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Scroll down to read the GENERAL WRITING GUIDELINES RLST 10. Click the links directly below to go straight to the specific assignments.
Click here for the Genesis, A Living Conversation Response
Click here for the First Essay Assignment
Click here for the Second Essay Assignment
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These are the general guidelines for the writing of your first and second essay assignments. Your teaching assistant may have more specific requirements for format, content, and citation for you to follow that supplement these guidelines. If your essay does not meet the guidelines provided here and by your teaching assistant, it may be returned to you without a grade.
Format Each essay should be 3-5 pages long, typed, double-spaced, in a reasonably sized font (I suggest Times New Roman, 12-pt.). "Three pages" means three full pages, not two pages and one line. "Five pages" does not mean seven pages. Please do not play tricks with margins, font sizes, or spacing in order to make your paper fit the required length (either to stretch out an essay that is too short, or smoosh together an essay that is too long). We will know. We will not be happy.
Goal The goal of the first two essays is to conduct a close, informed, critical reading of a selected text from the Hebrew Bible (essay #1) and the New Testament (essay #2). You should approach the text from an objective, academic viewpoint and demonstrate critical reading skills (note: "critical" means careful and objective, not "criticizing").
Content Each essay is focused on a question that you must answer based on your reading and interpretation of a selection from the Bible. Every sentence and quotation, therefore, should reinforce your answer to that question. Do not waste time summarizing or explaining terms or stories or characters: assume your reader has read all of the same things you have read, has read the textbook, the Bible, and has sat in on lectures and discussion sections with you.
Somewhere in the first paragraph of your paper your reader should figure out what question you are answering, and how you are answering it. For example, here is a hypothetical last sentence of a first paragraph of the first essay:
Hint: Do not argue these particular points, they are presented merely as an illustration.
In this (hypothetical) sentence, the reader sees what the argument will be, and sees what the main points of support will be for the argument.
It is a good idea to have at least two points from the biblical text to support your argument. Three pages on a single point would not be convincing (in this example, there are three points lined up to support the argument that Joseph is not heroic: his clothes, his past, and his way of walking).
Support your points with quotations from the biblical text.
For instance, based on my sample sentence above, I could outline a paper as follows:
Each of the points above would be supported with quotations, for example, here is the paragraph corresponding to point IV.A in my outline:
In this paragraph, I have combined citations and references to the story (in parentheses) with my own observations about the story and its meaning. This is the sort of interpretation required in these papers.
A note on biblical citations: Do not fill up 3-5 pages with quotations from the Bible, but use a judicious and persuasive amount of biblical material to make your point. You do not need to provide a quotation to demonstrate to your reader that, for instance, Joseph is Jacob's son. You might, however, want to provide a quotation that demonstrates that Joseph is honorable, or despicable, or handsome, or ugly.
Citations There are only three sources that you may be citing in these papers (see below on "sources"):
The Bible, the textbook (Hauer and Young's Introduction), and class notes
Cite the Bible using the abbreviations for biblical books found in Hauer and Young, Introduction, pp. xxi-xxii.
Separate chapter and verse numbers with a period (.) or a colon (:), e.g., Gen 49:1 or Gen 49.1. Do not cite biblical verses using the page numbers of your Bible: obviously, these vary from Bible to Bible and are not a helpful way to refer to biblical verses.
If you have a Study Bible, you may cite the introductions and footnotes, if they provide otherwise uncommon historical information.
You may decide to cite the textbook or your class lecture notes to support specific historical information that does not derive from your own reading of the biblical text or from what may be considered "common knowledge."
For example, "Genesis is the first book of the Bible" is common knowledge and requires no outside support.
However, a statement like "Festus was appointed as procurator of Judea by Nero in 60 C.E." is not common knowledge, and the source of your information should be cited.
Cite the textbook using the author's names, the title, and page numbers: e.g., Hauer and Young, Introduction, p. 35.
Cite the introductions or notes from the Study Bible according to editor, title, and page number: e.g., Wayne Meeks, HarperCollins Study Bible, p. 1507.
Cite class lectures by date: e.g., "Intro. to the Bible," class lecture (10/24/02).
Sources You are not allowed to use any outside sources for these papers apart from those listed above.
You may not use internet resources or any other outside aids to write this paper.
These papers are to be your own interpretation of a biblical text, not a compilation or comparison of other people's readings.
Final Tips 1. Read the biblical text carefully before you write one word. Underline, take notes, make index cards, whatever you find helps you organize your reading practices. An idea may "spring forth" from the text as you read it; or, you may find yourself beating your head against the text and having nothing come out. Either way, begin with the text.
2. Outline your arguments and citations. Do not begin writing until you know what you're trying to say. In a short essay like this, every sentence should support or reiterate your central argument. An outline can help you condense all of your thoughts to the bare minimum. If you find yourself stuck in your writing, unsure of where you are going, it may help to reoutline your paper to recapture your focus.
3. Clarity is better than cleverness. Of course, if you can be clear and clever that's great. But it is better to write in clear, simple sentences than try to bowl over your reader with overblown prose and five syllable words.
4. Do not be cute. I don't mean in your personal life--be as cute as you must--but your writing should retain a formal (although not rigid) quality. Do not put in sentences like, "When I read this I freaked, I was so surprised" (or however young folks talk today). This may be true, but it hardly contributes to a reasoned, analytical interpretation. Even though you know your TA, and know that only he or she may be reading this, pretend you are writing for an audience of hundreds of people you don't know (for instance, the rest of the class) and you are trying to convince them. Avoid overly colloquial phrasing ("Joseph totally dissed his brothers, yo") and other informal modes of writing.
5. Read your paper out loud before turning it in. This sounds stupid, it sounds like a waste of time, it sounds crazy--but it works. You will find typos you didn't notice, sentences you never finished, thoughts that suddenly make no sense to you. If you have a friend you trust (and who is very patient) you might ask them to read your essay to you, so you can hear how it sounds. If someone you know and trust can't make it through your paper without stumbling or asking, "Is that what you meant to say?" then your reader probably won't, either.
6. Spellcheck. In the twenty-first century, there is really no excuse for misspelled words. While I won't say "spelling counts," every moment you make your reader struggle to understand you through typos, mistakes in grammar or spelling, or unclear language is further distance you put between yourself and your reader, and your argument will suddenly become less persuasive. Read through your papers and use Spellcheck.
But you should also be vigilant in your use of Spellcheck! Do not simply let the computer automatically "correct" any words it thinks are misspelled, since many names and terms from the Bible may be unfamiliar to your computer program. Your TAs and your professor will be amused, but annoyed, to read all about the three sections of the Jewish TANK or how the Babylonian Code of Samurai is similar to the Torah. Spellcheck is a tool, not a secretary.
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