📖LearnModule 12 · Lesson 26 of 30Proficient User · CEFR C1, completedUnit 6 · La argumentación C1
Tesis, antítesis, síntesis
Module 12 of the free Spanish course (CEFR C1, completed), lesson 26 of 30: The argued essay has a shape older than any exam, and C1 expects it. On this page: 9 words with their genders and respellings, the rule, a watch-out line and the audio — the study notes behind the workbook's QR.
The words
Spanish
English
Say it
la antítesis
the counter-argument
lah ahn-TEE-teh-sees
la síntesis
the synthesis (exam task)
lah SEEN-teh-sees
el ensayo
the essay
ehl ehn-SAH-yoh
reformular la pregunta
to reframe the question
rreh-fohr-moo-LAR lah preh-GOON-tah
la pregunta
the question
lah preh-GOON-tah
el compromiso
the compromise (or the commitment)
ehl kohm-proh-MEE-soh
en serio
seriously
ehn SEH-ryoh
el hombre de paja
the straw man
ehl OHM-breh deh PAH-hah
fracasar
to fail
frah-kah-SAR
Respellings follow the course’s say-it key; the stressed syllable is in capitals. Print this lesson’s flashcards (PDF) — the words on the front, the English and respelling on the back.
La regla · The rule
The argued essay has a shape older than any exam, and C1 expects it. Part one argues the position. Part two argues against it seriously — not as a straw man. Part three does not split the difference; it reframes.
Y también · And also
The third part is where candidates fail. Síntesis does not mean compromise; it means finding the question underneath the disagreement and answering that instead.
Ojo · Watch out
síntesis does not mean compromise: it finds the question underneath the disagreement and answers that. el hombre de paja is a straw man — do not build one in part two. And el compromiso is a commitment as often as a compromise.
Do it now — on paper
Say all 9 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the Spanish spelling alone — begin with la antítesis.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the Spanish.
Write two sentences of your own that get the watch-out line right, then the two practice pages of workbook lesson 26 in Module 12 are the written half of this page.
This free course is the reading half. The writing half — write-in lessons, daily practice pages with built-in review, self-checks and a full answer key — is the companion workbook series, The Spanish Ladder: one workbook per module, fifteen in all, released band by band with the Basic band (Modules 1–5) first.
Keep these words
Turn this lesson’s words into flashcards, then space your reviews — the two habits the research behind our study guides backs hardest.