Richard Ascough

Assistant
Professor
of New
Testament
and Greek

Queen's
Theological
College

Department
of Religious
Studies


Theological Hall
Kingston, ON
Canada, K7L 3N6

(613) 533-6000
x78066

fax: (613) 533-6879

rsa@post.queensu.ca

http://
post.queensu.ca/~rsa

1. Pick a topic

• interesting, relevant
• narrowly defined

2. Preliminary thinking and research

• read primary materials (Bible; historians; theologians)

3. Compile a bibliography

• decide what subject areas need to be treated
• look them up in the American Theological Library Association (ATLA) database, available online through Queen's Library webpage or Packman
• do various types of internet searches (e.g., Google; Alta Vista)
• check encyclopedia articles, dictionary entries
• look at library shelves
• as you find books look at their bibliography
• look at the footnotes in articles
• skim books are articles briefly -- get a feel for them
• ask others (experts)
• know when to stop -- 5 page paper does not need 10 page biblio
• prepare a semi-annotated bibliography by subject
• make sure your choices reflect different thinking on the topic

4. Research primary material

• reflect on the topic
• what do you think about it?

5. Start writing the body of the essay

• formulate your thesis -- what are you arguing or attempting to show
• note: this is not yet your thesis statement
• outline how you will show it
• begin in the middle, with the body
• using the primary evidence, argue your case
• do not just summarize a bunch of books -- this is your section
• construction and creation, not summary and siphoning
• when you are not sure, write something and "flag" it

6. Write the summary of scholarship / problems created by evidence

• read books, articles, and commentaries carefully
• categorize, summarize, critique
• do proper footnotes
• this is where book reviews are helpful (your own or others')

7. Now write in the footnotes for the body of your paper

• back to the library; check books and articles again
• research problem areas (flags); add details
• if scholars agree with you, footnote your ideas with a reference to them
• if scholars disagree with you, summarize their ideas in a footnote and then show why you think they are wrong. Play off scholars against each other.

8. Rewrite the summary of scholarship and the main sections

• edit --- clean it up, make it clear and precise and well written

9. Write your conclusion

• what have you shown?
  • e.g., "Despite the opinion of many scholars, a review of the primary documents has shown that ...."

10. Write your introduction

• state why the problem needs your attention (cf. scholars review)
• formulate a clear, precise, and concise thesis statement
• give a brief outline of how you will tackle the problem
• be bold in asserting your thesis; others will almost certainly disagree, but that's the nature of scholarship!

11. Re-edit the entire paper

• do this at least twice, leaving a day or two between each edit