Best spanish/english dictionary for a reading test

[sociology76]

Hi all,

I've been practicing spanish on my own for awhile and I'm going to try and test out of a spanish reading exam required by my graduate program.

Does anyone have any suggestions for the best ones to buy for this kind of test? Does it matter? I might just get the basic webster's one.

And if anyone has any tips for studying for such an exam that would be great!

I just have to translate a 500 word essay from spanish to english.

THANK YOU

[poli]

Tomisimo has an adequate dictionary that links to RAE. This can be very helpful.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

An Oxford or a Webster will be good, as long as they aren't just pocket dictionaries, which will have very limited entries. Find one with examples and some idioms if possible.
If you are intending to continue learning Spanish, my advice is that you buy a Spanish-Spanish dictionary, which will help you be certain about what you mean and what you understand.

As for tips for studying, find equivalent ones with solutions either online or in your college library: solve them first without looking at the solution in the same time you'll be allowed for the actual exam. That will give you confidence about what you know and you'll also see what you need to polish or what you need to practice more.

[poli]

Online dictionaries are better than hard bound dictionaries in my opinion. When reading something and you have a problem with a word, simply click on a dictionary (whether it's this one which favors Latin American Spanish or Word Reference or others) and you are likely to get a helpful response.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

We don't know if sociology76 will be allowed to use the Internet during the exam.
If I were the college, I wouldn't let students have any communication with the outside world.

[sociology76]

Originally Posted by AngelicaDeAlquezar

We don't know if sociology76 will be allowed to use the Internet during the exam.
If I were the college, I wouldn't let students have any communication with the outside world.

Thank you all for the advice!

When I take my exam I am not allowed to use the internet so I would need a hard copy of a spanish-english dictionary. I'd be translating an academic article so I definitely would like the most comprehensive dictionary I can get!

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

I forgot to say that the bulkiest dictionary isn't necessarily the best. Check for idioms and examples. Brands like Larousse, Oxford, Webster, usually have good medium-sized ones.

[sociology76]

Originally Posted by AngelicaDeAlquezar

I forgot to say that the bulkiest dictionary isn't necessarily the best. Check for idioms and examples. Brands like Larousse, Oxford, Webster, usually have good medium-sized ones.

Excellente! Muchas gracias