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Adapted by Dr. J.
Michael Utzinger from Erskine Theological Seminary’s “Writing Theological
Papers,” primarily authored by Dr. Don Fairbairn and found at
http://acad.erskine.edu/facultyweb/fairbairn/
(Used and adapted
with permission).
This document is designed to
help students prepare and write the various types of papers they will be called
upon to submit while participating in religion courses at Hampden-Sydney
College. The document does not cover all types of assignments, or even all
possible types of papers, but it does cover the main types of papers that will
be expected of students. The syllabi for the various courses will give guidance
regarding the degree to which the student will be expected to follow or use this
document for a given assignment.
I. Introduction: The Nature of a
Religion Paper
A.
General Description of a Religion Paper
At Hampden-Sydney College a religion paper is a piece of
written work dealing with a question or issue that is related to Christian
theology and ethics, biblical studies, American and historical studies of
religion, and world religions.
B. Elements of a Religion Paper
Regardless of the topic,
writing a religion paper involves at least two of the following four elements:
1. Research: This is the gathering of information related to the topic
from a variety of primary and secondary sources. (The difference between
these two kinds of sources will be discussed below.)
2. Reporting: This is the presentation of information in a way that is
clear, well-organized, and helpful.
3. Analysis: This is the attempt to grasp and articulate the significance
of what one has discovered in completing the assignment. What conclusions may
one legitimately reach about the question of the paper? What conclusions are
ruled out? In some cases, the analysis section may include the student’s
reaction to and/or critique of the material he/she has gathered and reported.
4. Reflection/Application: This is the attempt to articulate what
difference the paper’s analysis makes for the student’s own spiritual life, for
the Church, and for the world. What is the significance of these conclusions for
the faith, life, and practice of individuals today?
It is crucial for the student
to learn these four elements in order and to recognize that if a paper
involves one of these elements, it also involves the element(s) that follow. A
paper that involves research necessarily also involves reporting,
analysis, and reflection. A paper that involves reporting necessarily
also involves analysis and reflection. In other words, it is never
sufficient simply to gather information, or even to report that information
clearly. An adequate religion paper always involves analysis and
reflection, even if it does not always involve research or even reporting.
From these four
elements come three distinct kinds of religion papers: reflection papers
(which actually include analysis and reflection), reports (which include
reporting, analysis and reflection), and research papers (which include
all four elements).
With this
preliminary discussion of theological papers in mind, the student is ready for
the process of carrying out an assignment and producing the paper that emerges
from it. The basic steps in this process include understanding the assignment,
choosing the topic, gathering information, and organizing and writing the paper.
II.
Understanding the Assignment
A. The Type of Paper Expected
The first step in preparing a
good paper is understanding what type of paper the professor is asking the
student to write. Is the professor calling for a research paper, a
report, or a reflective paper? Determining this enables the student
to know which of the elements described above need to be included in the paper.
(Again, remember that all papers involve analysis and reflection, that
reports also involve reporting of information, and that research papers involve
all four elements.) Normally the assignment will make this clear. Even if the
professor does not use the words “research paper,” “report,” or “reflective
paper,” it will be readily apparent what type of paper he/she expects if the
student pays attention to the way the assignment is written.
B. The Scope of the Paper
Understanding the assignment
also requires that the student grasp the intended scope of the paper, as
indicated by the page range the professor stipulates. If the assignment calls
for a short paper (say, 3-6 pages) and calls for research, then the
student knows that the expected research is to be very general and need involve
only a handful of sources. If a research paper is to be 10-15 pages, then
considerably more detailed research is required, involving a number of different
sources. A report or a reflective paper is generally shorter than a research
paper of comparable depth. Five pages would be a fairly long reflective paper, a
moderate-length report, but a short research paper. By paying attention both to
the length stipulated and the type of paper called for, the student is able to
get a feel for how much depth he/she is expected to muster in the paper. (Please
note that when the professor stipulates a set page number, this does NOT include
the title page or the bibliography. The number of pages stipulated refers to the
number of pages in the paper itself.)
