BOOK CRITIQUE INSTRUCTIONS

The papers must comply with current Turabian writing style and be 6–8 double-

spaced pages in length. Use footnotes as needed.

You must have 3 sections to your critique: summarize the reading, critique the text,

and evaluate the work.

SUMMARY SECTION: The summary deals with the major ideas and contents of the

text. Do not simply give a chapter by chapter recital of the contents.

CRITIQUE SECTION: The critique section needs to deal with specific aspects of the text.

Does the author deal with the major issues? Is he balanced in his presentation?

What elements or issues did he not address? You are to examine the book with a

critical eye but not a critical spirit. Every book can be improved.

EVALUATION SECTION: How does this text add to your understanding of the subject?

What concepts are applicable to your ministry? What does this text add to the

ministry field; and to whom do you recommend it as reading?

TEXTBOOK TO BE READ FOR THE REVIEW

1.Searcy, Nelson and Kerrick Thomas. Launch: Starting a New Church from Scratch. Ventura: Regal Books, 2006. ISBN: 9780801018251. ( READ THE WHOLE BOOK, BUT PAY ATTENTION TO CHAPTERS 5 – 10 ).

WRITING GUIDELINES

A major component of your final grade is your written assignments. You will do well if you meet the following standard: Is your project ready to be read by your denominational church planting leadership? Does the paper present your position logically, succinctly, and in a grammatically correct manner? Does this paper present you as an educated communicator of the gospel? Is it written in a way that would cause someone to want to be part of your church planting effort?
I would encourage you to have someone proof read your papers before submitting them. You will not notice your sentence structure and grammatical errors. And, often you will not notice your lack of properly developing your argument.
You are to submit your written assignments on the Blackboard page. Failure to follow course instructions can result in grade reductions.
Please combine all elements of a project into one file for submission. I will read your work from the perspective of a church leader who does not know about your specific project. Your book critiques are to be done according to academic style guidelines. An example of the proper location and location of the bibliographical entry for academic reviews is given below.
When I post your graded work you will need to open the document, and then the “Review” tab, and “Track Changes” to read my entries.
You need to open “Course >Syllabus and Assignment Instructions” and scroll down to “Assignment Instructions” in Blackboard to read the grading rubric. I have made further comments concerning your writing to help you understand how I will be evaluating your work.

Writing Guidelines:
To make the best possible grade on your writing assignments you will need to meet the following criteria:
1 Follow the instructions completely. Be sure to reference any materials specified in the instructions. The assignments are related to the readings. Therefore, you must reference sources beyond your own opinion according to the rules regarding plagiarism.
2 The course reading materials are a key element of your class; therefore, you should interact with the readings and utilize them in your writing.
3 Organize your thoughts and present them in a structured manner. Developing an outline prior to writing your paper will be beneficial. Do not submit the outline. Each element of the assignment’s requirements should be a major section of the paper.
4 Give proper citations for references. Use footnotes following the Turabian format. Do not use parenthetical citations except for the page number of the book being reviewed in the critique assignments.
5 Write the prescribed length of paper. Make sure to adequately address the issue, fulfilling all the elements of the instructions.
6 Use proper grammar. Common mistakes include: Run-on sentences (shorter is usually better.); Incomplete sentences; Antecedent/ pronoun conflicts; and, Subject/ verb agreement. Proper nouns are capitalized, i.e., Bible, adjectives are not, i.e., biblically. Though the office of pastor is an honorable position it is not a proper noun and is not to be capitalized unless preceding an individual’s name.
7 Italicize names of books, etc, conforming to Turabian. This includes the bibliography.
8 Double space, indenting paragraphs, using Times New Roman 12 font.
9 Use Turabian margins and a cover page.

10 You are to place a bibliographical entry at the top of your first page of text in your three book critiques. The entry should follow the below example, single spaced, without indentions.

Smith, John J. Playing an Oboe for Fun. 6th ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Brown and Brown Publishers, 2013. pp. 337.

Smith, John J. Playing an Oboe for Fun. 6th ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Brown and Brown Publishers, 2013. pp. 337.

11 You are to place all cited resources other than the reviewed work in a bibliography following the paper. If you cite another work beyond the assigned text you must include it in the bibliography.
12 In academic writing one does not use first person pronouns, except in quotations. You may use the first person in the personal application section of book critiques and the Initial Essay. Contractions are not to be used.
The seminary provides writing guidelines that further explain Turabian elements. A sample Turabian paper is also provided to demonstrate proper title pages, footnotes, and bibliographies. These papers are the standard which must be met. The link to the sample paper is: http://www.liberty.edu/seminary/index.cfm?PID=28160

A paper that earns an excellent grade, “A,” will consist of a thorough, well organized presentation of the issues related to the assignment. The paper will not only complete the assignment, but have minimal grammatical, spelling, and form errors. Hopefully, the assignments will be beneficial to developing your ministry skills and refine your church planting understanding. Remember, at the completion of your program at Liberty you will have earned a master’s degree and will be expected to communicate at that level.
NOTE: I UPLOADED THE FIRST GRADED CRITIQUE PAPER FOR YOUR ATTENTION. I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT MY SCORE WAS 84/100. SEE ALL THE MISTAKES I MADE AND FIX IT IN THE NEXT CRITIQUE PAPER. THANKS.