Theological Research & Writing (Onsite)

Lecturer: Rev Dr Barnabas Boon

Venue: On Campus
Time: Wednesday, 2.00 pm – 5.00 pm
3 units

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This Course section is designed to equip students with the necessary skills and methodologies to undertake sound theological research and to generally, enable them to write their assignments.

After the course students should be able to:

• Conduct a research investigation located within a discipline and discourse.
• Master the art of reading, reviewing, summarizing and writing of articles.
• Write cogently and coherently an assignment in the various disciplines.
• Reference, cite and format your written assignment in accordance to Turabian usage and formatting.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

The expected major outcome of this course section is that students will be equipped, both theoretically and practically, to conduct a research investigation in connection with a research / assignment proposal or question.

• Conduct a systematic approach to biblical, theological and ministry issues and research.
• Write a paper that addresses the question or proposal under investigation in accordance to set criteria.
• Use an appropriate methodology – at the appropriate academic level.
  
  By the end of this course it is hoped you will be able to:-
• Map the discipline within which your research is located.
• Identify an academic discourse and debate, and convert the problem you want to research into a research perspective situated within that discourse.
• Articulate convincingly a position / standpoint / hypothesis which is a ‘possible answer’ to the question you are asking in the form of a central argument, which arises out of the processes of your research.
• Discern the difference between academic and non-academic texts.
• Identify and explain the methodology you would require in order to conduct your research.
• Demonstrate the skills involved in reading academic texts as well as writing academic texts.
• Critically reflect through theological lenses on key issues and concerns underlying research philosophy, processes and outcomes.

LECTURE COMPOSITION

This module consists of twelve sessions of 3 hours each. The following is an outline for the lecture sessions. While the list seems to be fixed, however there will be scope for flexibility based on developing class dynamics and needs.

The lectures above will basically follow the progression of ideas and practical sessions below:

1. Introduction to this course section
   The following topics will be dealt with in this introduction to the course section.
   
   • Lecture (Lecture 1)
     • Theology and theological essays. Kinds of research will be discussed.
     • Thinking, brainstorming, reading, biblical usage and the place of opposing thoughts.
     • Some advice on quoting.
     • Types of arguments for your essay.
       
2. Citation, referencing and assignment formatting
   • Lecture (Lectures 2, 3, and 4)
     • Assignment / Page layout / Length
     • Presentation.
     • Quotations.
     • Plagiarism.
     • Footnotes/Endnotes.
     • Appendices.
     • Referencing
   • Assessment criteria
     • The student will demonstrate the correct format, citation and referencing in writing a research paper.
     • This will account for 15 marks. For each mistake made a deduction of one (1) mark will be made from the 15 marks.
       
3. Thinking, brainstorming, general reading, and summarizing articles
   • Lecture (Lectures 5, 6, 7 and 8)
     Reading theological essays. Three basic steps will be discussed.
     
   • Developing the necessary skills to summarize theological discourses. A number of articles will be given to students before the session begins. They will have to read a number of articles and write a summary of the articles provided. This will be part of the assignments which will go into the overall marking scheme for students.
     
   • Area 1. Describe
     • Where does the text belong? – Describe.
     • Locate the text within the world of texts – literature/genre/discipline.
   • Area 2. Debate
     • What problem is it addressing? – theme and debate.
     • Map its intellectual position
   • Area 3. Discuss
     • What does the text say? – discuss.
     • The central argument/thesis – It’s injunctions.
     • Development of the argument.
   • Area 4. Dialogue
     • What is your opinion of the text? – Dialogue.
     • Your commentary on the text.
     • Evaluate and assess the strength of the argument and the evidences presented.
   • Area 5. Apply
     • What self-disclosure has the text brought about for you? – Apply.
     • Connect this text with other texts you have read.
     • Develop your voice even as you apply and use the text for your research.
       
   • Summary articles
     Each article summary should be 700-1000 words. Choose two review articles:
     • Ripken, Nik. “Recapturing the role of suffering.” Mission Frontiers, Jan-Feb 2010: 6-9.
     • Travis, John. “Must all Muslims leave Islam to follow Jesus.” Evangelical Missions Quarterly, October, 1998: 660-663.
     • Urrutia, Francisco J. “Can polygamy be compatible with Christianity.” African Ecclesiastical Review, 23, 1981: 275-291.
     • Daniels Article (2012) “Gossip in the New Testament.” Journal of Bible and Culture, 42:204-213.
     • Sjogren Article (2010) The other side of the cross. “Missions Frontiers.” Jan-Feb 2010:14-15.
       