C. The Relation between Topic and Sub-Questions
A third
factor in understanding the assignment is interpreting the way the professor
delineates the topic and the sub-questions related to that topic. (Obviously,
this step does not apply if the professor gives the student the freedom to
choose his/her own topic.) Often the professor will give a general topic and
then pose several specific sub-questions about that topic. The student should
then pay careful attention to the relation between the topic and the
sub-questions by asking:
1.
Are the sub-questions prescriptive in nature and separate from each
other? In this case, the student needs to answer them all directly (and probably
in sequence) in order to cover the topic adequately. The work can then be
organized around the questions, and the questions can serve as the basis for the
sections of the paper.
2.
Are the sub-questions illustrative, different aspects of the same
question? In this case, the student needs to discern the central question that
is being asked in various ways, and the paper should not be organized around the
sub-questions.
III. Choosing, Narrowing, and Focusing the Topic
A. Choosing the Topic
Generally speaking, when a
student is assigned to write a reflective paper or a report, the topic will be
given to him/her in a specific way. (For example, the assignment may be to read
Gustaf Aulen’s Christus Victor and to summarize Aulen’s major thesis
about the way the Church has viewed the atonement for most of its history.) In
the case of such papers, the student’s task is very clear, and this step in the
process of writing the paper can be skipped.
In the case
of a research paper, the situation will almost always be less clear-cut.
Sometimes the professor will give the student a topic (or a choice of several
topics) on which to write. At other times, the professor will leave the choice
of topic entirely up to the student. Even when the professor gives the student a
topic, the topic will probably be too general to be covered thoroughly in the
number of pages the assignment calls for, so the student will need to narrow
that topic appropriately. It is always better to cover a fairly narrow topic
well in a paper than to treat a broad topic superficially.
When
choosing a topic, the student needs to recognize that he/she will not be able to
narrow the topic appropriately until he/she knows a fair bit about it. So all
research starts with a general topic and becomes more specific as it goes along.
The student should begin with either the topic given to him/her by the professor
or (in the case where he/she is called on to choose the topic) a topic that is
of particular interest to him/her. Hopefully some of the material in the course
will spark the student’s interest and give him/her a desire to study a
particular topic further. That general topic can then become the starting point
for research.
B. Narrowing the Topic
As the student begins to do
research, he/she will quickly learn enough about the topic to begin narrowing
it, and the bulk of the research will focus on this more specific topic. For
example, perhaps a New Testament class gives a student the desire to study the
idea of grace more fully and to write a paper on this topic. Simply spending
five minutes with a Bible concordance will show the student that two-thirds of
the New Testament passages in which the word “grace” occurs are in the letters
of Paul. On the basis of this, the student may decide that a good topic for the
paper would be “grace in Paul,” and he/she can begin studying Paul’s letters and
reading articles about Paul’s understanding of grace. Almost immediately the
topic has been narrowed from something too general for a research paper to
something more appropriate. Furthermore, the student may find that he wishes to
look only at Paul letter to the Galatians. The topic is now narrowed even
further.
In many
cases, narrowing the topic is not as simple as it would be in the example just
given. The student needs to think carefully about how the topic can be
appropriately narrowed. If the research deals with history, the topic can be
narrowed geographically or chronologically. For example, instead of writing on
pietism in general, the student can write on English pietism (geographical
narrowing) or on the first generation of pietism from 1675-1700 (chronological
narrowing). If the topic deals with a ministry issue, the student can write on
one application of a ministry principle, rather than on the principle in
general. Careful narrowing of the topic early in the research will yield a much
stronger paper in the end.
C. Focusing the Topic
As the research continues, the
student needs not only to narrow the topic, but also to focus it. He/she should
identify a particular problem or a specific question related to the topic, on
which the research and the paper will focus. The simple way to begin to focus a
paper is to answer the “so what” or “who cares” question. In other words,
imagine that you told someone your paper topic, and they replied “who cares?”
You should be able to explain why the topic is significant. (By the way, saying
your professor made you is not what we are getting at here).
IV.
