It’s pretty simple:

• Reserve study blocks beginning about a week before the exam.
• Plan for multiple, short study times rather than longer blocks. Four blocks of 20 minutes each will probably make for better retention than a single two-hour marathon review.
• Reserve this time now, and plan around it.

If you have multiple exams in a single week, like around mid-terms or finals:

• Start a bit earlier.
• Schedule breaks in your study time. You can schedule shorter blocks of study time around other activities, or simply build a ten minute break into each hour of studying.

The point? Be proactive. (This is Habit #1 in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.) If you anticipate your needs ahead of time and provide for them, you won’t have to be reactive and frustrated at exam time.

Also consider these study ideas:

• Swap class notes with someone and read over your friend’s notes. This will help refresh your memory of lectures and pick up things you might have missed.
• If you’ve underlined and/or highlighted your class reading well, it should be relatively easy to review what you’ve read.
• Get a friend to quiz you on points you’ll be tested on. Iron sharpens iron, and it’s a good excuse to get coffee.

Writing papers on the scale that seminary requires can be daunting if you haven’t done it before. Ten page and fifteen page papers are pretty common; even twenty-five page papers aren’t unheard of. Most undergraduate work doesn’t require the level of writing that seminary requires.

I highly recommend creating a writing plan for each major paper you’ll write this semester. Here’s how.

First, Break It Down.

To create a writing plan, begin by breaking down the project into manageable tasks. Make a list of everything you’ll need to do:

• Assess topic choices
• Choose a topic
• Get topic approved by your professor
• Find sources
• Research your sources and take notes on them
• Formulate a thesis
• Create an outline
• Write first draft
• Revise, and write final draft
• Format and print the paper
• Proofread
• Reprint if necessary and submit

The level of detail you choose is partly a function of how you think about the project, and how big the assignment is.

Second, Estimate the Time

Second, estimate how much actual clock time will be needed for each task in the breakdown, and write it down. For instance,

• Assess topic choices (15 minutes)
• Choose a topic (5 minutes)
• Get topic approved by your professor (5 minutes)
• Find sources (3 hours)
• Research your sources and take notes on them. (6 hours)
• Formulate a thesis (20 minutes)
• Create an outline (20 minutes)
• Write first draft (4 hours)
• Revise, and write final draft. (3 hours)
• Proofread. (30 minutes)

Your time estimates will vary depending on the size of each project and the pace at which you work. Watch yourself as you make your first estimates about how long each task will take. Very often, our estimates prove to be way off, in either direction. As you make note of how long these tasks actually take, you’ll be able to make more precise plans for future writing projects.

Third, Reserve the Time Now

Finally-this is important-reserve a block of time in your calendar for each task of the paper. You’ll want to begin anywhere from one to four weeks before the due date. I’d suggest that you plan to finish at least a couple of days before the due date. This will give some leeway if you fall behind schedule.

If possible, start the paper early. In some classes, you have to cover a certain amount of material before you’re prepared to write some papers, but not always.

There may be some classes you can read ahead in more easily.

Look over your assigned reading, and decide which reading will be more challenging and which is more accessible. You may want to wade through the difficult stuff early, or breeze through the easy stuff first. Either way. Just get a jump on it.

Use this reading method for faster comprehension, if you’re not asked to account for your eyes touching every word of your reading.

Even if you can only get an extra six hours or so of reading in during the first few weeks, that will give you six hours you can use later when it’s crunch time.

Extra:

Have trouble with procrastination? Try this.

This is awesome. It’s a time management bonanza. If you take a few moments to plan well, it can make the semester much easier for you. Carpe Diem!

Here’s what you need to do:

1. Get your calendar. You should have only one calendar, because you have only one life. (Be sure you coordinate well with your spouse and kids.)

2. Note all the dates of your papers and exams.

3. To the best of your ability keep your schedule clear in the week before each exam, and two weeks before each paper due date

4. Schedule recovery time. Be sure to schedule some down time right after mid-terms, and after big assignments are due. Plan to relax a bit. If you schedule a day trip, a date, or some fun activity just after the crunch, it will give you something to look forward to after the big project.

5. Make a note of when the worst crunch times are. Then, if your job allows for any scheduling leeway, let your boss know early. If you’re a valuable employee, she just might work with you.

