Essay Two - Spring 2011 - 100 Points Draft - possibly additional prompts suggested by students
Requirements:
1. Your essay should be word-processed, double-spaced, one-inch to one and one-half inch margins. It should be spell-checked and grammar checked. Pages Numbered. Font no smaller than 12 point.
2. Your essay should have a cover page with your name, date, Phil/RelS 303, and prompt pasted from assignment.
3. Number each paragraph. Bold your thesis. After the end of the essay, attach an OUTLINE of the essay with the thesis clearly stated and at minimum a line for each paragraph.
4. Each essay should be approximately three to five pages long (not including the cover page, outline, and Works Consulted page).
5. You must include a Works Consulted/Cited Page. Any sources you consult must be included in your Works Consulted/Bibliography and cited in-text or in footnotes/endnotes. CAREFUL AND CORRECT CITATION IS REQUIRED. WHEN IN DOUBT, CITE. Remember that simply paraphrasing or changing every third word is not OK. Quote and cite or radically summarize and cite. Use quotation marks when quoting or indent if quote is five lines or longer. Guessing at where your information comes from is not OK. Use page numbers in your in-text citations, footnotes or endnotes. Book or journal titles are italicized or underlined. You may consult Citation for Biblical Studies for information related to citing biblical studies sources. I prefer Turabian (Chicago), MLA, or SBL(Society of Biblical Literature) citation styles.
6. I will grade the essays for both form and content. Click here for the Grading Rubric. This is a checklist I will use in grading the essay. Defining key terms, using examples to illustrate, referring to relevant biblical passages, pointing out alternative points of view and responding to objections often improve essays. Remember that evaluation includes both strengths and weaknesses.
Note: Information on setting the grammar checker in WordPerfect and MS Word is HERE Information on Roadmaps and Transitions for Essays
Choose ONE of the following prompts:
1. Pick
Romans, Colossians, Timothy,or the Thecla sections of the Acts of Paul and Thecla. Explain how understanding some aspect of the world
behind the text (the historical/social/cultural environment and circumstances) as covered
by Barr, in class, and/or one of the approved biblical reference sources helps us to
understand the meaning of that text for a first or second century audience. Be sure to refer to at least two specific passages
from the letter or from the Acts of Paul and Thecla.
2. Pick
one of the areas of controversy Roetzel discusses in "Currents and
Crosscurrents." Describe the issue, the opposing views, and Roetzel’s own
response to the debate. Which of the positions do you find more convincing? Why? Cite key
Pauline passages to support your view.
5. In Romans Paul often makes use of aspects of the diatribe form such as " (1) the use of an imaginary partner, (2) the raising of objections, and (3) the inferring of false conclusions (Barr, pp. 152-53)." Pick two passages and show how Paul makes use of the diatribe form to advance his argument. You will need to make your reader aware of what Paul's argument is in relation to the two passages.
6. Discuss the criteria for determining the nature of the authorship of Colossians or 1 Timothy. Make a case for direct authorship, authorship by a disciple, authorship by someone in the Pauline tradition, etc. for either Colossians or 1 Timothy. Be sure to respond to likely objections.
7. Wildcard. Write your own prompt, but have it approved by the instructor. Be sure the topic is narrow enough to cover in
about three to five pages.