L.A.2

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A Quick Guide to Writing

Congregational Letter Assignment

The Basics

Rather than a formal academic paper, a congregational letter is a less formal style of writing that

allows you to demonstrate your knowledge of course material in a (somewhat) real-life situation

you may face in a congregational setting.

Here is the scenario: several members of your church have recently read something (the target

text) which has created some controversy within your congregation. It has become heated enough

that you, as the pastor, must address it publicly and on the record. Fortunately, you have taken

this course which has equipped you with some resources for critically engaging with the target

text.

A congregational letter assignment is less formal than a traditional academic paper in a number

of ways. The style is more pastoral and conversational—use of the first person works in a

congregational letter but is generally frowned upon in purely academic writing. While the letter

will rely on knowledge gained from technical sources, it will attempt to explain it with a

minimum of jargon and a minimum of direct quotations. In other words, the letter is not an

avalanche of quotations, but you’re not just shooting from the hip either. I am expecting some

direct quotation of the target text when discussing a particular point from it, however it should be

what is minimally necessary to accurately represent the target author’s position. I do not want to

see block quotes in this letter unless it is absolutely necessary to make your point or to accurately

represent what the author is saying.

While the letter is less formal than a traditional paper, it is also more academic than an actual

letter (or blog post) you would put before your congregation. You will have footnotes and

citations pointing to the location in our textbooks where you are drawing information from—

even though you will rarely directly quote from them. Keep in mind this is not a research paper.

You should have all you need to write the letter based on reading the target text and then

engaging it from the perspective of the course material. This does not mean you cannot use

something from outside of class, but engagement with the course material is paramount.

Elements

Title: Your congregational letter should have a descriptive title which helps captures your overall

evaluation of the target text.

Introduction: A short paragraph (approximately 200 words) that introduces the controversy,

specifically mentions the author and title of the target text creating the controversy, and

highlights the crucial points of your overall analysis and evaluation of the target text.

Critique: This is where you present your informed evaluation regarding the important issues

raised by the target text. Remember a good critique acknowledges both the strengths and

weaknesses of a text. You want to acknowledge what is and is not good and why (i.e.,

examination). You should also identify how important the particular issues are (i.e.,

categorization). Sometimes the particular assignment will specify areas which must be

addressed; other times the areas are left up to the student to determine. NB: it is often easier to

know why you disagree with something than why you agree but do your best to provide reasons

2

for both agreeing and/or disagreeing. For points you agree with, you may need to use your

imagination a little to see why someone might be bothered and then to answer those concerns.

For citations or quotations of the target text use inline citations, e.g., (p. 25). For citing textbooks

use footnotes following the Turabian style manual. If you do not have a copy of Turabian here is

the official website which is quite helpful:

https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/turabian/turabian-notes-and-bibliography-citation-quick-guide.html Make sure and provide citations (not necessarily quotations) to show where you are using

material from our textbooks. This allows the reader to go to the source if there is a question. If

you are remembering material from the class discussion but it was also in one of our textbooks,

cite the textbook. If it is from class discussion but not in the textbook, you do not need to provide

a formal citation. If it is something from the textbook that was modified in class, for example

creedal/confessional/adiaphora instead of dogma/doctrine/opinion, cite the textbook but include

in the footnote something like “as modified by Wisemore.”

Conclusion: Wrap up your letter with a paragraph (approximately 200–300 words) that

highlights the main points of your analysis and evaluation of the target text.

Bibliography: Everything you cite, not just quote, in your paper should be found in the

bibliography, including the target text. This should be on a separate page at the end of your

letter—see Turabian for further information about preparing and formatting a bibliography.

Length

Different letter assignments will have different minimum and maximum wordcount requirements

for the letter. These wordcount requirements include the title and bibliography. Papers which do

not meet the minimum wordcount will receive a maximum score of 50%. Papers which exceed

the maximum will receive a maximum grade of 75%. For example, a paper may have a length

requirement stated as 2000–2500 words. If the paper has less than 2000 words, then it would

receive a score of 50% or less. If it has more than 2500 words, the best grade it will receive is

75%.

Formatting

The only hard and fast requirements regarding formatting of the letter proper are to facilitate ease

of grading: double-spaced with margins of at least one inch, so I can easily enter comments; 12-

point Times New Roman or similar serif font, so my old eyes can easily read it on the screen.

Otherwise, I ask that you just be consistent with your formatting. Please no decorative

flourishes—pictures of cats, curly borders, etc.

When it comes to footnotes, follow the formal Turabian style for doing footnotes as mentioned

above. Remember there is a difference between the format used in the footnote and the format

used in the bibliography.

Submitting the Paper

Please upload your paper in MS Word format (.doc or .docx) as a single document on Discovery.

Almost all word processing programs have the ability to save a document in MS Word format; if

you are having difficulties, contact IT or the professor. Remember, your uploaded paper will go

through Turnitin to check for issues of plagiarism and generative AI. See course schedule for

deadlines and the syllabus for details of the policy regarding late assignments.

