Spanish
Writing Intensive Classes
Students who have taken writing intensive classes should already have learned the following information literacy skills: |
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Identification & Location | to define and articulate the need for information and identify a variety of types and formats of potential sources for information beyond the web search engine |
at the very least | students will be able to identify and locate the two most appropriate types of information needed to complete their assignment |
Evaluation | to articulate and apply initial criteria for evaluating both the information and its sources |
at the very least | students will be able to distinguish between popular and scholarly materials in a variety of formats such as books, periodical literature, and websites |
Citation | to acknowledge and cite the sources used in conducting research for an assignment using an acceptable style guide |
at the very least | students will be able to locate the appropriate style guide and emergency online help |
These skills may be regarded by all students as a base for further study. Help is available through the Neilson Library Reference Department's Ask a Librarian options.
What Majors Should Learn in Courses
Level II: SPN 125, 200, 220
Upon completion of this level students should
Students should be familiar with the following |
Call Number/Access |
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Concise Oxford English-Spanish Dictionary Concise Oxford Spanish-English Dictionary |
English-Spanish Spanish-English |
Collins Spanish dictionary = Collins diccionario Inglés | ref PC 4640 C53 2003 |
Larousse College Dictionary, Spanish-English, English-Spanish | ref PC 4640 U5 2002 |
The University of Chicago Spanish Dictionary: Spanish-English, English-Spanish |
ref PC 4640 U5 2002 |
Webster's New World International Spanish Dictionary: English/Spanish, Spanish/English | ref PC 4640 W4278 2004 |
Level III: SPN 230, 241, 244
The emphasis here should be on using skills the student has already mastered in English (use of a dictionary, word processing, and basic online searches), but refining them for Spanish language studies. This includes such things as: Spanish Spellcheck, etc., in MS Word; online dictionaries, and also reputable Spanish-English and Spanish-Spanish dictionaries.
Specific Texts/Links | Call Number / Access | |
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Oxford Language Dictionaries Online [electronic resource]: containing unabridged Oxford Spanish Dictionary | Oxford Dictionaries Online | |
Directo al Grano: A Complete Reference Manual for Spanish Grammar / Priscilla Gac-Artigas and Gustavo Gac-Artigas. | PC 4112 .G33 1999 | |
The Big Red Book of Spanish Verbs: 555 Fully Conjugated Verbs / Ronni Gordon, David Stillman. | ref PC 4271 .G65 2009 | |
The Big Red Book of Spanish Idioms: 12,000 Spanish and English expressions / Peter Weibel. | ref PC 4460 .W45 2004 also online: ebrary book |
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Spanish Verbs Made Simple(r) / David Brodsky. Austin: University of Texas Press. |
ref PC 4271 .B76 2005 also online: ebrary book |
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MS Word (Spanish characters & spellcheck) [Select text in Word (Ctrl+A), then go to Review | Set Language] |
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Students in SPN 244, Advanced Composition, will be exposed to principles of using MLA citation style, and all students are expected to use MLA at the next level. | ||
MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers / New York: Modern Language Association of America | ref LB 2369 .G53 2003 (additional copies available) |
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Chicago Manual of Style | Citation Guides & Style Manuals | |
MLA Handbook | Citation Guides & Style Manuals |
Level IV: SPN 245, 246, 250 - 261
At this level students should have become familiar with scholarly Spanish-Spanish dictionaries, knowing when and how to use them.
Specific Sources |
Call Number / Access |
---|---|
Diccionario de la Lengua Española / Real Academia Española | http://www.rae.es/drae |
Diccionario de Uso del Español / María Moliner (2 vols.) | ref PC 4625 .M6 1998 |
El Pequeño Larousse Ilustrado: 90,000 palabras, 5,000 ilustraciones en color, 250 Mapas Históricos Y Geográficos |
ref AG 61 .L3 2008 |
Diccionario Esencial Santillana de la Lengua Española / Prólogo De Gregorio Salvador, De La Real Academia Española | rer PC 4625 .D52 1991 |
Diccionario Esencial: Sinónimos y Antónimos de la Lengua Española. Barcelona: Biblograf | ref PC 4591 .D54 1997 |
Sinónimos y Antónimos / Madrid: Espasa Calpe | ref PC 4591 .S566 1994 |
Latin American Writers (4 volumes) | ref PQ 7081 A1 L37 1989 |
Style Sheets | |
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MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers / New York: Modern Language Association of America | ref LB 2369 .G53 2003 (additional copies available) |
Chicago Manual of Style | Citation Guides & Style Manuals |
MLA Handbook | Citation Guides & Style Manuals |
300 Level/Seminars
Advanced Spanish majors at the seminar level should master the research skills necessary to make an original contribution to the field of Spanish studies. This requires that students be able to contextualize their claims within current scholarly discourse, drawing upon quotable and reliable resources and presenting their arguments cogently.
