Progressive paper

 (1) Insight. I appreciate you final section on why Jesus used parables and storytelling. I suggest moving this to the start of your paper and developing your thesis from this.   (2) Grammar and style. You articulate your ideas clearly.  (3) Texts. You do well in your analyses of the texts from this class, both primary (Mark and Matthew) and secondary (Powell). Be sure to link these texts directly back to your thesis, which you will make more specific in your final paper.  What is key here is that you are showing a good understanding of the class content here.   

Three Improvements:  (1) Thesis. Make your thesis more specific. Your thesis should directly answer the questions you pose at the end of your introduction.   (2) Headings. What will help both you and the reader to follow each part of your argument and to see how each part fits into the whole of your argument are headings. For each section, not only create headings that say "Part I: Mark," but also have headings that connect to your thesis and what Mark uniquely adds to it. It's a good practice to sum up each section in a phrase, usually with language linking back to your thesis and linking to Mark. You then can use these summations to make your thesis more concrete.  (3) Roadmap. In your introduction, give your readers a sense of the journey you will be taking them on. If you have headings, these will help you to create this roadmap.