Following these suggestions should only take an hour or two, and should save you time and frustration all semester long.

In an interview with the dean of students at a leading evangelical seminary, I asked about the most common reasons people did not complete seminary.  One of his answers was a shock to me: students get caught cheating.

Seminary students have ample opportunity to cheat.

• You can plagiarize-representing the academic work of others as your own.  You can rip off fellow students, sometimes with their cooperation.  You can rip off published scholars through failure to provide necessary citations in your written work.
• You can use forbidden resources on exams.  Conjugations written on the palm of your hand?  Ever have a take-home, closed-book exam?  (Only at seminary!)
• You can dishonestly answer those dratted blanket questions on your final, like:
  • Did you read all of your required readings?
  • Did you complete the special assignment?

Seminaries tend to be more trusting with academic honor codes than their secular counterparts.  They put great stock in the work of the Holy Spirit to convict students of sin, and rest confidently in that as a bulwark.  But students still cheat.  No one knows how much, but I suspect if we did, we would be embarrassed.

The spiritual roots of cheating

My systematic theology professor taught us that all sins boiled down to either pride or sloth.  Cheating is no different.  Let’s think deeply about this: why would you cheat?

Pride

• You’re afraid you cannot pass seminary on your own, and would be ashamed to be found out as academically incapable.
• You believe that the grade you make in class is an evaluation of you, not just your performance, and feel the need to inflate it.
• Making a poor grade is unthinkable, so since you’re busy, you take a few shortcuts.
• Since you’re capable of making an “A” anyway, why should you be forced to work to prove it?
• Who will know?  It doesn’t matter anyway.

The common factor in these is pride.

To derail pride:

• The antidote to pride is humility.
• Humility is always chosen.  It is never accidental.
• Humility is a choice only you can make.  God won’t make you humble.  His word clearly teaches that we are to humble ourselves. “Humble yourselves in the sight of he Lord, and he will lift you up.”
• “God opposes the proud.”  If you’ve rationalized your cheating out of pride, consider this: Almighty God stands in eternal opposition to your inflated thoughts of yourself.
• “…but gives grace to the humble.”  There is an unending cascade of grace for those who choose humility.  Trust in that future grace.

If you make a “D” in Biblical backgrounds, that doesn’t mean you’re not called of God.

If you fail a test, it doesn’t mean you are a failure

If your professor thinks poorly of you, that doesn’t mean that God does.

Humility, as I understand it, means taking God’s view of us as the true and correct view.  This encompasses both the horror of our capacity for sin, and the splendor of the gifts and nobility God has put within us.

We need to have the courage to face the truth about ourselves.  We can only do that by being secure in the love and favor of God in Christ.  If I know I am deeply loved and approved by God in Christ, then I can handle making a “C”.

Sloth

The other major root of cheating is laziness-raw unwillingness to exert effort.  You don’t want to do the work, so cheating is a shortcut.  You cheat not to protect your image of reputation, but simply out of indolence.

Much like pride, sloth is characterized by rationalizations.  We are never so creative as when we’re trying to come up with reasons to avoid work.  A lazy person will say or believe anything to justify avoidance of exertion.

The effort we’re willing to expend in service to God reflects our view of His greatness.  If Almighty God in all his glory, power and love can’t motivate you to a bit of work and self-denial, then something is seriously wrong.  You may need to check your conversion.

If you’ve cheated:

Repent. In the most literal sense, you need to change your mind about it.  Your dishonesty is an offense against the God of truth.  Be done with your rationalizations, and acknowledge your sin.

Come Clean. Do this first with a pastor or trusted spiritual advisor; the more mature, the better.  Confession is never fun but is cleansing to the soul.  Second, come clean with your professor, even if the class is already over.  Go to him or her, tell exactly what you did, and submit to whatever instructions you’re given.

Find the root. What motivated you to cheat in the first place?  Find out.  Don’t assume that the first answer you come up with off the top of your head is correct, either. This kind of issue is best talked through with a counselor or perceptive spiritual director.  Most seminaries have free counseling for students.  Go sign up.