Gathering Information
This step is very
simple in the case of a reflective paper or a report, and more complicated in
the case of a research paper. In the case of a reflective paper, the information
will have already been presented to the student (usually in class), and the
student will simply need to recall it in order to analyze and reflect on it. In
the case of a report, the assignment will direct the student to the specific
source of information (such as a reading assignment or film).
In the case of a
research paper, the student needs to utilize various resources to help him/her
find relevant sources of information. Finding the best sources of information is
an important skill that the student needs to develop quickly in seminary, if
he/she has not already honed this skill in college or elsewhere. We strongly
urge students to work with Hampden-Sydney’s library personnel to find sources
for their research projects. The following discussion in this document is not
designed to be a replacement for seeking help from the library staff. Rather, we
simply offer some comments about sources for research.
A. Primary vs. Secondary Sources
It is very important for
students conducting research to recognize the difference between primary and
secondary sources. A primary source is a source produced by someone directly
involved with the topic one is researching. A secondary source is produced by
someone who studied that topic but was not directly involved with it. (One can
also speak of a background source – a source written prior to the time of the
primary sources for the topic.) The difference between these will become clear
through several examples:
If a student
is researching the Biblical doctrine of justification by faith, then Paul’s
letters to the Romans and the Galatians would be primary sources. Commentaries
on those letters, sermons that mention justification by faith, systematic
theology textbooks that deal with the doctrine, hymns that celebrate the
significance of the doctrine, etc., could all be acceptable secondary sources
for the research.
If a student
is researching Luther’s understanding of justification by faith, then Luther’s
writings (especially his commentaries on Romans and Galatians) would be primary
sources, and books and articles about Luther’s views would be secondary sources.
(In this case, the Bible would be a background source, not a primary source!)
Notice carefully that if one is studying the Biblical doctrine of
justification by faith, then Luther’s commentary on Galatians would be a
secondary source. But if one is studying Luther’s doctrine of
justification by faith, then his commentary would be a primary source.
If a student
is researching the life of Billy Graham, then his letters, tapes and transcripts
of his sermons, statistics from his crusades, documents describing the structure
of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, and his own books (especially his
autobiography) would be primary sources. Books and articles written about him by
others would be secondary sources.
If a student is
researching contemporary worship styles, then hymnbooks, liturgical books,
musical scores, and audio and video tapes of worship services would be primary
sources. Books and articles about contemporary worship would be secondary
sources.
In most cases,
research assignments (as opposed to reports and reflective papers) require
students to consult at least some primary sources, as well as some secondary
sources. This does not mean that a student must read large amounts of primary
source material when writing a relatively short paper. For example, if a student
is writing a 7-page paper on Wesley’s understanding of total sanctification,
he/she is not expected to wade through all of Wesley’s sermons looking for
passages that discuss this idea. Rather, he/she may use secondary sources (such
as an article on Wesley’s idea of total sanctification) to identify which
sermons discuss this concept most fully. The student is then expected to read
those sermons himself and to interact directly with Wesley, rather than relying
only on the secondary source.
Therefore, the
initial phases of research are probably best done using secondary sources. These
books and articles will help the student to narrow and focus his/her topic and
to identify which primary sources will be most useful. (The professor may also
be a helpful resource in identifying useful primary sources.) But the main phase
of the research focuses on study of primary sources. The student seeks to
understand these sources himself/herself, and secondary sources are an aid
toward that understanding. The student is not to rely exclusively on these
secondary sources or to trust them implicitly.
B. Printed vs. Electronic Sources
The vast increase in
availability of information in the late 20th century has made it much
easier to access primary and secondary sources for research. Web-based library
catalogs enable students to search for books in many libraries, and
Inter-library Loan makes these books available to the student. No longer is one
limited to the books in one’s own school library. Similarly, electronic
databases such as the ATLA Bibliography enable students to identify articles
about specific topics very easily, and the new ATLAS project enables students to
read many of these articles electronically.
