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Course 26 · Lesson 1.3

Sample questions and what a good answer contains

9 minute read

Lessons in this course

Course 26 outline

Module 1: Comprehensive Biblical Knowledge Examination

  1. Preparing: a review plan for the whole Bible
  2. The examination: books, story, genres and key passages
  3. Sample questions and what a good answer contains
  4. Evaluating your answers and planning review

Module 2: Historical Theology Examination

  1. Preparing: a timeline, key figures and key councils
  2. The examination: periods, controversies and primary texts
  3. Sample questions and what a good answer contains
  4. Evaluating your answers and planning review

Module 3: Systematic Theology Examination

  1. Preparing: an outline of the doctrines
  2. The examination: God, Christ, humanity, salvation, church and last things
  3. Sample questions and what a good answer contains
  4. Evaluating your answers, especially on fairness across traditions

Module 4: Philosophical Argument Evaluation and Historical Apologetics Assessment

  1. Evaluating a philosophical argument: premises, validity and objections
  2. Exercises: cosmological, moral, evil and hiddenness arguments
  3. Assessing historical evidence: sources, dating, witnesses and bias
  4. Exercises: the resurrection, the reliability of the New Testament and the canon

Module 5: Written Defense of Three Christian Propositions

  1. Choosing three propositions and defining the terms
  2. Building the case: arguments, evidence and sources
  3. Stating and answering the strongest objections
  4. Evaluating your defenses against the criteria

Module 6: Statement of Faith and Rule of Life

  1. Writing a personal statement of faith
  2. Relating the statement to the creeds and the traditions
  3. Writing a personal Christian rule of life
  4. Making the rule concrete and reviewable

Module 7: Reflection on Theological Development

  1. Mapping your development: beliefs held at the start and now
  2. Changes of mind: what changed and what caused the change
  3. Writing the reflection

Module 8: Strengths, Uncertainties and Continued Study

  1. Scoring the results of the components
  2. Naming your uncertainties without shame or evasion
  3. A plan for continued study, with dates for review

All courses

Program / Course 26: Comprehensive Assessment / Lesson 1.3

What you will learn

  • Recognize the features of a strong answer to a biblical question: accuracy, completeness, connection and fairness.
  • Compare an adequate answer with a strong one using sample questions.
  • Write outline answers of your own to use as a marking guide.
  • Mark an answer against a short list of criteria without inflating the score.

The big idea

A good answer to a biblical question is accurate, complete enough for the question asked, connected to the larger story and fair about disagreements. It is not the longest answer. These samples show the standard in outline form. They are for your own use in marking an exam you set and take yourself. Nothing is submitted, and the suggested standard of 70 percent is a target you may keep or change.

Key terms

Outline answer
A short list of the points a good answer should include. It is used as a marking guide, not as a model to copy.
Marking guide
A list of points, each worth a set number of marks, used to score an answer consistently.
Exile
The period when many people of Judah were taken to Babylon, after the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC (a date often given as 587 or 586).
Synoptic Gospels
Matthew, Mark and Luke, which share much of their content and viewpoint. John differs in structure and emphasis.
Messiah
A Hebrew word meaning anointed one. The Greek equivalent is Christ.
Inflation
Giving yourself marks for what you meant but did not write. It is the most common error in self-marking.

Background

Self-marking is difficult because the student knows what was meant. The remedy is to mark only what is on the page. If the answer says nothing about the exile, no mark is given for the exile, however well the student knows the story.

The samples below are modeled on the course plan, which gives an outline answer for a question on the divisions of the Bible. Each outline lists points, not full prose. A student can write an answer of a paragraph or two that contains those points, then check how many are present.

Good answers often share a shape. They answer the question that was asked first, give the relevant evidence from the text, link it to the wider story, and say honestly where interpreters differ. A question with no disagreement does not need an invented one, and a question with real disagreement should not be answered as if it had none.

Step-by-step explanation

Step 1: Sample question on the Old Testament story

Question: Describe in one paragraph how the Old Testament story moves from creation to the exile and return.

Outline answer: creation and fall (Genesis 1 to 3); promise to Abraham (Genesis 12); exodus and the law at Sinai; settlement in the land; kings, with David as the central figure; prophets who call the people back to the covenant; the fall of the northern kingdom to Assyria and of Judah to Babylon; exile; return under Persian rule. A strong answer names the covenant as the thread and notes that the story ends with hope still unfulfilled.

Step 2: Sample question on the Gospels

Question: Explain why Matthew, Mark and Luke are called the Synoptic Gospels and how John differs.

Outline answer: the three share much material and a common outline of Jesus’ ministry; scholars discuss their literary relationship, and many hold that Mark was used by Matthew and Luke, though this is debated. John has a different structure, more extended discourses and signs, and stresses Jesus’ identity. A strong answer separates what is generally agreed from what is debated.