Walk in the light. Don’t do it anymore.  Study hard, do your best, and accept whatever grade you get with grace.  Write your own papers.  Cite all borrowed material, even if you have to lug back to the library to get the page number.  Enjoy the sweet fruit of a clean conscience.

Final warning

If you’re willing to cheat in seminary, you’ll cheat when you’re ministering in a church.  You’ll eventually be found out, and it will damage the church and the cause of Christ.  When it makes the papers, you will drive lost people away from the gospel.  The choices you make in the privacy of your head have eternal repercussions that you cannot fathom.  Resolve now to live with integrity, no matter what it costs you.

Know the Expectations

The first thing that you should do when assigned a book review is understand exactly what your professor expects of you. If he only wants a brief summary to prove that you read the book, do it. If she wants a brief summary with a mountain of personal observations, do it. If he wants mainly critique to prove that such a book is not theologically accurate, do your best.

Nothing will frustrate you more than writing a nice, solid, five-page critique of a book only to find out that your professor only wanted a paragraph or two of your thoughts. OK, perhaps you will be more frustrated when you write a two-page, single-spaced review of a book and then discover that your professor wanted a more formal interaction. The point is, do what is expected.

What Goes Into a Book Review?

When I was a student at Southern Seminary in Louisville, most of my book reviews required the following:

• Brief introduction (No more than ½ page ) – This includes both what the book is and who the author is. Show that you know why this particular author might be considered a significant voice in his or her field of writing.

• Brief summary (No more than 1 page) – This is the most dangerous part of a book review. Your professor has read the book, and does not want you to go into chapter-by-chapter detail. However, he or she does want to know that you can boil the book down into a simple set of points and demonstrate an understanding of the material.

• Points of Agreement (1 ½ pages) – This should include several of the author’s arguments and points with which you particularly believe to be strong. Generally a paragraph in this section will contain a quotation or two followed by biblical or philosophical reasons why you believe the point to be strong.

• Points of Disagreement (1 ½ pages) – This section is the opposite of the previous section. Be careful not to simply say that you dislike something without reason. Be careful assuming that everyone knows why a point is bad. Use reason and scripture to defend your disagreement with a quote or system of argument.

• Brief Conclusion (1/2 page) – This one or two paragraph section should tie the review together, and allow you a final thought about the book. Perhaps this would be a good section to say whether or not you would recommend this particular book to someone, or under what circumstances you believe the book could be used well.

Some Questions to Ask

Here are a few things you might ask a professor who is assigning you book reviews for the first time (Note that many of the answers to these questions can be found in a seminary’s style guide if one exists for your school):

• Is there a standard format you wish for our book reviews to follow?
• Is there a particular length you wish for the review to be?
• Is it acceptable to write in first person (“I believe . . .”) or must I use a more formal style?
• Is there a particular style of citation that you wish me to use for quotations?
• Any rules concerning font, margins, spacing, etc?

Tips for the Task

Here are some thoughts that may help you to plan to tackle your book review. Though you can write your review in many ways, this is a system that has helped me to become much more efficient:

• While it may seem terribly unspiritual, you do not need to totally scour and digest a book in order to be able to give it a fair and accurate review. Many bloggers have shared tips for reading books for content, and I will not repeat them here. However, you can read a book in many different ways; so be wise.

• When reading your book for a book review, I suggest reading it with two differently colored highlighters, a pen, and a notebook.

• As you read, write in your notebook a brief summary of each chapter or of each main argument.

• When a sentence or paragraph in the book strikes you as positive, highlight it in one color.

• When a sentence or paragraph strikes you negatively, highlight it in a different color from the positive points.

• If a question strikes you regarding the author’s content, argument, sources, application of scripture, note it in your notebook with the relevant page number.

• Once you have finished the book, skim through the positive highlights and summarize the patterns you see of several different types of positive points. Do the same for the negatives. Keep boiling down your observations into coherent thoughts.

• Use your summaries from the notebook to write your brief summary of the book.

• Use your compiled positive and negative statements to write the main body of your review.

• Use the book jacket or “About the author” section to help you to write your introduction.

• Use all that you have gathered in your review to complete a consistent conclusion.