Web pages on
any subject known to humanity can be easily located from virtually any computer
terminal. However, with this ease of access to information comes the
responsibility to use one’s sources wisely. The student must remember that not
everything that appears on a computer screen is true or reliable. In fact,
people may write absolutely anything they want on their web pages; there is no
one to check the accuracy of their claims. This is especially true for topics
concerning religion. Many web pages contain material that is inaccurate,
distorted, or otherwise untrustworthy. For example, a teaching assistant in the
field of European history recently found that a number of undergraduates were
citing a particular web page as a source of information about WWII. Upon
checking, the teaching assistant found that it was a seventh-grader’s personal
web page—hardly the most reliable source of facts about the war!
More typical
is the use of Wikipedia by students. Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia for
which articles are contributed by users. This means that, at present, anyone
can write an article for the encyclopedia for Wikipedia. This, of course, means
that information may or may not be reliable and is typically not written by
experts. Ask yourself a question: why take a chance? Take the time to read an
expert in the field, and you will be better off.
In contrast to a
web page, a theological book published by a reputable publishing company must
have met significant criteria for accuracy and trustworthiness, or it would not
have been published. That does not mean that it is infallible, but it can at
least be taken seriously. Accordingly, students are wise to lean toward printed
sources of information (books and articles in reputable journals), rather than
web sites. This does not mean that students should not use electronic versions
of sources. In many cases, printed sources (especially older primary sources)
that are hard to locate in book form have also been reproduced electronically,
and are easily accessible. To read Tertullian’s Apology on a web page
rather than in book form is perfectly acceptable. To read a web page giving the
opinions of someone who may or may not be knowledgeable about Tertullian is much
more suspect.
Conducting
theological research involves discerning which sources are more reliable and
which are less trustworthy. The library staff will be more than willing to help
steer students toward good sources.
C. Top Ten Things to remember about the ATLA Religion Database
HSC Reference Librarian,
Shaunna Hunter, has helpfully created the following guide for using the ATLA
database.
1.
The database is one of
Eggleston Library’s Online Resources. Click the
Online Resources link on the library’s homepage, choose the Student link,
and enter your Student username and password. (Student, Leader)
2.
ATLA is a FirstSearch database. Scroll down to, and click on, the
blue FirstSearch link on the Online Resources page to view the available
databases. You must choose ATLA from the list of databases in FirstSearch before
you can search. ATLA will not come up automatically.
3.
ATLA defaults to an Advanced Search mode. You may change from Advanced to
Basic Search mode at any time by choosing one or the other from the “Searching”
heading on the blue menu on the left side of the screen.
4.
Subject and Keyword searches are very different. Subject searches only
work if you know the Library of Congress Subject Heading. ATLA does give you the
option to browse Subject Headings, but keyword searching is easier because you
can use “free language,” or any words you want.
5.
Searching for specific types of documents is an option in ATLA. In
Advanced Search mode, in the “Limit to:” section of the screen, click on
“Document Type” and change to one of the options listed, including Book Reviews.
This allows you to perform a search specifically for the articles or book
reviews required for an assignment.
6.
Records containing references to a particular scripture are available. In
Advanced Search Mode the "Search for:" line defaults to a Keyword search. Open
the pull-down menu on the right and change Keyword to Scripture Citation or
Scripture Citation Phrase. Do not use a colon to separate chapter from verse.
Example of correct search: Matthew 5 3-12
7.
Each article has a citation. Citations provide information about your
search results, including the title, author, source, type of document, number of
libraries that own the item, if owned by Hampden-Sydney, and if there is
full-text.
8.
Availability of your search results will vary. The citation will tell you
if full-text is available, if Hampden-Sydney owns the publication the article or
essay was published in, or if neither of those is an option and you will have to
request the article through Interlibrary Loan.
9.
There are several ways to retrieve search results. Records (lists of
citations or articles when available) may be printed out, or emailed to an
electronic mail account.
10.
Interlibrary Loan Requests (ILL) may be submitted from within ATLA by
clicking on the ILL icon at the top of record screen. ILL requests may only be
submitted if the database does not offer full-text, and if Hampden-Sydney does
not subscribe to the journal or own the book your article/essay was published
in.
