HW
Week 2 Sentence and Paragraph Outlines
Student Example
“Se Habla Español” by Tanya Maria Barrientos
Sentence Outline
1. Thesis sentence (main idea)
Barrientos argues that while many Latinos and Latinas feel the need to speak Spanish so as to
identify with the culture of their parents, they should not feel this obligation.
2. Summary sentence
Barrientos is aware that she looks different from many of her peers and with that different
appearance comes different expectations.
3. Introduction of author’s evidence
Barrientos (2022) identifies the dysphoria she feels when she brings up her appearance: “‘Look,’
I’ll want to say (but never do). ‘Forget the dark skin. Ignore the obsidian eyes” (p. 715).
4. Introduction of author’s writing strategy
Barrientos uses several writing strategies to make her point, but the most pronounced one is
comparison and contrast.
Your Response to the Author and Position on the Topic
5. Introduction of why you agree or disagree
I believe Barrientos is correct in arguing that people identifying with groups should not feel an
obligation to meet certain standards in order to be accepted into that group.
6. Introduce a source from library that supports you view
Many people would agree with Barrientos and argue that the United States needs to embrace
the kind of diversity that Barrientos embodies.
7. Describe the author's audience and a possible opposing view
Some could reasonably argue that heritage is important and that a person must embody certain
aspects of that heritage in order to truly ‘own’ it.
8. Conclusion (summarize main points of essay and your response)
If everyone accepted Barrientos’ broadened definition of heritage, the United States would
benefit.
Paragraph Outline
1. Introduction ending with a thesis:
In her essay entitled “Se Habla Español, Tanya Maria Barrientos explores her heritage and
that of many LatinX individuals. She reflects on her experiences of growing up in the United
States and how she often feels disconnected from her heritage as a person born of Central
American decent. She shares her experiences trying to learn Spanish and how frustrating these
experiences have been. Barrientos also focuses on how these experiences discourage her and
make her feel less Latin. Towards the end of her essay, Barrientos makes her argument clear.
She argues that while many Latinos and Latinas feel the need to speak Spanish so as to identify
with the culture of their parents, they should not feel this obligation.
2. Summary sentence
Barrientos (2022) is aware that she looks different from many of her peers and with that
different appearance comes different expectations. Her essay explores her experiences in the
classroom thanks to her appearance, and she contrasts these with what she wished she looked
like when she was a child. Barrientos also explores how she and her family were treated by
school administrators and the assumptions they cast on her, again, as a result of her
appearance. Contrasting with how she looks, Barrientos discusses how her childhood
neighborhood was full of individuals that did not look anything like her, and how this made her
feel better than her heritage at times. Yet as an adult, and as cultural views of immigrants
changed, Barrientos came to embrace her heritage. She concludes her essay with an attempt to
express her desire to be seen as a full Latina.
3. Introduction of author’s evidence (quote)
Barrientos (2022) identifies the dysphoria she feels when she brings up her appearance: “‘Look,’
I’ll want to say (but never do). ‘Forget the dark skin. Ignore the obsidian eyes” (p. 715). In this
quote, Barrientos demonstrates how she wished her teachers would look past her skin and eye
colors. By this, she expressed how she wished to be seen as an American like all the “pink-
cheeked, blue-eyed blonde whose name tag says, ‘Shannon’” (p. 715). Her family was told that
their people’s children were “always behind” and that they were always “late” to school
(Barrientos, 2022, p. 716). The registrar at the school even shook her head at the family
registering their children late due to an educational trip. As a result of the prejudice she felt
from teachers and school administrators, Barrientos simply sought to not be Latina at all. She
found it would be better to ‘blend in’ and assimilate to American society than to embrace her
heritage.