Get Used to This

If you are at seminary, you will be writing reviews; there’s no way around it. So, get used to the idea. Find a system that works for you, and refine it so that you can do the best work in the least time. Who knows, you may want to keep your reviews in order to help others who pick up the same volume in the future. Write a review that will satisfy your course requirements and possibly help you to remember what you think of a book later.

Travis Peterson is a contributing writer for Seminary Survival Guide. He is a pastor in Southern Illinois, a D. Min. candidate in Biblical Counseling at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a blogger.

So, as you’re assembling your massive stack of books for the coming semester, I want to share an approach to reading that should save you some time and help you learn better.

Never read a book from cover to cover (unless you really want to).

The Pareto Principle applies here as elsewhere: 80% of the value of a book can be found in 20% of its pages. That means that reading most of the book will be a low-value use of your time, your professor’s insistence to the contrary notwithstanding. So unless, you really like the book, don’t read any book from cover to cover. Try this instead:

The Basic Approach

(courtesy of Richard Koch, The 80/20 Principle, p. 25)

Read the introduction and opening chapter or two, to get the general thesis of the book.
Then skip to the end, and survey the author’s conclusions. Once you have a feel for the main theme, go back to the table of contents, and look for where the most valuable content should be. Often, an author takes a few chapters to establish background for his main point—these chapters can be skimmed or even skipped entirely. Look for what appear to be the most relevant chapters, and give your attention there.

To read a chapter: read the opening paragraph or two, then the closing paragraph or two. Then scan through the headings, if the book has them. (If the book has no headings, use the opening sentence of paragraphs instead.) You can dip in and read the full text anywhere that the content seems rich or relevant to you. Feel free to skip around if you want.

(Incidentally, this is why I use headings and bullet lists in posts at SSG: to help you scan for and quickly find the material that will be most useful to you.)

Read with a pencil.

Reading, done well, is not a passive activity. It should be interactive. You should be thinking actively about the content, and challenging and asking questions of the author as you go.

To do this, read with a pencil (or pen, highlighter, etc). Underline key phrases and main points as you go. If question occurs to you, write it in the margins. Recognize an idea from another class or book? Make a note of it. This will help you when you come back to review later.

Why does this work? Underlining requires you to think about the material and make a definite choice about what is most significant. Writing the margin forces you to express that vague objection to the author’s idea in specific words. Writing encourages clarity and specificity.

Now some people have a deep reverence toward books, and feel that writing in them is a sacrilege. Get over it. Those books are not there for you to worship and preserve; they are there to help you learn. You’re a student, not a librarian. (Aside: you’d better be writing in your Bible, too, by the way.)

Discuss the reading with other students.

Again, this is about the importance of interacting with the material. Discussing what you’ve (mostly) read with other readers will help confirm and enrich your grasp of the material. You might even compare your understanding of the reading with others who slogged through the whole thing, and see how much (if anything) you’re missing.

Re-read.

Since you’re not slogging through the entire text, you can use some of the time you save to come back to the text, and re-read. This will help when reviewing for exams. Or if you’re not satisfied that you’ve gotten everything you need, then you can come back to sections that you skimmed earlier and read more closely.

Don’t be cheap.

I’d like to anticipate two complaints about this approach to reading:

“I paid a month’s salary for these books! I’m reading all of them! I have to get my money’s worth!”
That’s fine. Read all of them. But remember why you bought these books: to serve you and help you learn. If you insist on reading every word, you may find that you become a servant to your books, rather than the other way around.

“If I write in my books, I won’t get as much for them when I sell them back.”
Again, suit yourself. But is the extra three dollars you’ll get at resale really worth it? If you’re not convinced, then experiment: try writing in just a couple of your textbooks, and see if it helps you. Then get the real figures on how much money you’d save at resale, compare to how writing in the book helped your learning, and ask yourself if the “savings” is really worth it.

Bonus: Learn to speed read. This free manifesto has a basic introduction to key speed reading concepts. Download the .pdf and look at page 13.

Not convinced? Try this approach with just one of your classes, and see if it helps you.

Before I set foot on the campus, I wrote in my journal a list of things I wanted to learn while at seminary. I wish I had kept that list. I don’t remember all the objectives, but one of them was, “Learn how to recruit, train, and supervise volunteers.” I experienced a great deal of frustration in my youth ministry with supervising volunteers much older than me. The volunteers were patient, but I needed help in this area if I were to be an effective minister.

