—demonstrate knowledge of an
under-represented group in a Spanish-speaking country or
Spanish-speaking immigrants in the United States and explore
their cultural contributions experiences, values, struggles, or the
history of this group.

2. Assignment:
Write a three-page academic research paper on a diverse,
underrepresented group of people in a Spanish-speaking
country.
Objective:
Within heterogeneous societies, some diverse groups end up
being underrepresented and thus marginalized. Therefore, the
objective of this paper is to demonstrate knowledge of a
diverse, underrepresented group in a heterogeneous Spanish-
speaking country. Explore the cultural aspects of the group that
you choose; research and discuss its cultural contributions,
experiences, values, histories and power struggles as a diverse
group.
Guidance:
First, select a Spanish-speaking country that you would like to
research. This can include Spanish-speaking populations in the
United States. Then, research an underrepresented group in that
country that has distinct cultural aspects that make them
diverse, and result in experiences of marginalization. A group
of people can be underrepresented due to a variety of factors
such as their race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sex, sexual
orientation, disability, language, or class. Some examples of
such groups are:
· the Quechua people in Peru
· the Jews in Argentina
· women in Mexico
· Basque speakers in Spain.
Next, write an academic research paper describing the
experiences of this diverse group living in a plural society. You
should focus on the values and traditions of the group you have

3. selected with a particular emphasis on any one of the following:
· Political system
· Government
· Technological achievements
· Philosophy
· Religion
· Language (if this group is a language minority in the country
you have chosen)
· Literature
· Other cultural contributions
In your paper, as you discuss the experiences of your group, be
sure also to discuss what it means to be diverse in relation to
power, privilege and inequality in a society in which one is a
member of an underrepresented group.
Here are some possible topics:
· Describe a Spanish-speaking country that is linguistically
diverse (more than one language is spoken in the country),
religiously diverse (more than one religion is practiced in the
country), or ethnically diverse and explore the benefits and
problems for one of the underrepresented groups living in that
plural society;
· Explore gender roles in a specific Spanish-speaking country
and examine issues related to power and opportunity for
women;
· Investigate the experiences of Spanish-speaking immigrants in
the United States, or of another group of immigrants in a
Spanish-speaking country.
Guidelines:
· Must show proof of factual knowledge of the under-
represented group in the Spanish-speaking country or Spanish-
speaking immigrants in the United States, as well as reflection
on cultural contributions, experiences, values, struggles, or the

4. history of this group. Thus, it will require thorough preparation
(e.g. interviews, research data, or a combination of both).
· Should be organized, with a logical sequence of ideas, well-
structured paragraphs, varied sentence structure and appropriate
level of language, a variety of vocabulary appropriate to the
subject, and flawless grammar and spelling.
· Should communicate ideas clearly and concisely with cultural
sensitivity and provide thorough and relevant supporting
evidence. Cultural sensitivity means being aware that cultural
differences and similarities exist and have an effect on values,
learning and behavior.
· Should demonstrate a thoughtful description of an issue
related to a category of diversity (such as gender, language,
race, class, etc.).
· Should contain one inserted object, image, or graph, for
example. The inserted object should be relevant to the content
of the essay and should be placed thoughtfully within the essay.
Audience: Your audience is your instructor and other members
of the class, representative of an adult, educated, academic
audience.
Assignment Specifications:
The paper must:
· Be typed.
· Be three pages, written in English,double-spaced, with a 12-
point font.
· Be submitted through Blackboard.
· Show evidence of research, organization, and depth.
· Have a minimum of 3 appropriate academic resources. Try
using the CCBC Library Research Databases page under
Cultures. See http://library.ccbcmd.eduand click on Citations:
MLA | APA | Chicago to see how to cite your references.
*If you need assistance with your writing, please go to the
Writing Center (E-338--

5. Essex, L-123—Dundalk, or Y-121--Catonsville) and/or refer to
the CCBC Student Guide to Writing in the Disciplines:
http://www.ccbcmd.edu/media/widac/writing_guide.pdf
Grading:
· This assignment will account for 10% of the total course
grade.
· See attached rubric for details about how your essay will be
graded
Submission Guidelines:
· Please upload your Annotated Bibs to Blackboard via
Assignment Links (instructions will be discussed in class).
· Please upload your final typed paper to Blackboard via
Assignment Links.