In the argumentative essay you will argue for an interpretation of a biblical text. The argument will involve a thesis that makes an explicit claim about the meaning of the biblical text, and evidence (literary, social, historical, and logical) that supports your thesis. The material for your essay will come from the course reading assignments, the lectures, class discussions, and your critical thinking.
Audience
You will write the essay for your peers in the class who have access to the same knowledge base.
Purpose
Interpretations of the Bible are rarely straightforward. Disagreements about the meaning of any given text are frequent and interpretations are many. As a result, argumentative essays play a crucial role in meeting the course's object of learning how to interpret the Bible, for they require you to articulate and defend a particular interpretation.
Procedures
The essay topic, along with some guidelines to assist your thinking, is listed on each lesson page and will focus on a particular biblical text. It is up to you to arrive at an interpretation of the text based on your reading, discussion, and thinking through the course material. You will then argue for this interpretation in your essay.
Your essay should contain four ingredients:
- Thesis: All essays should begin with a thesis that encapsulates the main claim you want to argue through your essay. The thesis should be put in a form that makes an explicit claim in response to a problem raised by the essay topic. The thesis may be developed further with purpose and blueprint statements (for example: "The purpose of this essay is . . .", or "I will argue first that . . ., then second that . . . "), but these should not replace the thesis which is a brief synopsis - typically one sentence - of your entire argument.
- Content: The content of your statements should be accurate, and should reflect the scope of the assignment and the course material. The course material (reading assignments, lectures, class discussion) serves as the basis for writing the essays. Therefore, this material should be evident in the essay itself.
- Argument: The body of the essay should argue for the thesis. Statements such as "I believe . . ." or "I feel . . ." detract from the force of the argument. Arguments include evidence and reasoning. Rhetoric is helpful in persuasion, but is not the substance of an argument.
- Fluent Style: Proper spelling and grammar and a coherent flowing style are expected. Proof-read your essay. Let a friend proof-read it if you are uncertain about questions of style. Take your paper to the Writing Center for assistance in refining the form and style of your paper.
The essays are limited to 1000 words (roughly three double-spaced pages). The final essay is limited to 2000 words (six double-spaced pages). The essays must be stapled, and the Primary Traits Analysis Form must be attached to the front of the essay.
The argumentative essays should be thoroughly revised once they are evaluated by a peer and graded by the professor. Revision entails much more than editing the paper for grammar, style, and content. Revision entails rethinking the problem, the thesis, and the evidence. Revision means rewriting the paper. The revisions must include the original essay stapled in back with a Primary Traits Analysis Form for revisions stapled to the front.
Standards and Criteria
All essays should be unified, coherent argumentative essays with clear theses, accurate content, cogent reasoning, logical organization, and fluent style.
Although the content of the essay is expected to reflect the course material in some way, no predetermined expectations are placed on your interpretations. Instead, I offer three important qualifications about the content of the essays:
- The specific interpretation you make in your essay is less important than the argument which defends the interpretation. As a result, . . .
- Your interpretation in the essay may disagree with the interpretations given in the reading material or discussion, but you must argue for your opposing interpretation.
- Similarly, your interpretation may agree with the interpretation of others. Nevertheless, your interpretation must be argued on the evidence (noting that reference to an authority is not a valid argument). In other words, essays are not graded on "correct" beliefs but on cogent reasoning. All interpretations without argument are insufficient.
For further information, see the grading criteria for the essays.
