FORMAT:  Your paper will be typed, double-spaced, with 12 point, easily readable font, and all pages stapled together.  3-5 pages with 1" margins.  Put your name, the class title/time, professor's name, and the date on separate lines in the upper left-hand corner. Don't forget to have a good title that indicates your take on the work; the title of your paper should not simply be "La poesía de Gloria Fuertes."

STRUCTURE:
 

INTRODUCTION:

• You should have an introductory paragraph whose last sentence is your thesis statement, which declares exactly the point you will prove in your paper and indicates how you will develop it.  An example of a suitable thesis statement for an analysis of Velázquez's painting "Las meninas" might be:

Al incorporarse a sí mismo en el cuadro y  al desplazar a los reyes como reflejo de espejo y no como sujeto de la obra,Velázquez cuestiona el centro de poder e impide una interpretación simplista del arte o de la realidad.

Notice that this thesis not only declares the writer's overall "take" on the painting (shown in purple), but it also indicates the main points of analysis (shown in pink) that will be used to develop this argument.
 

Do not say "In this paper I will discuss..."  That is boring and I expect more sophistication and creativity from you.  Don't say what you're going to do; do it!

DEVELOPMENT PARAGRAPHS:

• Each main point in your argument should have its own development paragraph.
• You must support the points you develop with specific citations from the text.
• Never have a quote standing by itself or introduced sketchily, such as with only "Martín Gaite dice, . . .".  Instead, you must set up each quote by indicating how it weaves into your argument.  Follow up each quote with your own words, further weaving it into your argument.  Example of a decent set-up for a quote:

La imagen de alegría--lo que Carmen Martín Gaite llama "la alegría tensa"--era clave para la mujer de postguerra: "El hombre puede tener aspecto severo; dirán de él que es austero, viril, enérgico.  La mujer debe tener aspecto dulce, suave, amable.  En fin, debe sonreír lo más posible" (Usos amorosos 40).
 
 
• Be aware that each paragraph must contain at least 3 sentences:  1) a topic sentence that introduces the focus of the paragraph, 2) at least one development sentence, usually more, and 3) a concluding sentence.
• Be careful to include smooth transitions from one topic to the next, and from one paragraph to the next.

CONCLUSION PARAGRAPH:

• Your conclusion paragraph should 1) sum up what you said using different words and 2) leave the reader (yours truly) with a final whammy, some interesting twist on your interpretation of the text that leaves the reader with something to ponder.

GRAMMAR:  Always proofread your essay carefully for grammar errors, paying special attention to common ones such as subject/verb agreement, noun/adjective agreement, and major pet peeves of mine such as "la problema/la sistema/la programa/la día" (all should be masculine!) and "la gente son" ("gente" is singular!!), and horror of horrors, "un otro" (there is no such beast!  "Otro" means both "other" and "another").  Significant and excessive grammar errors will result in a lower grade.

I have placed some of my grammar handouts in the "hojas" file on the main page of the class website if you would like to consult them.