The Spanish students that did not take Comparative Grammar as undergraduates and the French and German students that did not take the history of the pertinent language before graduation will take the graduate version of these courses and write an essay on the material during their Comprehensive Examination. They are expected to satisfy the following criteria. If they fail to do so, they may be re-tested after further preparation.
The Spanish students should be able to demonstrate through their answer(s) the following traits with regard to comparative grammar: They realize that both Spanish and English are separate, autonomous languages, and each has its own particular system and rules. Some characteristics may be similar and are transferable, but many are different and transferring them should be avoided because this will lead to errors. The students possess a detailed knowledge of the morphology and syntactical rules for each of the parts of speech of both languages, and they can compare and contrast these. Also they can demonstrate through translation exercises their ability to provide the structural equivalent of Spanish sentences in English and vice versa.
The French or German students should be able to show through their answer(s) the following traits concerning the history of the language in question: In an essay written in the target language they can explain, on the historical and/or linguistic level, specific aspects of the evolution of the French or German language from its origins to the present.