Gail Horton Library

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How to Write a 10 Page Paper...

            ...when you only have 2 pages of information.  

It can be a challenge to write a great paper when you don't have much information.  The MBC Library is available to help you develop skills that will help you become a better researcher and a life long learner.  In order to write a great paper, you will need the following abilities based on the Association of College and Research Libraries:

Determine the extent of the information needed 

Access the needed information effectively and efficiently

Evaluate information and its sources critically

Incorporate selected information into your current knowledge base

Use information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose

Understand the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information, and access and use information ethically and legally.

With these standards in mind the first year student at MBC should know:

1. How to develop a thesis statement and formulate questions based on the information needed.

2. How information is organized and uses catalog, database, bibliography, and other locators to find it.

3. The value and difference between various formats (books vs. journals).

4. The purpose and audience of potential resources (popular vs. scholarly).

5. The difference between primary and secondary resources.

6. Search strategies using keywords and Boolean operators.

7. How to evaluate information for accuracy, authority, relevance, reliability, timeliness, and point of view.

8. The nature of intellectual property, plagiarism, copyright, and the use of proper citation methods.

Look for assignments in your syllabi that encourage the development of these skills. 

Guide for Writing

The following information is taken from Nancy Jean Vyhmeister's book Your Guide to Writing Quality Research Papers. (Vyhmeister, Nancy Jean. Your Guide to Writing Quality Research Papers. 2nd edition. Michigan: Zondervan, 2008.) 

Follow these steps in research planning

Topic :  Choose a topic ie. salvation

Step 1: Define the Problem

What information are you lacking? Where do you have a gap in understanding? Ex. If the Messiah had not yet come, how were Jewish people saved in the Old Testament?

Step 2: Determine the purpose

What am I going to do about the problem? Ex. Compare the way of salvation in the Old Testament to the New Testament? Define salvation?

Step 3: Design a Methodology The Proposal - this is what my paper will look like:

1. The background for the problem – Help your reader understand why this is a problem. How have others tried to solve this problem? Is there an opposing view?

2. Statement of the problem - See step 1 above

3. Purpose of the research – See step 2 above

4. Importance of the research – Why is this information important? Who is going to benefit from it? How will they benefit? (You may be the beneficiary and that is fine)

5. Definition of terms – Give precise definitions possibly comparing definitions of similar terms and making clarifications. Ex. Define salvation.  How else do people define salvation?

6. Delimitations of the study - These are boundaries you have chosen for this paper.  Ex. While many passages teach about salvation I will only be discussing 2 important passages.

7.  Methodology – Delineate clearly the steps you will take to complete the research. Is this study historical? Where will you go for information?  Describe your resources.  How do different parts of the research relate to each other? Ex. How does OT Scripture relate to NT Scripture?

8.  Tentative outline – This is a simple outline with chapter titles, main sections and subsections.  This step is very important and makes the writing process much easier. Steps 1-7 above could all be included in the introduction of your paper.

9. Working bibliography – Keep track of all resources you find useful on the subject being studied.  Put these on cards or start your bibliography (works cited) as you research your paper.

Nancy Jean Vyhmeister, Your Guide to Writing Quality Research Paper ( Michigan : Zondervan, 2008), 36.

Ibid, 37.

Ibid, 38.

Ibid, 213-214.

Possible Resources for Research on Salvation

Reference Material:   (evaluate and then choose the  best resource)

Vine's Expository Dictionary (REF PA 881 .V55 1952)

Illustrated Bible Dictionary (REF BS 440 .I44 1980 V.3)

Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology http://www.biblestudytools.com/Dictionaries/BakersEvangelicalDictionary/

Biblical Passages:

Select passages using dictionary and encyclopedias for reference

Circulating Material:

Subject Search: Salvation AND Judaism

God's Plan in all the Ages by R. DeHaan(BS 680 .S25 V36 1979)

Subject Search: Christianity AND Jews

Unto His Own by J. Gartenhous(BV 4922 .G37)

Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus by M. Brown (BV 4922 .B76 2000 V.1)

Periodicals: (Search Bib Sac and/or Christian Periodical Index )

Subject Search: Salvation – Biblical Teaching

Bibliotheca Sacra 140 no 557 Ja-Mr 1983, p 21-39.

Title: Isaiah's Songs of the Servant   

Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 43: 229-246 Jun 2000

Title: New Testament Understanding of the Jewish Rejection of Jesus: Four Theologians on the Salvation of Israel

Subject Search: Christianity AND Judaism

Bibliotheca Sacra 165 no 660 O-D 2008, p 447-462.

Title: The Jewish People and Salvation