Theology Style Guides
The style guides used for biblical studies are typically one of the following (check with your professor to see which one to use for your assignments):
A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations by Call Number: ECampus Ref Desk LB2369 .T8 2007ISBN: 0226823377
The SBL Handbook of Style: For Ancient Near Eastern, Biblical, and Early Christian Studies by Call Number: Theology Ref PN147 .S26 1999ISBN: 156563487XThis item is also available in the circulating collection
A Writer's Reference by Call Number: Theology Ref PE1408 .H2778 2011ISBN: 0312601433This book is also available in the Darling and Marshburn reference collections
What Is Plagiarism?
Plagiarism is essentially when you copy a piece of writing from someone else and present it as your own work. Plagiarism is not allowed at APU (or any academic institution). The following Internet resources provide more information, and can help to further clarify this important issue.
- APU Academic Integrity Policy Includes a copy of the APU policy, as well as a guide to help students become familiar with faculty expectations regarding academic integrity.
- Indiana University: Understanding Plagiarism This tutorial includes an overview of plagiarism, as well as actual cases of plagiarism, examples of both word-for-word and paraphrasing plagiarism, a list of resources, and a test to see what you know about plagiarism.
- The OWL at Purdue: Avoiding Plagiarism An excellent resource that provides an overview of plagiarism, as well as several practical tips and examples.
- Plagiarism.orgThis site is very thorough, and offers many helpful articles, tips, examples of correct citations, and more.
- Vaughn Memorial Library Tutorial: Plagiarism This is an excellent animated and interactive tutorial on plagiarism.
Citation Help on the Internet
Chicago, Turabian (a condensed version of Chicago), and SBL styles are typically used for theological and biblical studies. The following websites should help you with formatting and documentation as you're working on course assignments:
- Dianahacker.com This site includes tutorials, exercises, model papers, and more
- Documenting SourcesSection on Chicago style from Diana Hacker's website for "A Writer's Reference"
- Pitts Theology Library SBL Citation BuilderCreate basic SBL citations by using this bibligraphic tool available on the Pitts Theology Library website.
Chicago-Turabian Citation Format Videos (Part I & II)
The first video (Part I) covers some of the basics of Chicago/Turabian style. The second video (Part II) introduces students to Bedford Bibliographer, a free online bibliographic software tool. Both were created by David Taylor, a former professor of rhetoric, English and journalism.