Spanish Composition Through Literature

by Antonio Morillo and Paul C. Smith

Book Overview

Spanish Composition Through Literature presents outstanding literature as models for writing. Readings illustrate a variety of topics, themes, styles, and techniques. Each chapter contains explanations and activities for vocabulary development, comprehension, interpretation, style, translation, and free composition.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0131546791
• ISBN13: 9780131546790
• Release Date: January 2005
• Publisher: Prentice Hall
• Length: 355 Pages
• Weight: 1.29 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 7.0" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Quick delivery

The book was in the condition that I expected and it arrived at my house quite quickly after I ordered it.

A very useful textbook

I am using this textbook for an advanced college course on Spanish composition, and I find it very helpful. The literary selections are excellent, the sections on vocabulary and grammar are clear and the exercises very practical. The book structure makes it easy for teachers to prepare classes, and for students to understand the purpose of the course. They make good use of the suggested composition subjects to write a composition every week. I recommend this book for college courses on advanced grammar or composition.

Great Quality

The book was in great shape when I bought it. The pages were not dog-earred nor was the cover. There was minimal highlighting and writing in the book. There were stains or spots on the book.

Excellent advanced text, though more grammar than composition

This is an excellent advanced Spanish textbook, with well-chosen selections from Spanish-language literature. I teach college-level grammar and composition courses and find the vocabulary and grammar explanations both clear and thorough. It's important to note that this is definitely a text for advanced students; beginning and even intermediate students will likely find it too difficult I must comment on an earlier review - no one should judge an advanced text by what one native speaker says about colloquial usage. Not only does this vary from country to country, but one also has to keep in mind that this text is intended to improve Spanish writing skills. Written language tends to be more formal, so it's not surprising that some of the vocabulary here is not often heard in everyday language. Advanced students of the language should not just be learning "everyday" words; they also need more learned and formal vocabulary. This text does a very good job of giving students just that. To give an analogy from English, just because we don't run around saying words like "despondent" or "prevalent" all day long doesn't mean they aren't valid English words that most educated speakers know how to use. The only reason this text does not get 5 stars from me is that I consider it more of a grammar text than a composition text - there aren't many writing exercises, and so I think the title is a bit misleading. A more accurate title would be "Spanish Grammar Through Literature"

Great for more advanced study

I just found this book on my high school Spanish teacher's shelves. It really must be a classic as the reviews say because her copy is from 1968. The book is great if you want to reach native ability, especially in reading. After each selection, there are notes about specific words which often compare and contrast synonyms and give guidelines on useage which I really like.