Step 3: Sample question on genre and interpretation

Question: Explain how a reader should approach the book of Revelation.

Outline answer: it is apocalyptic, full of symbol; it was addressed to churches in Asia Minor under pressure; it points to the victory of Christ and the renewal of creation. Christians have read it in several ways, often grouped as preterist (mostly about the first century), historicist, futurist and idealist. A strong answer names at least two of these readings fairly and does not claim that the author of the answer is certain which is correct.

Step 4: Mark the answers

Give a mark for each point present in your written answer, and a mark each for accuracy and fairness. Do not give credit for points you only thought. Record the total and compare it with the standard you set. If you scored below the standard, list the missing points as review items.

  1. Did I answer the question that was asked, or a nearby question I know better?
  2. Which points in the outline did I leave out?
  3. Did I state any fact I am not sure of, and did I flag the uncertainty?
  4. Did I describe disagreement honestly where it exists?
  5. Did I link my answer to the larger story of the Bible?
  6. Did I give myself marks for things I did not actually write?

Examples

An adequate answer

The Old Testament starts with creation, then Abraham, then Moses, then kings, then exile. The answer is correct but thin: it has no covenant, no prophets and no return from exile. (A constructed example.)

A strong answer

The answer adds the covenant as the thread, names the prophets who warned of exile, says that the return was partial and that hope for a greater restoration remained. It is accurate and connects the parts. (A constructed example.)

A fair answer on disagreement

Asked about the relationship among the Synoptic Gospels, the answer states that many scholars think Mark came first and that others argue for different solutions. It does not claim that the matter is settled. (A constructed example.)

Different perspectives

Catholic

Catholic teaching on interpretation asks the reader to attend to the unity of the whole of Scripture, the living tradition of the church and the analogy of faith. A Catholic answer on the story of the Bible would typically link the Old Testament to Christ and the church.

Orthodox

Orthodox interpretation reads Scripture through the liturgy and the Fathers, often finding types of Christ in the Old Testament. An Orthodox answer would be comfortable with a christological reading of the Old Testament.

Protestant

Protestant interpretation commonly stresses the grammatical and historical sense and the clarity of the central message of Scripture. Many Protestant answers trace one storyline of covenant from Genesis to Revelation.

Scholarly

Academic study of the Bible examines sources, dates and literary forms and often avoids saying what the text should mean for faith. Its conclusions about composition vary, and a good answer reports them as conclusions that remain debated where that is the case.

Why it matters

Marking guides keep self-assessment honest. Without them, a student tends to credit intention. With them, the page itself is the evidence, and the score points to specific gaps that can be closed with a specific piece of reading.

Common misunderstandings

Misunderstanding: A longer answer is a better answer.

Correction: Length is not a mark of quality. A short answer that contains the right points and no errors is stronger than a long answer that wanders.

Misunderstanding: A sample outline is the one correct answer.

Correction: It is a guide. Other answers may contain the same points in a different order or add others that are also correct.

Misunderstanding: Every question has a single settled answer.

Correction: Some questions, such as how the Synoptic Gospels relate or how to read Revelation, involve real disagreement. A good answer says so.

Knowledge check

What are the four features of a strong answer?

It is accurate, complete enough for the question, connected to the larger story of the Bible, and fair about real disagreements. An answer can be long and fail on accuracy, or short and strong. The aim is to include the right points, state them correctly and be honest where interpreters differ.

How does a student avoid inflating the score?

Mark only what is written on the page. Use a list of points prepared before the exam, give a mark for each one that is present, and give none for ideas that were only in the mind. Marking in a different color of ink, and doing it after a break, helps to keep some distance from the answer.

Name two ways Christians have read Revelation.

Two are preterist, which sees most of the book as concerned with events of the first century, and futurist, which sees much of it as concerned with events at the end of history. Others are historicist and idealist. A fair answer reports these without claiming certainty about which is correct.

What should a student do after scoring below the suggested standard?

List the points that were missing, review them in the relevant reading, wait a week or more, and retake a different set of questions. The standard is a suggestion for personal use, so the student decides what to do, but a plan with dates is more helpful than a vague promise.

Think it through

  1. When you mark your own work, where does your judgment tend to be too kind or too harsh?
  2. Which question in a Bible exam would you most like to avoid, and why?
  3. How would you answer a question about Revelation without pretending to certainty?
  4. What makes an answer fair to a tradition you do not belong to?

Independent assignment

Three outline answers

In your own notebook, write about 400 words. Choose three questions from your own examination. For each, write an outline answer of five to eight points as a marking guide, and then write a paragraph answer from memory. Mark the paragraph against the outline, noting each missing point. Do not send this to anyone or post it anywhere.

Further study