Essay Guidelines
Presentation of Essays
Essays should be presented on A4 paper in black ink and preferably typed (doubled spaced) with a 3 cm margin. The pages should be numbered consecutively throughout the essay.
One copy only of internally assessed M.A. and D.Min. items must be submitted. However, two copies of M.Th. papers and externally assessed M.A. items are required. In all cases candidates are encouraged to keep a copy for their own records.
The candidate's name should not appear on any item for M.A. (including Projects) or D.Min.
Essays are to be submitted via Reception in the College Office, and not directly to lecturers.
The title page should include the essay title, your number, the course and subject, and the date of submission.
The following sample should be followed:
Title: | AN EVALUATION OF THE CONCEPT OF SENSUS PLENIOR |
Student Number: | xxxx |
Course: | M.A. |
Subject: | Hermeneutics |
Date: | 6th April, 2002 |
No of words: | 4,080 |
A synopsis, containing a summary of the argument of the essay, should follow the title page of the essay. It should be a piece of continuous prose, not numbered points, and be around 150 words in length.
The essay should reveal clear thinking and careful organisation, with an introduction and conclusion. The introduction should indicate the scope of the subject matter to be discussed in the essay, and the conclusion should summarise the argumentation of the essay and draw any necessary conclusions. While the essay will be marked mainly on content, the format is important and careful attention should be given to spelling, grammar and punctuation.
The essay should include a bibliography of all works consulted in the preparation of the essay. Footnotes are preferable to endnotes and when an essay has a specified maximum number of words, the substance of the footnotes (but not the bibliography or synopsis) are included in the word count but should not exceed 25% of the prescribed word length.