Guidelines for Composing an Illustrated Essay

Computer technology continually opens new educational possibilities, and learning to use such resources will open doors for effective Bible teaching.  The intent of this assignment is to enhance your ability to present carefully researched information in a nicely illustrated form.  Because a great deal of the information posted by Christians on the Web is undocumented nonsense, here is your chance to help bring greater credibility to what is available.  Your parents, friends, and other students will be able to access your web page and see what you have learned about a particular subject.

Possible Projects
You may take your pick of the following options, or if you have another topic for a research project that deeply interests you, discuss it with me.  If you gain my approval, you may pursue a topic of your own choosing; but you must clear it with me first.

1.  "Afterlife in the Bible."  For this project you will trace the development of beliefs about what happens after death from early concepts of Sheol to later beliefs in heaven and hell, illustrating the various developments with appropriate ancient Mediterranean artwork as well as some more recent depictions.

2.  "Ancient Mediterranean Cosmologies."  In this project you will compare and contrast ancient Israelite understandings of the cosmos with those of surrounding peoples.  You will incorporate pictures of Egyptian tomb paintings, etc. into your essay as you explain how these peoples viewed the world.

Illustration by Frank Sabatte, in Lawrence Boadt's Reading the Old Testament: An Introduction (NY: Paulist Press, 1984).

Picture from The Ancient Near East, vol. 1, ed. by James B. Pritchard (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1958), illustration #158.

3.  "Ancient Mediterranean Burial Practices."  Grave stelae are among the most common artifacts discovered by archaeologists, and they provide a wealth of images for illustrating burial customs by Israelites, Greeks, Egyptians, Romans, etc.  For this essay you would focus on Israelite customs, but contrasting these with those of other cultures will help show the distinctives of Israelite burial practices and the beliefs that surround them.


Image from "Portals to Eternity" http://www.umich.edu/~kelseydb/Exhibits/PortalsToEternity/MainPortals.html

4.  "Ancient Mediterranean Sacrificial Practices."  Offering sacrifices was a vital part of cultures throughout the Mediterranean world, and there are many depictions of sacrificial scenes on altars, etc.  In this essay you will seek to explain and illustrate Israelite sacrifices, and perhaps compare and contrast them with those of the surrounding cultures.

5.  "Houses in Ancient Israel."  For this project you will explore archaeological materials to determine the ways homes were constructed, the differences between peasant homes and houses of the wealthy, where family members ate and slept, etc.

6.  "Ancient Israelite Clothing."  For this option you will explore the kinds of materials used for clothing, the manufacture of these materials into clothes, and the styles of dress worn by men and women, both peasants and wealthy landowners.  Pictures of inscriptions, tomb paintings, pottery, etc. will provide illustrations of how Israelite styles differed from other cultures.  Do not rely on modern artists' renditions.  Use recent art only if it accurately shows what ancient sources reveal.

7.  "From Scrolls to Books."  In this essay, you will trace the development of the writing of biblical books from hand-written scrolls to books produced by printing presses.  You will illustrate each development with pictures of papyrus and vellum scrolls, codexes, etc., and you will comment on the significance of each development for the ways people read and interpret written texts.


Papyrus 66 (Gospel of John; ca. A.D. 200)

Essay Specifications
The essay should be about 1,200 words and include at least eight images.  You need to consult at least five books dealing with your field of study, plus at least two Bible dictionaries or encyclopedias, and browse sites on the internet in the preparation of your study.  Include all sources that you consulted in a bibliography, and use the style presented in the instructions for exegesis papers when you do your bibliography.  Your paper will need to contain endnotes in which you give credit for information taken from your resources.  Use the footnote style presented in the exegesis instructions.  Read carefully the guidelines for citing primary and secondary sources.  Messiah College has strict plagiarism rules, and you need to be careful to cite where you got your the data and images for your essay.  In addition to posting your essay on your web page, you will also submit a printed copy to Dr. Cosby on the day the assignment is due.

Grading Criteria
A = Essay is highly readable, grammatically correct, spells words correctly, develops a creative thesis that is quite defensible, uses primary and secondary sources responsibly with understanding of context, is well documented with correct form in notes and bibliography, and uses images effectively as credible information resources to advance the thesis.

B = Essay is well written, contains few grammatical or spelling errors, describes the subject matter fairly and accurately, and follows guidelines carefully.

C = Average essay that follows instructions, reports information fairly but with little imagination, contains a modest number of errors in grammar, form and content.

D = Sloppy and careless essay that does not follow guidelines and reflects a minimum effort to fulfill the assignment.

F = Failure to fulfill minimum requirements for assignment.