C. Book Reviews
and Review Essays
Book Reviews are useful tools
for students to determine whether a book might be useful for his research. The
reviewer typically summarizes some of the major arguments of a book along with
criticisms (both positive and negative). Review essays usually review more than
one book on a related topic. Such essays, at their best, survey and critically
analyze the state of current scholarship on a particular issue or topic. It is
important to remember that a review often reveals as much about the reviewer as
the books reviewed. Further, while they are useful, time-saving tools, reviews
should not be used as a source for a research paper.
D. Peer-Reviewed
Sources vs. Popular Print Sources
Because religion is a pervasive
human experience, its discussion is common in popular media sources. News
magazines tend to run topics of current religious interest. Such popular
sources present topics in an accessible and interesting format. Religious new
magazines, such as Christianity Today and Christian Century, are
no exception. Such secondary sources should typically be used as you would use
a review. An exception to this rule is when these sources are used as a primary
source. For example, you can often find essays by contemporary religious
thinkers in newspapers, magazines, journals of opinion, or institutional
organs. One might wish to research contemporary evangelical reaction to gay
marriage in Vermont. Using essay by James Dobson on the topic published in
Christianity Today would be quite sensible.
A peer-reviewed
journal, whether a print or online journal, publishes only articles judged by
experts in a particular field to have scholarly merit. This means that
peer-reviewed journals offer students the best place to find reliable secondary
sources.
E.
Reading the Sources
Just as it is important to
learn the skill of finding the best sources of information, it is also important
to learn the skill of reading sources well. In particular, given the limited
time that any student will have to do research and write a particular paper, it
is important to discern how much time it is worth spending on a particular
source. Knowing when to read quickly and when to slow down to study very
carefully is a crucial skill to develop. As a general principle, the student
should not normally begin reading a particular source with the assumption that
he will read it completely. Instead, the student should approach each source
with several tasks in mind.
The first
task is to determine whether the source will be useful enough to spend more than
a few minutes reading. For a source to be useful, it needs to cover a subject
substantially related to the question of the student’s research. In the case of
a book, the student can read the dust jacket (or back cover), preface, foreword,
and/or introduction of a book to determine quickly whether the book is relevant
to his topic. If the book seems to be relevant, then studying the table of
contents will enable one to make a final decision about whether it is a
worthwhile source. As previously mentioned, book reviews and review essays can
also help determine the usefulness of a book. If the source is an article, it
may have a short abstract giving a summary of the argument, and reading that
(and/or scanning the article looking at the headers and sub-headers) will enable
the student to decide whether it is worth spending time on that article.
Once the
student decides that a given source is relevant to his topic, the second task is
to ascertain whether the source provides anything new, anything the student does
not already know. Reading the concluding chapter of a book or the last couple of
paragraphs of an article will alert the student to whether the book simply
re-hashes something he/she already knows, or whether it provides a new
perspective that needs to be taken seriously.
After
completing these two tasks, the student may decide not to read that source. If
so, then before returning it to its place the student should look through the
bibliography (or in the case of an article, the footnotes or endnotes) to see
whether this source lists other sources that look especially promising. If the
source is a book, looking at the books on the same library shelf around that
book may also turn up some valuable sources.
If the
student decides that the source is worthy of attention, and if the source is an
article, at this point it is probably time to read it thoroughly. But if the
source is a book (or even a long article), it would be worthwhile to skim read
to get a clear picture of the contents, and then decide which chapters or
sections one should read slowly and carefully. Reading the first couple of
paragraphs of each chapter, as well as the headers and sub-headers, might help
the student decide that only certain portions need to be read carefully.
In order to
see the value of this process, imagine that a student finds 5 books and 10
articles that seem to relate to his/her topic, and that those sources total 1200
pages. For most people it would take 60 hours to read all of those sources
completely, and then one might still not have all that he/she needs for the
paper. But by spending one hour looking over all 15 of those sources, the
student might realize that only 2 books and 5 articles need to be read. Then
spending another hour or so with those 7 sources might enable him/her to
recognize that a total of 100 pages should be read very carefully. The skill of
determining what needs to be read carefully and what does not will pay huge time
dividends, both during one’s student days and throughout one’s life.