Revised: 3 September 2024

1

A Quick Guide to Writing

Congregational Letter Assignment

The Basics

Rather than a formal academic paper, a congregational letter is a less formal style of writing that

allows you to demonstrate your knowledge of course material in a (somewhat) real-life situation

you may face in a congregational setting.

Here is the scenario: several members of your church have recently read something (the target

text) which has created some controversy within your congregation. It has become heated enough

that you, as the pastor, must address it publicly and on the record. Fortunately, you have taken

this course which has equipped you with some resources for critically engaging with the target

text.

A congregational letter assignment is less formal than a traditional academic paper in a number

of ways. The style is more pastoral and conversational—use of the first person works in a

congregational letter but is generally frowned upon in purely academic writing. While the letter

will rely on knowledge gained from technical sources, it will attempt to explain it with a

minimum of jargon and a minimum of direct quotations. In other words, the letter is not an

avalanche of quotations, but you’re not just shooting from the hip either. I am expecting some

direct quotation of the target text when discussing a particular point from it, however it should be

what is minimally necessary to accurately represent the target author’s position. I do not want to

see block quotes in this letter unless it is absolutely necessary to make your point or to accurately

represent what the author is saying.

While the letter is less formal than a traditional paper, it is also more academic than an actual

letter (or blog post) you would put before your congregation. You will have footnotes and

citations pointing to the location in our textbooks where you are drawing information from—

even though you will rarely directly quote from them. Keep in mind this is not a research paper.

You should have all you need to write the letter based on reading the target text and then

engaging it from the perspective of the course material. This does not mean you cannot use

something from outside of class, but engagement with the course material is paramount.

Elements

Title: Your congregational letter should have a descriptive title which helps captures your overall

evaluation of the target text.

Introduction: A short paragraph (approximately 200 words) that introduces the controversy,

specifically mentions the author and title of the target text creating the controversy, and

highlights the crucial points of your overall analysis and evaluation of the target text.

Critique: This is where you present your informed evaluation regarding the important issues

raised by the target text. Remember a good critique acknowledges both the strengths and

weaknesses of a text. You want to acknowledge what is and is not good and why (i.e.,

examination). You should also identify how important the particular issues are (i.e.,

categorization). Sometimes the particular assignment will specify areas which must be

addressed; other times the areas are left up to the student to determine. NB: it is often easier to

know why you disagree with something than why you agree but do your best to provide reasons

2

for both agreeing and/or disagreeing. For points you agree with, you may need to use your

imagination a little to see why someone might be bothered and then to answer those concerns.

For citations or quotations of the target text use inline citations, e.g., (p. 25). For citing textbooks

use footnotes following the Turabian style manual. If you do not have a copy of Turabian here is

the official website which is quite helpful:

https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/turabian/turabian-notes-and-bibliography-citation-quick-guide.html Make sure and provide citations (not necessarily quotations) to show where you are using

material from our textbooks. This allows the reader to go to the source if there is a question. If

you are remembering material from the class discussion but it was also in one of our textbooks,

cite the textbook. If it is from class discussion but not in the textbook, you do not need to provide

a formal citation. If it is something from the textbook that was modified in class, for example

creedal/confessional/adiaphora instead of dogma/doctrine/opinion, cite the textbook but include

in the footnote something like “as modified by Wisemore.”

Conclusion: Wrap up your letter with a paragraph (approximately 200–300 words) that

highlights the main points of your analysis and evaluation of the target text.

Bibliography: Everything you cite, not just quote, in your paper should be found in the

bibliography, including the target text. This should be on a separate page at the end of your

letter—see Turabian for further information about preparing and formatting a bibliography.

Length

Different letter assignments will have different minimum and maximum wordcount requirements

for the letter. These wordcount requirements include the title and bibliography. Papers which do

not meet the minimum wordcount will receive a maximum score of 50%. Papers which exceed

the maximum will receive a maximum grade of 75%. For example, a paper may have a length

requirement stated as 2000–2500 words. If the paper has less than 2000 words, then it would

receive a score of 50% or less. If it has more than 2500 words, the best grade it will receive is

75%.

Formatting

The only hard and fast requirements regarding formatting of the letter proper are to facilitate ease

of grading: double-spaced with margins of at least one inch, so I can easily enter comments; 12-

point Times New Roman or similar serif font, so my old eyes can easily read it on the screen.

Otherwise, I ask that you just be consistent with your formatting. Please no decorative

flourishes—pictures of cats, curly borders, etc.

When it comes to footnotes, follow the formal Turabian style for doing footnotes as mentioned

above. Remember there is a difference between the format used in the footnote and the format

used in the bibliography.

Submitting the Paper

Please upload your paper in MS Word format (.doc or .docx) as a single document on Discovery.

Almost all word processing programs have the ability to save a document in MS Word format; if

you are having difficulties, contact IT or the professor. Remember, your uploaded paper will go

through Turnitin to check for issues of plagiarism and generative AI. See course schedule for

deadlines and the syllabus for details of the policy regarding late assignments.

Revised: 3 September 2024