Writing and Research , livre ebook

Writing and Research
A Guide for Theological Students
Kevin Gary Smith
with contributions from
Noel Woodbridge
Mark Pretorius
Beth Perry

© 2016 by Kevin Gary Smith
Published 2016 by Langham Global Library
an imprint of Langham Creative Projects
Langham Partnership
PO Box 296, Carlisle, Cumbria CA3 9WZ, UK
www.langham.org
First published in 2008 by the South African Theological Seminary Press, South Africa as Academic Writing and Theological Research: A Guide for Students.
This revised and updated edition:
ISBNs:
978-1-78368-895-1 Print
978-1-78368-075-7 Mobi
978-1-78368-074-0 ePub
978-1-78368-076-4 PDF
Kevin Gary Smith has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988 to be identified as the Author of this work.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher or the Copyright Licensing Agency.
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN: 978-1-78368-895-1
Cover & Book Design: projectluz.com
Langham Partnership actively supports theological dialogue and a scholar’s right to publish but does not necessarily endorse the views and opinions set forth, and works referenced within this publication or guarantee its technical and grammatical correctness. Langham Partnership does not accept any responsibility or liability to persons or property as a consequence of the reading, use or interpretation of its published content.

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Contents

Cover


Foreword


Preface


Part A


Academic Writing


1 Writing Assignments


Plan Your Essay


Write Your Essay


Summary


2 Scholarly Writing


Some Thoughts about Structure


A Few Tips concerning Style


General Advice about Presentation


Summary


3 In-Text Citations


The Advantages of In-Text Citations


The Elements of In-Text Citations


How to Add an In-Text Citation


How to Handle Variations on the Main Elements


Some Loose Ends


Summary


4 Footnote Citations


Two Types of Footnotes


Advantages of Footnote Citations


Principles of Footnote Citation


Examples of Common Footnote Citations


Multiple Citations in One Footnote


5 The Bibliography


Types of Bibliographies


How to Compose a Bibliography Entry


Examples of Common Bibliography Entries


Bibliography Entries for Other Sources


Punctuation in a Bibliography


How to Order the Works in a Bibliography


Summary


6 Plagiarism


Defining Plagiarism


Dealing with Plagiarism


Avoiding Plagiarism


Recognising Plagiarism


Undermining Research


Challenging Plagiarisers


7 Formatting an Academic Paper


The Cover Page


The Declaration and Dedication (only for theses)


Abstract


Table of Contents


Normal Pages


Headers and Footers


The First Page


Numbered and Bulleted Lists


Tables and Figures


Bibliography


8 Software for Bible Study


The Benefits of Software


The Limitations of Software


The Categories of Software


Free Online Applications


Commercial Software Programmes


Part B


Theological Research


9 Thesis Requirements


Bachelor’s Level


Master’s Level


Doctoral Level


Summary


10 The Research Proposal


The Value of a Research Proposal


The Elements of a Research Proposal


The Preparation of a Research Proposal


Summary


11 The Research Problem


The Process at a Glance


The Research Idea


The Preliminary Literature Review


The Main Problem


The Key Questions


Fleshing Out the Problem


Summary


12 The Research Plan


The Design


The Methodology


The Bibliography


13 Biblical Exegesis


Presuppositions of Evangelical Exegesis


Design for an Exegetical Study


Writing Up an Exegetical Study


Summary


14 Systematic Theology


Presuppositions of Evangelical Theology


Steps in Evangelical Theology


Basic Design for Evangelical Theology


Alternate Design for Evangelical Theology


Summary


15 Practical Theology


Nature of Practical Theology


Steps in Practical Theology


Basic Design for Practical Theology


Advanced Designs for Practical Theology


Alternative Design for Practical Theology


Summary


16 The Literature Review


Why You Must Do a Literature Review


How Your Literature Review Will Be Judged


How to Obtain Sources for Your Literature Review


Summary


17 Descriptive Research


Understanding Descriptive Research


Conducting Descriptive Research


Summary


18 Other Types of Theological Research


Empirical Research (IMRAD)


Book Reviews


Case Studies


Congregational Analysis


Appendix A Common Abbreviations


Books of the Bible


Versions of the Bible


Appendix B Abbreviations for Journals, Periodicals, Major Reference Works, and Series


Select Bibliography


About Langham Partnership

Endnotes
Foreword
I do remember well my confusion and bewilderment as I attempted to write my first research paper at the seminary. There were several guides available at the library to help me in this process, but in many cases their lack of clarity added more to my confusion. Dr Kevin Smith has worked hard to provide seminary students with a fresh and helpful guide for their research and writings.
I was glad to receive, a couple of years ago, a copy of the first edition of this book that many students in various countries and regions of the world have found to be a user-friendly guide. Now with this revised edition Dr Smith has added new features to make the book even better.
This guide is characterized by being targeted to seminary students and researchers in theological studies in particular. It is well organized and deals with topics that are hard to find in other guides of this kind, such as plagiarism, software for Bible study, and other types of theological research.
In an age when the global south has much to contribute to global theological education and to various areas of theology, biblical studies and missiology, this book comes at the right time to assist students and researchers. This guide will enable them to present their work in an attractive and intelligible format that complies with international standards of academic writing.
This is a must-have book that ought to be available at each student’s desk and at all libraries. Dr Smith, thank you for your much appreciated service to global theological education.
Rev Riad Kassis, PhD
International Director, International Council for Evangelical Theological Education
Director, Langham Scholars Programme, Langham Partnership
Preface
This book emerges from several years’ experience working with both undergraduate and postgraduate students at the South African Theological Seminary. It has a single purpose – to help theological students write better assignments and theses. My colleagues and I have witnessed at first hand the struggles and pitfalls facing our students. We felt it was time to put the lessons we have learned on paper in the hope that they will empower future students to learn from their forerunners.
We have divided the work into two parts. Part A addresses academic writing in general. It should be relevant to all