V.
Organizing the Paper
During the course
of his/her preparation, the student has identified an appropriately narrow topic
and has focused it by posing a question, and now he/she is in a position to
craft the paper itself. As the student does this, he/she should pay attention to
two major factors.
A.
What elements are necessary in order to answer the question?
The student should first consider what is necessary in
order to answer the paper’s question convincingly. What information will need to
be presented? Will answering the question depend primarily on presenting
evidence/information, or will it depend primarily on analyzing evidence and
deciding between competing views on the issue? As the student thinks about the
necessary elements for the paper, he/she will be able to devise an outline of
the steps in the argument.
B. How important are various pieces of evidence?
Once the student comes up with
an outline of the steps in the argument he/she will use, he/she then needs to
think quite ruthlessly about how important and how complicated each step in the
argument is. The paper should use most of its space on the steps in the
argument that are most important, most crucial in answering the question the
paper will pose. Material should not be included simply because the student
has discovered it, or even because it is interesting. It should be included
only if it is important to the argument. Furthermore, the student should not use
most of his/her space on the early phases of the argument and then, realizing
that he/she has almost reached the page limit, rush through the latter phases of
the argument. Rather, he/she should plan ahead of time approximately what
percentage of his/her space to allot to each section of the argument.
By this point, the
student should have a clear picture of how he/she will proceed to answer the
question of the paper and what evidence/information he/she will need to include.
The student is now ready to begin writing.
VI. Writing
the Paper
A
theological paper should NOT be written as if the professor (who presumably
knows as much about the topic as the student) were the intended audience. It
should be written so as to be understandable to a well-educated layperson.
Writing for such an intended audience forces the student to be clear and
well-organized in order to communicate effectively.
A
theological paper should have three major sections: the introduction, the body,
and the conclusion. (The body will likely have sub-sections as well.)
A. The Introduction
The introduction to a paper
should usually take up no more than 10% of the paper’s total length. It should
explain the topic, and it may also explain in a preliminary way why this topic
is important and worth studying. Most important, the introduction should
state the particular question that will be the focus of the paper and should
give the answer that the student will elaborate in the paper. Generally
speaking, stating and answering the question should be done in a single
sentence: the thesis statement. The introduction should also lay out clearly
the structure of the paper, the steps of the argument that the student has come
up with as he/she was organizing the paper.
Many students find
that it is easier to delay writing the introduction until after they have
written the body of the paper. That way, the student will know exactly what
shape the paper’s argument will take, since he/she will have already written
that argument. If one does delay the writing of the introduction, however,
he/she should still formulate a clear thesis statement before writing the body
of the paper. Then he/she can write the rest of the introduction around that
thesis statement later.
B. The Body
This part
of the paper should normally encompass about 70% of its total length and should
clearly present the information and analysis necessary to answer the question of
the paper. The student should keep several things in mind as he/she writes this
part of the paper:
1.
When presenting information, summarize as briefly as possible while still
maintaining clarity. This is the student’s paper, and the students’ own writing
should predominate. The paper should not consist simply of long summaries of
the writings of others (unless, of course, the purpose of the paper is to
report on a book or some other source).
2.
Do not ever include unanalyzed information. A quotation or a
summary of a source should be followed by an explanation of how that information
fits with the argument of the paper.
3.
Do not leave the reader with the task of making connections between the
various phases of the argument. Clearly explain how the different elements fit
together, and write transitional sentences as the paper moves from one phase of
the argument to another.
C. The Conclusion
This part of the paper should normally encompass about
20% of the total length, although in some cases it is appropriate for the
conclusion to be longer and the body correspondingly shorter. The conclusion
should clearly repeat the question and answer (that is, the thesis statement)
posed in the introduction and should briefly show how the body of the paper has
led to that answer. Furthermore, the conclusion should reflect on the
significance of the paper’s argument for Christian life and ministry.
Note carefully that in a
research paper, the introduction poses the question (and states what the
student’s answer will be), the body reports the information and analyzes it so
as to answer the question convincingly, and the conclusion reviews the entire
argument and reflects on the significance of the answer the student has proposed
in the paper.
