Advanced

Prior to enrolling in courses at this language level, students must have completed or tested out of a minimum of four semesters (or six quarters) of college-level Spanish at their home university in the U.S.

Objectives:

The key purpose of this Course is to improve written expression. Orthography, correctness in syntax, lexical variety, and the effective structuring of text are the skills to which closest attention will be paid.

Methodology:

The on-going practice of writing based on the spurring of the imagination, verbal creativity, and the imitation of different kinds of textual models. The degree of difficulty and complexity inherent to the material will be increased progressively. Activities, both during teaching sessions and beyond the classroom context, are planned, such as interviews with publishers, as well as encounters with guest writers and journalists

Syllabus:

The Concept of Creative Writing.
Verbal Creativity. The Expressive Possibilities of Language.
Words Games and Puns. The Association of Concepts.
The Description of Atmosphere and Place.
The Creation of Characters. The Description of People.
Narration. The Tools of Narration. The Use of Time. The Ordering of Events: Causal Patterns
Written Dialogue.
The Application of the Skills Learnt. The Creation of a Text.

Bibliography:

Queneau, R.: Ejercicios de estilo. Cátedra
Real Academia Española: Diccionario de la Lengua española, Espasa.
Real Academia Española: Ortografía de la Lengua española, Espasa.
Rodari, G.: La gramática de la fantasía. Introducción al arte de inventar historias, Argos Vergara.
Several Authors: Diccionario de sinónimos y antónimos, Espasa.

Assessment:

Given the Course's practical nature, class attendance and active participation will be rated highly.
An exam will be held mid-way through the Course, in order to give students an idea of their progress, as well as another at the close of the semester.