Beyond the skills required in levels III and IV (above), students should
Specific Sources | Call Number / Access |
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Vox Diccionario de Uso del Español de América y España | ref PC 4625 .D48 2004 |
The Dictionary of Chicano Spanish = El Diccionario del Español Chicano | ref PC 4827 .G35 1995 |
Nuevo Diccionario de Americanismos e Indigenismos | ref PC 4822 .M64 1998 |
Encyclopedia of Latin American Literature | ref PQ 7081.A1 E53 1997 |
Diccionario Enciclopédico de las Letras de América Latina | ref PQ 7081 .D515 1995 |
Spanish and Portuguese Literatures and Their Times (the Iberian Peninsula) | ref PQ 6041 .M67 2002 |
The Feminist Encyclopedia of Spanish Literature | ref PQ 6055 .F46 2002 |
Dictionary of Literary Biography | ref PN 451 .D53 |
Companion to Latin American Literature & Culture [Blackwell Reference Online has a few companions to history & literature] | Blackwell Reference |
Hispanic Writers: A Selection of Sketches from Contemporary Authors [available in Biography Resource Ctr.] | ref PQ 7081.3 .H58 1999 Biography Resource Center |
Diccionario de Literatura Española e Hispanoamericana | ref PQ 6006 .D6 1993 |
Style Sheets | |
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MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers / New York: Modern Language Association of America |
ref LB 2369 .G53 2003 |
Chicago Manual of Style | Citation Guides & Style Manuals |
MLA Handbook | Citation Guides & Style Manuals |
At this level, students should familiarize themselves with basic American academic resources, while at the same time they begin to specialize their research methods to reflect a deeper engagement with Spanish studies.
In addition to the resources listed above, students in the 300 seminar level should be familiar with the following:
Specific Texts/Links: |
Call Number/Access |
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Writing Papers: A Handbook for Students at Smith College | Jacobson Center |
Resources in the Five College Libraries | Five College Library Catalog |
WorldCat, MLA Bibliography, and more resources found on the Smith College Libraries Spanish & Portuguese Subject page.... | http://www.smith.edu/libraries /subject/spanishportuguese |
RefWorks Citation Guides & Style Manuals help page |
Help & Login to RefWorks Smith College Libraries' guide |
Smith College Libraries Contacts | |
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Sika Berger, Reference Librarian | sberger@smith.edu |
Need Help? Ask a Librarian! options | http://www.smith.edu/libraries/help |
In What Ways Will Student Skills Be Assessed?
Students completing work on a paper at the 200 level should submit a bibliography in which primary and secondary sources listed reflect the use of the online catalog, at least some scholarly journals through the use of MLA International Bibliography. Students should be prepared to defend the credentials of authors cited if asked.
In 300 level seminars in Spanish students should routinely cite both supportive and oppositional arguments from primary and secondary sources in papers including book reviews or other articles found through the use of footnotes or scholarly databases. The seminar paper might include an annotated bibliography in which students are asked to indicate the source of their citation and its relative value to the argument within the paper.
Ethical Issues
An 'ethical use of information' means to make a clear distinction between received knowledge and the production of new knowledge. The incorporation of the work of others into his or her own must comply with such distinction. Therefore, every written and/or oral work in the discipline must clearly state its source, if it has any.
Approved by members of the Spanish & Portuguese Dept. faculty, May 4, 2009
Please NOTE: Content for Portuguese information literacy planning is under development, May 2009.