Christina Isabelli, PhD

Illinois Wesleyan University

Spanish Conversation and Composition - Spanish 203 Essay Information

                          Mac                         PC 

              á   option e  then a            ctrl  ' then a                    (the ' is found under the " next to the return key) 
              é   option e  then e            ctrl  ' then e 
              í    option e  then i            ctrl  ' then i 
              ó   option o then o            ctrl  ' then o 
              ú   option u then u            ctrl  ' then u 
              ñ   option n  then n           ctrl  shift ~  lift fingers and hit n        (the ~ is found on the upper left hand of the keyboard, on top of ` )
              ¿   shift option then ?
              ¡    option !

EXPECTED FORMAT: 

double-spaced, with Times Font, Size 12, normal margins, all diacrytic marks must be typed in (see above). 
For each composition you have to provide a title, divide the text into paragraphs, and use punctuation marks (periods, commas, etc.) where appropriate. 
 

 Title 

 Introduction - a statement that express a topic/argument/idea (a general overview of what the composition will be about) 

 Body - enough sentences to cover topic.  Transitions are very important to avoid a "choppy" paper (see the list of transitions below),  they 'bridge' the ideas/topics/arguments between sentences or paragraphs. 

 Conclusion- a statement to give a nice ending to the composition, it should be different from the introduction 

       Content (Information conveyed) 
              minimal information; information lacks substance (superficial); inappropriate or irrelevant information; or not enough to evaluate 
              limited information; ideas present but not developed; lack of supporting detail or evidence 
              adequate information; some development of ideas; some ideas lack supporting detail or evidence 
              very complete information; no more can be said; thorough, relevant, on target 

       Organization
              series of separate sentences with no transitions; disconnected ideas; no apparent order to the content; or not enough to evaluate 
              limited order to the content; lacks logical sequencing of ideas; ineffective ordering very choppy, disjointed 
             an apparent order to the content is intended; somewhat choppy, loosely organized but main points do stand out although sequencing of ideas not
              complete
              logically and effectively ordered from introduction to conclusion; main points and details are connected; fluent 

       Vocabulary 
              inadequate; repetitive; incorrect use or non-use of words studied; literal translations abundance of invented words; or not enough to evaluate 
              erroneous word use or choice leads to confused or obscured meaning; some literal translations and invented words; limited use of words studied 
              adequate but not impressive; some erroneous word usage or choice, but meaning is not confused or obscured; some use of words studied 
              broad; impressive, precise and effective word use/choice; extensive use of words studied 

        Language
              abundance of errors of presented grammar, frequent errors in subject/verb agreement, non-Spanish sentence structure; erroneous use of language makes
              the work mostly incomprehensible; no evidence of having edited the work for language; or not enough to evaluate 
              frequent errors in the use and form of the grammar presented; some errors in subject/verb agreement; some errors in adjective/noun agreement;
              erroneous use of language often impeded comprehensibility;  work was poorly edited for language 
              occasional errors in use and form of the grammar presented; occasional errors in subject/verb or adjective/noun agreement; erroneous use of language
              does not impede comprehensibility; some editing for language evident but not complete
              no errors in the grammar in lesson; very few errors in subject/verb or noun/adjective agreement; work was well edited for language 

TRANSITIONAL WORDS AND PHRASES : 
              además - besides, in addition to        mientras - while 
              al contrario - to the contrary            por una parte - on one hand 
              después - after [that]                       por otra parte - on the other hand 
              en primer lugar - in the first place    por otro lado - on the other hand 
              entonces - then                             por supuesto - of course 
              finalmente - finally                       primero - first 
              luego - then, later                         segundo - second 
              pero - but                                    tercero - third 
              por ejemplo - for example              sin embargo - however 
              por eso - therefore                         también - also, too 
              por fin - finally                            todavía - still 
              por lo general - in general               ya - already 
              por lo tanto - however