When you write in Spanish (or English for FVS/MLLL classes only), try to do the following:

• Use the active voice (subject + verb + object).
• Write brief, concise, clear sentences (be aware of parallelisms [faulty parallelisms are common mistakes among writers]). 
• When writing more complex (compound) sentences, use connectors to ease the flow of the narrative (I shall give you a long list of good connectors [see below]). 

• A telling title (this should guide you and your reader through the paper). 
• A clearly defined thesis (an extension of the title). 
• A development of the thesis (examples, evidence, several sentences). 
• A CONCLUSION (which should refer back to the thesis and title).  A conclusion should give a sense of finality to things, not start some new thesis. 
• A Works Cited (Obras citadas) section according to MLA standards (quoted material must be done parenthetically within the text).

A graduate student paper should be between 10-20 pages and include a Works Cited (Obras citadas) section.  MLA guidelines should be followed exclusively.
A graduate paper is a research paper.  The research paper proves something.  Hence, a graduate paper should have the following components:
1.  A state of the question.  This in effect justifies why you are writing a research paper at all.
2.  A Statement.  This is your contribution to the topic being researched.
3.  A Proof.  Here you give evidence (from the sources listed in the Works Cited section) for your Stetement.
4.  A Counter-Proof.  Here you challenge previous criticism (if so desired).
5.  A Conclusion.  The conclusion is a reiteration of the Statement in a brief and succinct way.  Do not introduce any new elements after this point.

• Use a computer or typewriter.  Do not turn in handwritten papers for compositions written at home.
• Turn in a clean copy of your paper.  Make sure you have a new or good ribbon in your typewriter or enough ink in the cartridge of your printer or typewriter.  Laser copies are easy on the eye. 
• Use only mechanical diacritic (extended characters) marks (also called "symbols" in Word)  or simply change the keyboard in your computer (to "English-International" [trust me on this one]) to create accents, tildes, dieresis, etc.  Do not use pencil or pen markings.  If you make the English-International keyboard your default language, you will get accents and tilde marks by merely pressing the apostrophe button and then the vowel wanted: á, é, í, ó, ú; the double quotation mark and the u to get an umlaut: ü; the tilde mark and the n to create an eñe: ñ; CTRL + ALT + ? to create the interrogative ¿; CTRL + ALT + [ to open a  comilla: «; CTRL + ALT + ] to close a comilla:  », etc.  Otherwise, memorize the PC or Apple ASCII codes listed below. 
• For all papers use ONLY the following style and font size:  "New Courier" 12.  I mean that.
• Use only white paper (double-spaced, with one inch margins on all sides) and only one side of the page.
• Double-space every line (do not triple-space between paragraphs or leave less than a double space [e.g., 1.5] between the lines). 
• Indent each paragraph (5 spaces [using "New Courier" 12] from the left [Modern Language Association of America usage]) [i.e., do not use "block" paragraphs or European indentation [more than 5 spaces]. 
• Paraphrase or use indirect style instead of direct style (i.e., "he said he was ill" instead of "he said: 'I am ill.'"). 
• Number pages consecutively, on the upper right corner, after your lastname (e.g., Smith 1, Smith 2, Smith 3, etc.), from the title page to the Works Cited (Obras citadas) section.
• Staple all pages on the upper left corner. 
• When quoting material, use ONLY Spanish (French, actually) quotation marks (comillas):  «  . . . ».  Do not use << . . . >> as a substitute for « . . . ». 
• In a series of words, elide the comma between the penultimate and final element: (e.g, «le gusta comer uvas, plátanos y manzanas»).  In English, a comma is used to separate all congeries: "He likes to eat grapes, bananas, and apples." 
• In quoted material, all punctuation marks in Spanish are placed outside the comillas: «le gusta comer uvas, plátanos y manzanas».  In English, the punctuation marks are placed inside the quotation marks: "He likes to eat grapes, bananas, and apples."

Page created in 2003
by
A. Robert Lauer

arlauer@ou.edu
Last revised on
3 February 2004