The Top 5 Pitfalls of Seminary Writing – And How to Avoid Them! Dr. Jill Hicks-Keeton

1. The Top 5 Pitfalls of Seminary Writing – And How to Avoid Them! Dr. Jill Hicks-Keeton Director of the Writing Center Email: writingcenter@wesleyseminary.edu

2. PITFALL #1 Not Writing!

3. Two common reasons (1) Procrastination (2) Not knowing where to start

5. Useful Strategies Really early. Really: Anything. …or your friend or your kid. Really!

6. PITFALL #2 Leaning too far on others.

7. Avoiding (Accidental) Plagiarism

8. Paraphrasing Example Original text: “Nowhere in the Hebrew Bible do human agents act based on their own understanding that idols are made by hand, and that they are lifeless, powerless, and cannot compare to God, and thus have no right to exist. Only in the literature of Second Temple Judaism will there emerge this type of self-initiative as the reason for destruction of idols.” Quotation from: Claudia Bergmann, “Idol Worship in Bel and the Dragon and Other Jewish Literature from the Second Temple Period,” in Septuagint Research: Issues and Challenges in the Study of the Greek Jewish Scriptures, eds. Wolfgang Kraus and R. Glenn Wooden(Leiden: Brill, 2006), 210. Bad paraphrase: The Hebrew Bible does not portray human agents acting on their own knowledge that idols are made by hand and do not compare to God. Only later, in Second Temple Judaism, does self-initiativeemergeas a reasonfor destroying idols. Good paraphrase: Claudia Bergmann has pointed out that depictions of idol destruction in Second Temple Judaism are novel with respect to those in the Hebrew Bible because their human characters use a form of logic to conclude that the lifeless idol should be destroyed.

9. Engaging Experts Properly

10. Example of Improper Quotation Use The apostle Paul saw himself as the apostle to the gentiles. “Paul relies on the logic of patrilineal descent to create a new lineage for the gentiles, a lineage that links gentiles through Christ to the founding ancestor, Abraham” (Johnson Hodge, If Sons, Then Heirs, 5). Paul wrote many letters to the churches he founded that were constituted of gentile Christians.

11. Example of Proper Quotation Use Johnson Hodge summarizes Paul’s myth of origins in this way: Paul relies on the logic of patrilineal descent to create a new lineage for the gentiles, a lineage that links gentiles through Christ to the founding ancestor, Abraham. By means of this kinship-creation, gentiles are made descendants of Abraham, adopted sons of God and coheirs with Christ(Johnson Hodge, If Sons, Then Heirs, 5). Because of Christ, then, gentiles in the Jesus movement have access to Israel’s God through Israel’s founding patriarch because they too may now be considered Abraham’s descendants.

12. When it comes to quotations, remember: Hug the Balloon!

13. PITFALL #3 Writing, but not Revising.

14. Why Revise?

15. What to Revise? Revise sentences for: (1) clarity (2) concision (3) grammar Revise paragraphs for: (1) relevance (2) logical sentence arrangement (3) transitions between sentences Revise the whole paper for: (1) clear thesis (2) organization of paragraphs (3) transitions between paragraphs

16. Avoid Misplaced Modifiers! Correct: The cops in the squad car chased the bear.

17. Avoid Misplaced Modifiers! Incorrect: Having never been to the church before, the pastor told me where to park and introduced me to the church members. Correct: Since I had never been to the church before, the pastor told me where to park and introduced me to the church members. Correct: Having never been to the church before, I asked the pastor to tell me where to park and to introduce me to the church members.

18. Avoid Misplaced Modifiers! Incorrect: Growing up in Mississippi (part of the “Bible Belt”), God was everywhere. Correct: I grew up in Mississippi (part of the “Bible Belt”) where God was everywhere. Correct: Growing up in Mississippi (part of the “Bible Belt”), I observed that God was everywhere.

19. What to Revise? Revise sentences for: (1) clarity (2) concision (3) grammar Revise paragraphs for: (1) relevance (2) logical sentence arrangement (3) transitions between sentences Revise the whole paper for: (1) clear thesis (2) organization of paragraphs (3) transitions between paragraphs

20. Reverse Outlining      Main idea: Girl refuses date. Main idea: Boy is happy. Main idea: Boy and girl go on date. Main idea: Girl agrees to date for tomorrow. Main idea: Boy is sad. Step 1: Bracket out each paragraph and write its main idea beside it.

21. Reverse Outlining Step 2: Write the main ideas on a separate page. Girl refuses date. Girl refuses date. Boy is happy. Boy is sad. Boy and girl go on date. Girl agrees to date for tomorrow. Girl agrees to date for tomorrow. Boy is happy. Boy and girl go on date. Boy is sad. Step 3: Rearrange them into the most logical order.

22. Reverse Outlining Girl refuses date. Boy is sad. Girl agrees to date for tomorrow. Boy is happy. Boy and girl go on date.      Step 4: Put your paragraphs in that order.

23. Voila! a beautifully-organized paper

24. PITFALL #4 Being tired.

25. Sleep + Exercise = Better Writing Sufficient sleep and regular exercise help you write better by… …improving brain function. …increasing creativity. …making you happy, energetic, and motivated.

26. PITFALL #5 Doing it completely alone.

27. FALL 2014 OFFICE HOURS In person (drop-in or by appointment): Wednesdays Noon-3pm Via FaceTime or Skype (by appointment only): Mondays 6-7pm Email: writingcenter@wesleyseminary.edu