In a report, the body of
the paper deals mainly with a summary of the information in the source on which
one is reporting. As a result, it might well be shorter than the 70% figure
given above, and the conclusion reflecting on the significance of that
information would probably be much longer proportionally.
In a reflective paper,
the little reporting that might be necessary could probably come in the
introduction, which might then be a bit longer than the 10% figure given above.
The body of the paper reflects on the significance of the material, and the
conclusion might be simply a brief summary of the student’s reflections.
VII.
Presenting the Paper
A. Format
The paper should follow
American academic conventions, as set forth in Diane Hacker, The Bedford
Handbook (6th edition).
B. Acknowledgment of Sources
In a theological paper (or any
other piece of academic writing, for that matter), it is IMPERATIVE that all
information gained from any source other than the writer’s own knowledge be
properly acknowledged. Failure to acknowledge the sources of one’s
information gives the impression that one has come up with the information or
ideas on one’s own, and is completely unacceptable from an ethical point of
view. Passing someone else’s ideas off as one’s own constitutes
plagiarism, and students suspected of plagiarism will be subject to the
Hampden-Sydney Honor Court. See the College Catalog for further information
about the policy regarding plagiarism.
There are basically
two systems one may use to acknowledge the sources of one’s information. The
first is the standard system of footnotes (or endnotes), described in chapters
56b (MLA), 59d (APA), 60d (Chicago) of Hacker. The second is the parenthetical
reference system (also called the Harvard system), described in chapters 56a
(MLA), 59d (APA), and 60d (Chicago) of Hacker. Generally speaking, if a paper
has about 5 sources or fewer, the parenthetical reference system is preferred.
If it has more than 5 sources, footnotes or endnotes are preferred. If a paper
includes repeated references to a few primary sources and scattered references
to a number of secondary sources, it is appropriate to combine the two systems
by using parenthetical references to acknowledge primary sources, and footnotes
or endnotes for secondary sources. (For example, if the paper’s primary source
is the Bible and it also involves numerous secondary sources, then by all means
place Biblical references in parentheses at the end of the citation, and
footnote other sources.)
For example, suppose two of the
sources for a given paper are a book and an article whose bibliographical
entries look like this:
Noll, Mark A. Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity.
Grand Rapids: Baker, 1997.
Hodgson, Leonard. “The Metaphysic of Nestorius.” Journal of Theological
Studies 19 (1918): 46-55.
If the student is using the
standard system of footnotes or endnotes, then the first reference to
teach of these sources would look like this [the letter “x” in each of the
illustrations below stands for the page number from which the citation comes]:
1Mark
A. Noll, Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity
(Grand Rapids: Baker, 1997), x.
2Leonard
Hodgson, “The Metaphysic of Nestorius,” Journal of Theological Studies 19
(1918): x.
***Notice carefully that there
are several differences between the way a footnote is written and the way the
corresponding bibliographical entry is written. Footnotes list the author with
the first name first; bibliographical entries with the last name first.
Footnotes use commas to separate elements; bibliographical entries use periods.
Footnotes place publishing information in parentheses; bibliographical entries
do not.***
If the student refers to these
same sources again later in the paper, then subsequent references to each of
these sources would look like this:
1Noll,
x. OR 2Hodgson, x.
If the student is using the
parenthetical reference system, then the references would come at the end of the
sentence in which the source is cited, and the references would look like this:
… end of sentence (Noll 1997
x).
… end of sentence (Hodgson 1918
x).
Since the amount of information
in Hacker can sometimes be daunting, it may be helpful for the student to use a
summary of that information, which gives the standard bibliographical format for
various kinds of sources. Summaries can be accessed at
(Chicago style):
http://www.dianehacker.com/resdoc/history/footnotes.html
(MLA Style): http://www.dianehacker.com/resdoc/humanities/english.html
(APA Style):
http://www.dianahacker.com/resdoc/social_sciences/intext.html
Other useful links for writing religion papers:
http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/religious_studies.html
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~writing/materials/student/humanities/religion.shtml
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