4. Introduction of author’s writing strategy (quote)
Barrientos uses several writing strategies to make her point, but the most pronounced one is
comparison and contrast. By comparing and contrasting her experience as a person of Latin
heritage to that of what she perceives is a ‘normal’ American, she demonstrates how she yearns
to blend in. Barrientos (2022) even points out how being able to say “‘Yo no hablo español’ …
made [her] feel superior. It made [her] feel American. It made [her] feel white. [She] thought if
[she] stayed away from Spanish, stereotypes would stay away from [her]” (p. 716). Here,
Barrientos points out how she contrasts her experience with that of other children of Latin
heritage. They may naturally speak Spanish, but she states that she believed she would be able
to be better off than them by not being able to be identified with the stereotypes that she
believes they experienced. However, as times shifted, she compares her upbringing and inability
to speak Spanish to the cultural embrace of heritages and ethnic identities. She even compares
Spanish to the “glue that held the new Latino community together,” something she certainly did
not feel or want to be identified with during her earlier life (Barrientos, 2022, p. 717).
Your Response to the Author and Position on the Topic
5. Introduction of why you agree or disagree
I believe Barrientos is correct in arguing that people identifying with groups should not feel an
obligation to meet certain standards in order to be accepted into that group. There is such a
concept called “gatekeeping,” a concept that creates barriers between human beings.
Gatekeeping happens at all levels, as well. Barrientos gatekept herself from identifying with the
Latin community due to her inability to speak Spanish. A lighter skinned African American
person may be told he or she is not “black enough” by other members of the community.
Gatekeeping extends beyond race and ethnicity as well. Transgender people may gatekeep the
community and tell a person that the person is not ‘trans enough yet.’ People at a job who share
a certain educational background or set of experiences may exclude or gatekeep the group from
others who don’t. Politically, even, many Americans gatekeep by deciding others simply do not
belong and should “speak American” or “be American,” as if “American” was either a language
or a means of acting.
6. Introduce a source from library that supports you view
However, many people would agree with Barrientos and argue that the United States needs to
embrace the kind of diversity that Barrientos embodies. Barrientos demonstrates how diversity
is inherently diverse. In other words, all those who identify with one group do not share a set of
uniform characteristics. This broadened realization and reality of diversity can also bring
tangible benefits to the country. The Editorial Board (2021) of The Washington Post affirmed
this when it wrote, “Economists have found that immigrants tend to be more innovative and
entrepreneurial than native- born Americans, obtaining more and more valuable patents, and
founding businesses of all sizes at higher rates.” Indeed, encouraging people like Barrientos to
think of themselves in a broadened way helps the country economically. If the United States at
large embraces this kind of less gatekeepy method of who belongs and who is “othered,” then
the country at large would benefit.
7. Describe the author's audience and a possible opposing view
Some could reasonably argue that heritage is important and that a person must embody certain
aspects of that heritage in order to truly ‘own’ it. Barrientos herself recognizes that Spanish was
seen as a “glue.” Some might ask, “What prevents one person of one racial background from
simply saying he or she belongs to another?” So what if that person does? Does creating camps
and groups really benefit American society? Firstly, one person cannot assess whether another
person belongs as part of a group. Outward signs are misleading, and skills—such as speaking
Spanish—are insufficient as a means of determining group belonging. Second, has American
society done so well with the current system of creating groups? Gun violence is resurging.
Racism and discrimination have seemed to become more problematic. Gatekeeping others and
forcing some metric of heritage would not solve the larger issues America faces.
8. Conclusion (summarize main points of essay and your response)
If everyone accepted Barrientos’ broadened definition of heritage, the United States would
benefit. Americans would be more willing to embrace a broadened definition of humanity. Just
as not all white people have blond hair, so too do not all people of Latin heritage speak Spanish,
and so too do African Americans possess a beautiful tapestry of skin tones. Not every Italian-
American needs to speak Italian, nor every gay male needs to fit into some label of what it
means to be "gay, and not every college English professor must speak perfect English all the
time. Human beings are diverse, and to embrace that—as Barrientos has done of her own
heritage—will bring greater acceptance from one to another and help smooth some of this
country’s divisions that have lasted far too long.
References
Barrientos, T.M. (2022). Se habla español. In R. Bullock, M. Daly Goggin, & F. Weinberg (Eds.) The Norton
field guide to writing with readings (6th ed.) (pp. 715-718), WW Norton.
The United States can embrace immigration and diversity -- or decline. (2021, August 16). The
Washington Post. Washingtonpost.com, NA.
https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A672255276/OVIC?u=lirn99776&sid=bookmark-
OVIC&xid=89d010b7