These extra credit assignments are designed to help you in two ways.  First, they provide additional material and experiences related to this course (they reinforce the material taught in the course as well as providing supplementary information).  Second, they give you an opportunity to slightly improve your grade.  However, they are not intended to replace the course's regular assignments -- your best way to improve your grade is to spend more time on the regular course assignments and review frequently.

Only one extra credit item per student will be accepted.  The item can be either (1) a textbook review or (2) a commentary on a short biblical book, as explained below.  It is worth up to 30 points depending on the quality of the report.  This is enough to raise your final grade approximately one full letter. All extra credit assignments must be completed and turned in by (preferably before) the final review session.  No extra credit assignments will be accepted after this time.

(1) Paraphrase of a Short N.T. Book
 

(2) Textbook Review

This item should not be started until after the midsemester exam.

Select one of the books listed in the annotated bibliography (other than Fee & Stuart, or Leigh), read it carefully and critically, then write a thorough review which includes the following:

1. Overview:  A summary or listing of the topics covered.
2. Thesis: An explanation of the author's most central point(s).
3. Samples: Carefully selected quotations on several different issues emphasized by the author.
4. Evaluation:  Your conclusions regarding the books quality and usefulness, and the reasons for your conclusions.

(3) Commentary on a Short Biblical Book

This item should not be started until the class completes its study of a Bible book.

Select a Bible book containing three to six chapters and perform your own inductive study of the book.  Keep all your notes from the various procedures you use in your study; they will be turned in with your commentary.  Write a commentary based on your study.  The commentary can be in HTML format, or output from a word processor, or typed.  It must be the equivalent of 8 - 10 pages double spaced, plus a bibliography of sources used in addition to the biblical book itself.