select four key passages (1-3 verses) that he or she thinks summarize the main ideas, concerns, or perspective of the book.
Then, for each passage, write a paragraph explaining why and how these do so.
An A paper will also have an opening and closing summary paragraph (i.e. opening paragraph + 4 passages with explanatory paragraphs + closing paragraph). This will provide you
the opportunity to demonstrate clearly your understanding of the overall unity of the
book and articulate your sense of the single thread that ties together the four passages.
The selected biblical passages should be quoted in full.
An A paper will also cite at least 3 academic sources (scholarly books, academic journals),
at least one of which will be a biblical commentary. Wikipedia, blogs, and other non-academic internet material may be referenced, but will not count towards the required
sources.
Finally, as a word of advice, aim to clearly indicate the historical or literal sense of the text
(which is to say, what the words of the text mean in their original context as used to communicate between the original writer and the implied audience) as the starting point of
your more in-depth or more wide-ranging analysis. This might include reference to genre,
particular historical circumstance, explicit mention of who is writing or might be plausibly
supposed to be the first readers, etc. The point here is to strengthen your outline by explicitly indicating a knowledge of this literal / historical sense of the text (however briefly),
and then using this as a basis for whatever additional spiritual senses (allegorical, tropological, anagogical), personal significances, practical applications, etc., you deem relevant.
The total wordcount (including biblical citations and footnotes) should be
