Writing and Research

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 of Langham Scholars Programme, Langham Partnership

I warmly commend to my academic colleagues this up-to-date guide to academic writing and theological research for their consideration, and possible recommendation to their students.

Professor Arthur Song
Former Dean of the Faculty of Theology, University of Zululand
Former Head of Postgraduate School, South African Theological Seminary

1. Foreword
2. Preface
3. 1. Part A Academic Writing
   2. 1. 1. Writing Assignments
      1. Plan Your Essay
      2. Write Your Essay
      3. Summary
      2. 2. Scholarly Writing
      1. Some Thoughts about Structure
      2. A Few Tips concerning Style
      3. General Advice about Presentation
      3. 3. In-Text Citations
      1. The Advantages of In-Text Citations
      2. The Elements of In-Text Citations
      3. How to Add an In-Text Citations
      4. How to Handle Variations on the Main Elements
      5. Some Loose Ends
      6. Summary
      4. 4. Footnote Citations
      1. Two Types of Footnotes
      2. Advantages of Footnote Citations
      3. Principles of Footnote Citations
      4. Examples of Common Footnote Citations
      5. Multiple Citations in One Footnote
      5. 5. The Bibliography
      1. Types of Bibliographies
      2. How to Compose a C+bibliography Entry
      3. Examples of Common bibliography Entries
      4. Bibliography Entries for Other Sources
      5. Punctuation in a Bibliography
      6. How to Order the Works in a Bibliography
      8. Summary
      6. 6. Plagiarism
      1. Defining Plagiarism
      2. Dealing with Plagiarism
      3. Avoiding Plagiarism
      4. Recognising Plagiarism
      5. Undermining Plagiarism
      6. Challenging Plagiarists
      7. 7. Formatting an Academic Paper
      1. The Cover Page
      2. The Declaration and Dedication (only for theses)
      3. Abstract
      4. Table of Contents
      5. Normal Pages
      6. Headers and Footers
      7. The First Pages
      8. Numbered and Bulleted Lists
      9. Tables and Figures
      10. Bibliography
      8. 8. Software for Bible Study
      1. The Benefits of Software
      2. The Limitations of Software
      3. The Categories of Software
      4. Free Online Applications
      5. Commercial Software Programs
   3. Part B Theological Research
   4. 1. 9. Thesis Requirements
      1. Bachelor’s Level
      2. Master’s Level
      3. Doctoral Level
      4. Summary
      2. 10. The Research Proposal
      1. The Value of a Research Proposal
      2. The Elements of a Research Proposal
      3. The Preparation of a Research Proposal
      3. 11. The Research Problem
      1. The Process at a Glance
      2. The Research Idea
      3. The Preliminary Literature Review
      4. The Main Problem
      5. The Key Questions
      6. Fleshing out the Problem
      7. Summary
      4. 12. The Research Plan
      1. The Design
      2. The Methodology
      3. The Bibliography
      5. 13. Biblical Exegesis
      1. Presuppositions of Evangelical Exegesis
      2. Design for an External Study
      3. Writing Up an Exegetical Study
      4. Summary
      6. 14. Systematic Theology
      1. Presuppositions of Evangelical Theology
      2. Steps in Evangelical Theology
      3. Basic Design for Evangelical Theology
      4. Alternate Design for Evangelical Theology
      5. Summary
      7. 15. Practical Theology
      1. Nature of Practical Theology
      2. Steps in Practical Theology
      3. Basic Design for Practical Theology
      4. Advanced Designs for Practical Theology
      5. Alternate Designs for Practical Theology
      6. Summary
      8. 16. The Literature Review
      1. Why You Must Do a Literature Review
      2. How Your Literature Review Will Be Judged
      3. How to Obtain Sources for Your Literature Review
      4. Summary,/li>
      9. 17. Descriptive Research
      1. Understanding Descriptive Research
      2. Conducting Descriptive Research
      10. 18. Other Types of Theological Research
      1. Empirical Research (IMRAD)
      2. Book Reviews
      3. Case Studies
      4. Congregational Analysis
4. Appendix A
1. Common Abbreviations
5. Appendix B
1. Abbreviations for Journals, Periodicals, Major Reference Works, and Series
6. Select Bibliography