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Expression and Argumentation for Journalism in Spanish

Code: 104972 ECTS Credits: 6
2025/2026
Degree Type Year
Journalism FB 1

Contact

Name:
Jéssica Córdoba Marín
Email:
jessica.cordoba@uab.cat

Teachers

Matthias Ulrich Raab
Antinea Ravarotto
Ferran Torra Portell
Jéssica Córdoba Marín

Teaching groups languages

You can view this information at the end of this document.


Prerequisites

A native level is necessary to be able to follow the subject (C1-C2).


Objectives and Contextualisation

The purpose of this subject is to improve the ability of analysis and production of texts for the media both in their oral and written variety. At the end of the course, students should know the main characteristics of a series of textual models, which will allow them to apply this knowledge to the composition of texts in Spanish.


Competences

  • Demonstrate a critical and self-critical capacity.
  • Demonstrate a self-learning and self-demanding capacity to ensure an efficient job.
  • Express oneself fluently and effectively in the two official languages, both orally and in writing.
  • Manage time effectively.
  • Research, select and arrange in hierarchical order any kind of source and useful document to develop communication products.
  • Students can apply the knowledge to their own work or vocation in a professional manner and have the powers generally demonstrated by preparing and defending arguments and solving problems within their area of study.
  • Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  • Students must develop the necessary learning skills in order to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
  • Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.
  • Take sex- or gender-based inequalities into consideration when operating within one's own area of knowledge.
  • Value diversity and multiculturalism as a foundation for teamwork.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Build texts in the two official languages that adapt to the structures of journalistic language.
  2. Communicate using language that is not sexist or discriminatory.
  3. Consider how gender stereotypes and roles impinge on the exercise of the profession.
  4. Demonstrate a command of the official languages and their communication resources in order to produce oral and written texts fluently, efficiently and accurately.
  5. Demonstrate a critical and self-critical capacity.
  6. Demonstrate a self-learning and self-demanding capacity to ensure an efficient job.
  7. Express oneself correctly, both orally and in writing.
  8. Find the substance and relevance in journalistic texts, in the two official languages, in any format to detect correct forms of oral and written expression.
  9. Manage time effectively.
  10. Research, select and arrange in hierarchical order any kind of source and useful document to develop communication products.
  11. Students can apply the knowledge to their own work or vocation in a professional manner and have the powers generally demonstrated by preparing and defending arguments and solving problems within their area of study.
  12. Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  13. Students must develop the necessary learning skills in order to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
  14. Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.
  15. Value diversity and multiculturalism as a foundation for teamwork.

Content

Topic 1. Orality and writing in journalistic texts. Expressions of oral language and written language in different media. Linguistic resources for the elaboration of texts. Norm and use. Some of the normative problems of Spanish. Lexicon and punctuation.

Topic 2. The textual units: statements and paragraphs. Argumentative text. Types of arguments. Constituents of the statement, concordance and order of words. Paragraph types. Use of connectors and referential elements.

Topic 3. Procedures of textual creation. Linguistic and extralinguistic factors: variation and creativity. Denotation and connotation.

Topic 4. Articulatory characteristics of the vowel and consonant sounds of Spanish. Structure of the syllable and pronunciation problems. The prosodic features: speed of elocution, pauses and distribution of the accents in the statement. Melodic patterns and sentence modality in Spanish. Strategy of emphasis to argue in oral language: order of words, volume of voice, silences.

Topic 5. The oral presentation. Linguistic resources for oral presentations. Preparation of oral interventions. Oral resources for oral presentation. Non-verbal communication.


Activities and Methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Classroom practices and seminars 34 1.36
Theory classes 17 0.68
Type: Supervised      
Tutorials 9.5 0.38
Type: Autonomous      
Reading, analysis and synthesis of texts and documents, preparation and realization of papers 89.5 3.58

The calendar will be available on the first day of class. Students will find all information on the Virtual Campus: the description of the activities, teaching materials, and any necessary information for the proper follow-up of the subject.

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.


Assessment

Continous Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Mandatory reading comprehension test 10 % 0 0 10, 6, 5, 9, 14, 13, 8
Practice of analysis and production of oral language samples 25 % 0 0 10, 2, 1, 6, 4, 5, 7, 9, 14, 13, 12, 11, 8, 3, 15
Practice of analysis and production of written language samples 25 % 0 0 10, 2, 1, 6, 4, 5, 7, 9, 14, 13, 12, 11, 8, 3
Written test on the theoretical and descriptive contents of the course 40 % 0 0 10, 6, 4, 5, 9, 14, 13, 12, 11, 8

 

Continuous Assessment

Students must complete the following assessments throughout the course:

  • Written language analysis and production exercises (25%)
  • Oral language analysis and production exercises (25%)
  • Reading comprehension test on mandatory readings (10%)
  • Written exam on theoretical and descriptive course content (40%)

The specific characteristics of each exercise will be detailed during the course and can be consulted on the Virtual Campus. To pass the course, students must achieve a final grade of 5 or higher. The final grade will be calculated using the percentages indicated above. Students will receive a grade of "Not Assessable" if they have submitted less than 30% of the assessment activities. Those who have completed more than 30% will be graded according to the established weighting.

