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INSTRUCCIONES GENERALES:
Created by
A. Robert Lauer
arlauer@ou.edu


These are general instructions for all undergraduate courses taught by Lauer

For graduate courses click here

Other Lauer web pages:

Style
Spanish Metrification
Rhetoric

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]). 
Also, the structure of any paper should have the following elements: 
  • 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).
Each paragraph must be at least five sentences long.  Each one should contain a thesis or main point (one brief sentence), evidence or clarification of the thesis (3 sentences or so), and a conclusion (which may be a reiteration of the thesis, in a short final sentence).  To ease the flow of the narrative, use appropriate connectors (list below).  I think 5 to 7 paragraphs should constitute a nice 3-page paper. 



GRADUATE STUDENT PAPERS:

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.



Additional instructions for writing compositions:
  • 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."
CONNECTORS


además, / es más, 
A propósito, 
a propósito de . . . 
asimismo / así mismo 
cabe notar/decir 
con tal de que + subjuntivo 
consiste en 
consta de 
de acuerdo con . . . 
debido a (eso), 
depende de 
desde este punto de vista
en cambio 
en cuanto a / con respecto a 
en forma breve y concisa
en pocas palabras 
(eso) viene al caso / (eso) no viene al caso 
hacer caso / prestar atención 
hacer caso omiso de / 
pasar por alto / 
no prestar atención 
huelga decir que / sobra decir que . . . 
naturalmente, / 
por supuesto, / 
desde luego, 
no obstante, 
otrosí,
por añadidura,/adicionalmente, 
por consiguiente, / por ende, 
por lo tanto, 
por mi parte 
por mucho que + subjuntivo 
por poco que + subjuntivo 
por un lado, 
por otro lado, / por el otro, 
por una parte, 
por otra parte, / por la otra, 
que yo sepa 
se sobrentiende 
Según. / Depende. 
según . . . 
siempre y cuando + subjuntivo 
sin embargo, 
tener presente / tener en cuenta 
moreover, / furthermore, 
By the way, 
in regards with / in reference to 
likewise, 
It should be noted / said 
provided that 
it consists of 
it consists of (# of parts, acts, etc.) 
according to . . . 
due to / because of (that), 
to depend on (upon) 
from that point of view 
whereas / on the other hand 
with respect (regard) to 
briefly (stated), 
to summarize / in other words 
it has something to do with / it has nothing to do with 
to pay attention 
to ignore / to pay no attention to 
not to pay attention, to overlook (intentionally) 
not to pay attention 
it isn't necessary to say that . . . 
Of course 
Of course, 
Of course, 
notwithstanding / nevertheless 
furthermore / besides, / moreover 
additionally, 
therefore,
hence, 
as far as I am concerned 
no matter how much 
no matter how little 
on the one hand, 
on the other, 
on one hand, 
on the other, 
as far as I know 
it is self understood
It depends. 
according to . . . 
provided that 
however, / nevertheless, 
to keep in mind 

ASCII Code for Extended Characters (Symbols):

Instructions (example): To get an é (an e with an acute accent), press ALT and the appropriate number on the numeric pad of your computer (i.e., ALT + [numeric pad no.] 130).  If you have a Macintosh, press OPTION e then e 
 
Codes for PCs (Microsoft Word or WordPerfect): 

á    ALT + [numeric pad no.] 160  (e.g., plástico) 
é    ALT + [numeric pad no.] 130  (e.g., éxito) 
í     ALT + [numeric pad no.] 161  (e.g., implícito) 
ï     ALT + [numeric pad no.] 139
ó    ALT + [numeric pad no.] 162  (e.g., anatómico) 
ú    ALT + [numeric pad no.] 163  (e.g., crepúsculo) 
ü    ALT + [numeric pad no.] 129  (e.g., lingüística) 
ñ    ALT + [numeric pad no.] 164  (e.g., niño) 
Á   ALT + [numeric pad no.] 0193 (e.g., Los Ángeles) 
É    ALT + [numeric pad no.] 144   (e.g., Éxito)
Í     ALT + [numeric pad no.] 0205 (e.g., Índice)
Ï     ALT + [numeric pad no.] 0207
Ó    ALT + [numeric pad no.] 0211 (e.g., Ópera)
Ú    ALT + [numeric pad no.] 0218 (e.g., Único)
Ü    ALT + [numeric pad no.] 0220 (e.g., PINGÜINO)
Ñ    ALT + [numeric pad no.] 165  (e.g., NIÑO) 
¿     ALT + [numeric pad no.] 168  (¿Qué es esto?) 
¡     ALT + [numeric pad no.] 173  (¡Dios mío!} 
«    ALT + [numeric pad no.] 174  («Ser o no ser . . . 
»    ALT + [numeric pad no.] 175  . . . he ahí el problema») 
ª     ALT + [numeric pad no.] 166  (Doña Ana > Dª Ana) 
º     ALT + [numeric pad no.] 167  (el primero > el 1º) 
½   ALT + [numeric pad no.] 171  (medio {½} litro) 
¼   ALT + [numeric pad no.] 172  (un cuarto {¼} de litro) 

Codes for Macintosh computers (WordPerfect or Word):

á      OPTION e then a 
é      OPTION e then e 
í      OPTION  e then i 
ï      OPTION  u then i 
ó     OPTION e then o 
ú     OPTION e then u 
ü     OPTION u then u 
ñ     OPTION n then n 
Á    OPTION e then SHIFT a 
É    OPTION e then SHIFT e 
Í     OPTION e then SHIFT i 
Ï     OPTION u then SHIFT i 
Ó    OPTION e then SHIFT o 
Ú    OPTION e then SHIFT u 
Ü    OPTION u then SHIFT u 
Ñ    OPTION n then SHIFT n 
¿     SHIFT OPTION ? 
¡     OPTION 1 
«     OPTION \ 
»     SHIFT OPTION \
º      SHIFT OPTION 8 
 

 

Page created in 2003
by
A. Robert Lauer

arlauer@ou.edu
Last revised on
3 February 2004
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