Write an outline book analysis of
“Christ from Beginning to End” by Hunter Trent and Stephen Wellum (2018).
If students have already read this book, then they can choose either The Unfolding Mystery by Edmund P. Clowney (2013) OR Crosstalk by Michael R. Emlet (2009).
Please see the example Download example before beginning this assignment. The example will give you a picture of what to do and also provide you with how many sub-points, critiques, evidence, etc. you need in your outline.
Why an outline book analysis? The purpose of the outline book analysis is to help you learn the steps to writing a full book review. While you won’t write a full book review in this course, the outline book analysis will show you what steps you need to take to analyze an author’s overall argument and present it clearly and succinctly.
What is it? Essentially, the outline book analysis is an outline of a full book review. You’ll be writing all in full sentences, but the outline form will force you to be more succinct in how you communicate. It will also encourage you to include all the relevant information and critique required.
Do I have to abide by SBTS style? In short, no. Your project NEEDS TO LOOK EXACTLY FORMATTED LIKE THE EXAMPLE LINKED AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE. In addition, you need a cover page. You need to use in-text page number citations. You need the full bibliographic entry at the top of the first page of text.
How long should it be? We’re less concerned with overall length and more concerned with you meeting the sentence requirements in the example (see example). When it says, “1–2 sentences, don’t feel like you have to write 2 sentences. Brevity is a virtue, and if you write 1 good sentence, it’s better than 2 bad ones.
What should be in it? Below you’ll find a breakdown with information about each section, but be sure to study the example closely. That will be your best resource to learn about how to complete this assignment.
Introduction: Introduce the book, and identify the book’s purpose/thesis. Include a simple statement stating if the author was successful in accomplishing the book’s purpose/thesis.
Summary: When you summarize, do not simply tell me every small detail of the book. You should instead tell me how each chapter contributes to the author’s thesis. For example, suppose a book argues that oranges are the best fruit. This is the book’s thesis. Suppose also that the book had two chapters: chapter 1, Oranges are the best fruit because they have lots of juice. Chapter 2, Oranges are the best fruit because they are sweet.
Critical Interaction: Your critical interaction must include two ingredients to be successful. First, you must assess both positively and negatively. For example, you could say something like this: “Smith effectively argues for a historical-grammatical approach to hermeneutics by highlighting the centrality of the historical situatedness of the author.” For a positive critique, you should not say something simplistic like this: “Smith cites a lot of Scripture” or “His argumentation is very biblical.” You can interpret a lot of Scripture poorly or prooftext your way into what seems like a biblical argument. This does not make it good, however. For a negative example, you could say something like this: “Smith does not effectively argue for a historical-grammatical approach to hermeneutics because he neglects to adequately address the place of the reader in the act of reading. You should not simply say something like, “I disagree with Smith’s view of hermeneutics.” You need to make a clear assessment of the argument. Second, you need to support your assessments by critiquing the author’s use of evidence and logic. If it’s a positive critique, simply provide evidence through a summary, quotation, or citation of the author exampling what you commend them for. For example, give three examples of where Smith highlights the historical situatedness of the author as central to hermeneutics and give a brief sentence connecting this to his overall argument. For a negative example, both give evidence of what you’re critiquing them for (e.g., “Smith misses the importance of the place of the reader here, here, and here”) and include your own counterargument (e.g., “The place of the reader in the act of interpretation is more central than Smith makes it out to be because…”).
*Disclaimer: Be sure to only include critiques that are significant to the author’s overall argument.
Conclusion: In this section, you simply restate the book’s thesis, and your assessment, and explain how this book will impact your current or future ministry.
Rubric
Outline Book Analysis Rubric
Outline Book Analysis Rubric
Criteria Ratings Pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeIntroduction
10 pts
Clearly articulate the author’s thesis Clearly articulate your own thesis Little to no grammatical and syntactical errors
8 pts
Articulate the author’s thesis Articulate your own thesis Some grammatical and syntactical errors
5 pts
Articulate the author’s thesis Does not articulate your own thesis Many grammatical and syntactical errors
3 pts
May or may not articulate the author’s thesis May or may not articulate your own thesis Major grammatical and syntactical errors
0 pts
Does not articulate the author’s thesis Does not articulate your own Major grammatical and syntactical errors
10 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeSummary
40 pts
Summize all aspects of how the author argued for thesis Little to no grammatical and syntactical errors
30 pts
Summarize many aspects of how the author argued for thesis Some grammatical and syntactical errors
20 pts
Summarize some aspects of how the author argued for thesis Many grammatical and syntactical errors
10 pts
Do not summarize how the author argued his thesis Major grammatical and syntactical errors
0 pts
Do not summarize how the author argued his thesis Major grammatical and syntactical errors
40 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeCritique
40 pts
Assess the author’s claim Provide proof to support assessments Little to no grammatical and syntactical errors
30 pts
Assess the author’s claim Provide some proof to support assessments Some grammatical and syntactical errors
20 pts
Assess the author’s claim Provide little proof to no proof to support assessments Many grammatical and syntactical errors
10 pts
Assess the author’s claim Provide little to no proof to support assessments Major grammatical and syntactical errors
0 pts
May or may not assess the author’s claim May or may not provide little to no proof to support assessments Major grammatical and syntactical errors
40 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeConclusion
10 pts
Restate the work’s thesis and your thesis Little to no grammatical and syntactical errors
8 pts
Restate the work’s thesis and your thesis Some grammatical and syntactical errors
5 pts
Restate the work’s thesis and your thesis Many grammatical and syntactical errors
3 pts
Restate the work’s thesis and your thesis Major grammatical and syntactical errors
0 pts
May or may not restate the work’s thesis and your thesis Major grammatical and syntactical errors
10 pts
Total Points: 100