Resit Exam

Students who do not reach a final grade of 5 may take the resit exam, provided they have completed at least two-thirds of the assessment activities. Additionally, to be eligible for the resit, students must have obtained a minimum average grade of 3.5. Recovery exam only allows to reach a 5 on the final evaluation score.

Single Assessment

Students must complete the following assessments:

  • Written language analysis and production exercises (25%)
  • Oral language analysis and production exercises (25%)
  • Reading comprehension test on mandatory readings (10%)
  • Written exam on theoretical and descriptive course content (40%)

The date for the theoretical exams and submission of exercises will be announced on the Virtual Campus at the beginning of the course.

The conditions for passing and resitting the course are the same as those for students following continuous assessment.

Warnings

Spelling mistakes, as well as errors in punctuation, morphosyntax, and vocabulary, will be penalized with -0.2 points each. If there are more than 15 mistakes or grammatical errors, the test will be graded with a 0 and must be retaken during the resit period. Students may only resit a maximum of two assessments (out of the four total).

If a student commits any irregularity (copying, plagiarism, identity fraud, publishing assessment activities on any platform outside the UAB, use of artificial intelligence, etc.), the corresponding assessment will be graded with a 0. If multiple irregularities occur, the final grade for the course will be 0.

The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is not permitted in this course unless explicitly authorized by the teaching staff. Any work containing AI-generated content will be considered a breach of academic integrity and will receive a 0, with no possibility of resit, or may result in more severe sanctions in serious cases.


Bibliography

The content of this subject will be sensitive to aspects related to the gender perspective.

Basic bibliography

  • ALCOBA RUEDA, Santiago. (coord.) (2009). Lengua, Comunicación y Libros de Estilo. Barcelona. Available at: https://ddd.uab.cat/pub/caplli/2009/117950/lencomlibest_a2009p4.pdf
  • ÁLVAREZ, Miriam (1994) Tipos de escrito II: Exposición y argumentación, Madrid: Arco/Libros (Cuadernos de lengua española 15).
  • BRIZ, Antonio (coord.) (2008): Saber hablar, Madrid: Instituto Cervantes-Aguilar.
  • BUSTOS, Alberto. Blog de Lengua. Available at: https://blog.lengua-e.com/alberto-bustos/
  • FUENTES RODRÍGUEZ, Catalina (2007): La argumentación lingüística y sus medios de expresión, Madrid: Arco/Libros.
  • HERNÁNDEZ GUERRERO, José Antonio y María del Carmen García Tejera (2004): El Arte de hablar: manual de retórica práctica y de oratoria moderna, Barcelona: Ariel.
  • MAS MANCHÓN, Lluís. (2017). «Competencias documentales, textuales y enunciativas para un nuevo profesional de la comunicación». Pragmalingüística, 25, pp. 401-415. Disponible en https://revistas.uca.es/index.php/pragma/article/view/2499
  • MONTOLÍO, Estrella (dir.) (2014): Manual de escritura académica y profesional, Barcelona: Ariel.
  • REAL ACADEMIA ESPAÑOLA (2019): Libro de estilo de lalengua española: según la norma panhispánica, Madrid: Planeta.
  • REGUEIRO, M.ª Luisa y SÁEZ, Daniel M. (2013): El español académico. Guía práctica para la elaboración de textos académicos, Madrid, Arco/Libros.
  • SÁNCHEZ LOBATO, Jesús (coord.) (2006): Saber escribir, Madrid: Instituto Cervantes-Aguilar.

 

Specific bibliography

Throughout the course, the mandatory and complementary bibliographic references fundamental for the follow-up of the course will be provided.


Software

No specific software is required.


Groups and Languages

Please note that this information is provisional until 30 November 2025. You can check it through this link. To consult the language you will need to enter the CODE of the subject.

Name Group Language Semester Turn
(SEM) Seminars 11 Spanish second semester morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 12 Spanish second semester morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 13 Spanish second semester morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 21 Spanish second semester morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 22 Spanish second semester morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 23 Spanish second semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 1 Spanish second semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 2 Spanish second semester morning-mixed