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How to Survive and Thrive—Academically—in Seminary
Let's face it, the workload of the average seminary student can be daunting at times; hundreds of pages to read and seemingly endless papers to write. Fear not! You will find resources in this guide to help you develop your study, reading and writing skills as you make your way through the academic world of seminary.
Most importantly if you need help please ask. All the faculty and staff at United are dedicated to helping you succeed during your time at United.
* Most of the resources in this guide were developed or curated by Pamela S. Wynn, former Director of The Writing Center at United Theological Seminary.
Connect with United's Writing Tutor
Connect with United's Writing Tutor
United’s writing tutor can assist students with the written components of their United programs, from course papers to theses and dissertations. Common areas for assistance include paper structure, citing sources, Turabian style, grammar, and formatting.
To schedule an initial one-hour appointment with the writing tutor, please complete and submit the online Writing Tutor Request Form. After the initial meeting, the writing tutor will schedule additional sessions with you as needed.
Suggestions for Developing Study Skills
Suggestions for Developing Study Skills
Note-Taking in the Classroom—Get the most out of your classroom time by learning how to prepare for a session as well as how to take helpful notes.
Theological Research—What is meant by research and how does theological research differ?
Understanding an Assignment—A helpful guide to understand just what is expected of you in a given assignment.
Using Art as a Study Tool—Try a creative approach to study, it may open your eyes to new ways of seeing and understanding.
Study Habits and Time Management—The ways in which you manage your study habits and time go a long way towards lowering your stress levels.
Evaluating Resources Checklist—Things to consider when evaluating the credibility a website, book, or article.
Improve Your Reading Skills
Improve Your Reading Skills
Academic Reading Strategies (The Writing Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill)
Guide to Academic Reading (onlineschools.org)
Reading Closely (Pamela S. Wynn)
Improve Your Writing Skills
Improve Your Writing Skills
Quoting & Paraphrasing (The Writing Center, The University of Wisconsin—Madison)
Suggestions for Jump-Starting a Paper
The Basic Organization of a Theological Paper
GrammarCheck
From the GrammarCheck website: “Using our online editor benefits you in several ways. First, no software installation is required. Your information is safe and secure (text is never cached in our servers), and you get your results almost immediately. Just type the words you want to check into the text field and click one of the two buttons underneath to get started. Colorful underlined prompts will point out spelling errors, grammar suggestions, or style suggestions.”
Citing Sources
Citing Sources
Citing Sources with Kate Turabian—Based on the 8th edition but still applicable
Documentation: Citing Your Sources—The basics of how to properly cite another's work in your writing.
Be sure to also check out Copyright, Fair Use, and Plagiarism.
FREE Citation Management Software:
Zotero—Zotero is a free, open source, web-based tool for managing citations, organizing pdfs, and creating bibliographies.
ZoteroBib—ZoteroBib is a free service that helps you build a bibliography or make citations instantly from any computer or device, without creating an account or installing any software.
Mendeley—Mendeley a free, web-based tool from Elsevier for managing references, creating bibliographies, and organizing PDFs.
“The Citation Bible”
A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations
by Kate L. Turabian; Wayne C. Booth (Revised by); Gregory G. Colomb (Revised by); Joseph M. Williams (Revised by); Joseph Bizup (Revised by); William T. FitzGerald (Revised by); The University The University of Chicago Press Editorial Staff (Revised by)
Call Number: LB 2369 T8 2018 (Reference & Main Collection)
ISBN: 9780226430577
Publication Date: 2018
Writing Theology Well
by Lucretia B. Yaghjian
Call Number: BR 44 Y3.4 2015
ISBN: 9780567499172
Publication Date: 2015
A working guide for students conducting theological writing and research on theology and biblical studies courses, this book integrates the disciplines of writing, rhetoric, and theology, to provide a standard text for the teaching and mentoring of writing across the theological curriculum.As a theological rhetoric, it also encourages excellence in theological writing in the public domain by helping to equip students for their wider vocations as writers, preachers, and communicators in a variety of ministerial and professional contexts. This 2nd Edition includes new chapters on 'Writing Theology in a New Language', which explores the linguistic and cultural challenges of writing theology well in a non-native language, and 'Writing and Learning Theology in an Electronic Age', addressed to distance learning students learning to write theology well from online courses, and dealing with the technologies necessary to do so.
Exegesis Paper Examples
Exegesis Paper Examples
Here are a few website resources that might be helpful for you to better understand what an exegesis paper might look like. (Please note: these are external links to sites not affiliated with United Seminary. The content is not necessarily in line with United's values).
Example Exegetical Papers (Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library)
Exegetical Paper Guide (Columbia Bible College)
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