RLGN 301 - Research and Writing for Religious Disciplines

RLGN 301 Discussion Board Forum (3)

Discussion boards are collaborative learning experiences. Therefore, the student is required to create a thread in response to the provided prompt for each forum. Each thread must be 250–300 words and demonstrate course-related knowledge. In addition to the thread, the student is required to reply to 2 other classmates’ threads. Each reply must be at least 150 words.

RLGN 301 Research Project

1. Research Topic Selection

The student will select a research topic from a list of approved topics provided in the course and narrow that topic by proposing a specific research question to be addressed in his or her Research Paper. The student will also identify the primary source that most appropriately suits the research question.

2. Research Plan

Addressing the research topic already selected, the student will develop a Research Plan. This Research Plan will describe the research problem, the purpose of the research, the proposed research method, and the hypothesis. The plan must be approximately 200–300 words as described in the template provided within the course.

3. Working Bibliography

The student will develop a Working Bibliography of at least 8 scholarly sources that may be used to address the research topic. The Bible, while expected as a source, does not count toward the scholarly source minimum. This bibliography must be appropriately formatted in current Turabian style. Accompanying each citation must be a 1–3-sentence description of how the source addresses the research problem.

4. Thesis Statement, Outline, and Annotated Bibliography

After collecting, reading, and evaluating the research materials, the student will produce his or her Thesis Statement, Outline, and Annotated Bibliography for the Research Paper. The annotated bibliography will include the 8 sources from the bibliography, formatted correctly in current Turabian style. These sources and citations must reflect any changes and/or recommendations made by the instructor. For each source on the bibliography, the student will include a 200–250-word annotation explaining the key argument of the source, the doctrinal position expressed in the source, the strengths and weaknesses of the source, and a revised statement of how the source supports the argument that will be presented in the Research Paper.

5. Research Paper

Using the topic and research materials collected throughout the course, the student will write a 2,000–2,500-word research-based paper in current Turabian format. A title page and reference page are required and are not included in the word count requirement. The paper must include at least 8 scholarly references in addition to the Bible.

6. Research Paper Revisions and Summary

Using the comments from the instructor and the principles learned in the course, the student will revise his or her Research Paper and resubmit it along with a 200-word explanation of the overall impact of the revisions on the paper.

Quizzes (4)

Each quiz will cover the Reading & Study material for the modules/weeks in which it is assigned. Each quiz will be open-book/open-notes, contain 25 multiple-choice and true/false questions, and have a 45-minute time limit.