LIBERTY UNIVERSITY
JOHN W. RAWLINGS SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
Thesis and Summary
Submitted to Dr. Full M. Name
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of
THEO 626
Doctrine of God
by
John A. Smith
10 January 2020
RESEARCH PROJECT: THESIS AND SUMMARY ASSIGNMENT EXAMPLE
Use the following template for the completion of this assignment. For all Turabian papers you
still will include a title page prior to this. Delete highlighted material and replace with your own
material. [Remove ‘example’ above. The second you write something in this document, it ceases
to be an example].
Statement of Topic:
In one sentence tell the reader the topic you are researching.
Proposed Thesis Statement:
Graduate writing cannot be “A” quality without a thesis statement. The thesis statement
provides the destination of the paper. In science we call this the “hypothesis.” It states succinctly
what you intend to prove or demonstrate. The topic/title of the paper will tell the reader which
direction the essay is heading (N, S, E, or W) and a transition statement tells the reader the steps
that will be taken to get to the destination. A strong conclusion cannot be written without a
strong thesis statement. The thesis drives the conclusion. If you know beforehand what you are
trying to accomplish, then in your conclusion you can tell if you have accomplished this goal or
not.
Project Summary:
Write a brief, 1-2 paragraph summary of what you hope to accomplish in this study. Try
to show (if only in a preliminary way) how the sources are shaping the research, and how the
biblical and theological presentation will proceed. Always include the best arguments of the
‘other side’ in both sources and argument. The best way to understand one’s own position is to
be able to present the best case of the opponent and answer those issues. Be aware that the final
rubric requires both a historical development section as well as an application to the church
section. Many students lose major points for simply ignoring these sections.
Preliminary Bibliography:
Minimum of seven sources in Turabian format. Note: There should be an approximate 50/50
balance between scholarly books and journals. The annotated bibliography included five
of these, so this is only two additional sources (assuming the research has not
dramatically shifted/changed).
Example: Bray, Gerald. L. The Doctrine of God. Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press, 1993.
Bibliography Summary:
1
Write a one-two sentence summary of each of your preliminary sources and how each
source relates to your topic/thesis.
2
