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Resonant soft X-ray scattering spectra of a La[sub 0.5]Ca[sub 0.5]MnO[sub 3] thin film were measured at varying energies of the incident photon beam across Mn 2p thresholds. The data are analyzed within the framework of the Anderson impurity model and full multiplet theory. The scattering profiles of the film are reasonably well reproduced by model calculations for the Mn[sup 3+] system, in contrast to the absorption spectrum at the Mn L[sub 2,3] edge for which the contribution of the Mn[sup 4+] sublattice is required to be taken into account. The obtained agreement between calculations and experiment indicates that in this case resonant inelastic scattering mainly probes the local electronic structure at the Mn[sup 3+] sites in the La[sub 0.5]Ca[sub 0.5]MnO[sub 3] film. In turn, Mn[sup 4+] sites mainly contribute to ordinary L[sub α,β] X-ray emission due to relaxations in the intermediate state of the spectroscopic process. Such a situation can occur when the system favors a phase separation rather than checkerboard charge ordering of Mn[sup 3+] and Mn[sup 4+] sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]