   • Assessment criteria
     • Demonstrates understanding of articles read.
     • For each article, highlights key points in the first four areas.
     • Each article will account for 10 out of the 20 marks assigned to summarizing of articles. For two articles a student will have accounted for 20 out of the 100 marks.
       
4. Writing and reviewing research paper and articles respectively
   • Lecture (Lectures 9, 10 and 11)
     A key feature of this session is that you will journey through the conception, development and presentation of a assignment/proposal for a piece of research that will be of value to your study or ministry setting.
     
   • The place of organisation of the paper.
     • Parts of the paper.
     • Organizing the body of the paper.
     • Practical helps for organizing the paper.
   • Select bibliography.
     • List alphabetically those works which you have already identified as directly relevant to your research topic.
     • Select the most valuable references for your research, the secondary sources of which should usually be of a high academic quality relevant to the time period selected.
     • Use one form of bibliographical notation consistently.
   • Biblical exegesis research paper.
     • Steps in the exegetical process.
     • Presentation of the exegesis.
   • Systematic Theological paper.
     • Theological issues in ministry.
     • The critical review.
   • Practical Theological paper.
     • The nature of practical theology.
     • The steps of research in practical theology.
     • The presentation of practical theological paper.
   • Descriptive Research Paper.
     Steps in descriptive research
     • Sampling.
     • Surveys.
     • Interviews.
       
   • Pastoral Case study research paper.
     • Research and writing the case study.
   • Length and format.
     Choose a topic that you would like to write following the guidelines that you have learned in class. The paper should be 2000 words + 10% in length. Your assignment paper will account for 50 out of 100 marks.
     
   • Assignment Topics
     • Why we should or should not celebrate Christmas on the 25th December?
     • Discuss the Lord’s day and the significance of Sunday as Christian day of worship.
     • Does God exist? Discuss how you would persuade your non-Christian Buddhist friend that God exists.
     • Jesus is God. Discuss how you would persuade your Muslim friend of the divinity of Jesus Christ.
     • The Christian attitude to pornography.
       
   • Assessment criteria:
     • Identifies a suitable problem / issue related to a real life / ministry setting.
     • Shows awareness of the topic discussed.
     • Demonstrates logical flow in your arguments.
     • Alertness to some of the issues and concerns underlying the topic you have chosen.
       
5. Critical review of a paper. Writing and reviewing a research paper or article.
   • Lectures
     • Research English.
     • The paragraph.
     • Transitions and introduction.
     • The writing process.
     • Help for the novice writer
       
   • Critical review articles
     Each critical review article should be 700-1000 words. Choose one from the list below. Please choose the critical review article that is different from the two summary articles you have chosen.
     
     Review articles:
     • Ripken, Nik. “Recapturing the role of suffering.” Mission Frontiers, Jan-Feb 2010: 6-9.
     • Travis, John. “Must all Muslims leave Islam to follow Jesus.” Evangelical Missions Quarterly, October, 1998: 660-663.
     • Urrutia, Francisco J. “Can polygamy be compatible with Christianity.” African Ecclesiastical Review, 23, 1981: 275-291.
     • Daniels Article (2012) “Gossip in the New Testament.” Journal of Bible and Culture, 42:204-213.
     • Sjogren Article (2010) The other side of the cross. “Missions Frontiers.” Jan-Feb 2010:14-15.
       
   • Assessment criteria
     • Demonstrates understanding of articles read.
     • Each article will account for 15 marks assigned to critically reviewing an article. Your critical review assignment will account for 15 marks.

ASSIGNMENT MARKS OVERVIEW

Total marks for the Research Writing Course is based on 100 marks, Marks are given for the following assignments.

• Citation and referencing accuracy
• Summaries assignment
• Main research paper
• Critical review of one selected paper

The following are the marks

All assignments due at the end of the semester 1, 2026.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Barber, Cyril J. Introduction to theological research. Chicago, ILL: Moody Press, 1982.
Jensen, Michael P. How to write a theological essay. London, England: Latimer Trust, 2012.
Pierson, Cheri L., Lonna J. Dickerson, and Florence R. Scott. Exploring theological English. Reading, vocabulary and grammar for ESL/EFL Student Handbook. Carlisle, England: Piquant Editions, 2010.
Smith, Kevin Gary. Academic writing and theological research. A guide for students. Johannesburg: South African Theological Seminary Press, 2008.
Turabian, Kate L. A manual for writers of research papers, theses and dissertations. 7th. Chicago, London: The university of Chicago press, Ltd., London, 2007.
Vyhmeister, Nancy Jean. Quality research papers. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2001.