During orientation and my first days at seminary, I took my list of about 15 items and looked at the requirements for my program of study and determined which core courses matched the learning objectives on my list. I then looked at the seminary catalog and the electives I could take and identified courses that would help me accomplish those objectives. For example, there was a course entitled, “Working with Volunteers,” which matched one of my learning objectives. I could then map out my curriculum for the next two years, maximizing my seminary experience.

Each term before registering for classes, I reviewed my list, checked off those that I accomplished, and identified courses that would meet the remaining objectives. On more than one occasion, I added new learning objectives to my growing list.

One of the assignments in the class on volunteers was to write a ten-page term paper. I wrote a 50-page paper on recruiting volunteers. My friends teased me that I had gone overboard, but I told them I wasn’t trying to impress the professor. This paper was for me and I wanted to develop materials that I could take back home and use. Your seminary learning takes on another dimension when you have ownership in the product. Ask your professors if you can negotiate assignments to fulfill your learning objectives. Instead of a paper, maybe you could write a strategic plan, develop a website, or write a sermon series. Suggest projects that meet the course objectives, but also have immediate application in your ministry.

Not all of my learning objectives could be fulfilled through seminary courses. This is where mentoring, internships, and field experiences can round out your seminary experience. Since I was in youth ministry, I looked for a church that was really doing a great job in discipling youth. One of my objectives was to learn how to educate youth about ethical issues, including sex education. I found a youth minister who had developed some materials on sex education in the church and was willing to mentor me. Over the course of my two years in seminary, with the help of this mentor, I created some discipleship materials that I used for years.

• What do you want to learn?
• What skills do you want to possess?
• What competencies will you need to develop in order to be an effective minister?
• What attitudes do you need to change?
• What spiritual disciplines will you need to practice?

Write out a list of your learning objectives to guide your seminary studies. With this intentional learning plan, you will maximize your time at seminary and you’ll not have to write a book entitled, “What I Didn’t Learn in Seminary.”

Daryl Eldridge is President and Co-founder of Rockbridge Seminary.

www.rockbridgeseminary.org

Our research on theological education as well as surveys with people in the field led us to make mentoring a significant part of our learning model. Many seminaries will involve mentoring during the last two semesters of their study as part of the field education experience. At Rockbridge, we require students to have a mentor for every class. We believe mentoring is supported by biblical teaching. Regardless of your seminary’s requirements, you can enlist the support of a mentor throughout your entire program of study.

We’ve learned that mentoring is best done when initiated by the student. Mentors who are assigned by others often don’t work because there is no chemistry or camaraderie. Look for a person who is willing to inject truth into your life and spend time with you. This should be an enjoyable experience for both of you. You will get as much out of the experience as you want. Let me say this as straight as I can: If you select a mentor that isn’t willing and able to invest time in you, then you are better off finding another learning coach.

It’s a good idea to have more than one mentor. Typically, not every mentor is strong in all areas of ministry. At the first of every term, schedule meetings with your mentor(s). Get them on the calendar early. Mentors are usually very busy people and you’ll have to work with their schedules. Multi-task by meeting for lunch or breakfast, and accompanying your mentor to regular work events. If your mentor is great in evangelism, go together on outreach efforts. Ride in the car to meetings together. Find ways to spend time with each other without adding to your busy schedules.

Go prepared for each meeting. Know what you want to debrief about. Ask questions, seek clarifications, and so on. Go in with an agenda of questions for your mentor, things you’ve learned and especially self-discoveries to share and discuss. Ask your mentors for insights from their experiences and any insights they might have regarding what they have observed in you. The better planned you are, the better the experience. The purpose of these meetings should be to discuss how what you are learning is moving you forward in your spiritual development, in light of your calling. Here are some starter questions to discuss:

• How is this course helping you develop your call to service?
• What questions do you have from your reading or class discussions?
• How do you apply what you are learning this term to your ministry context?
• What leadership skills do you need to develop?
• How can your mentor personally support you moving forward?

When meeting with your mentor, plan to ask open-ended questions to draw out what your mentor is thinking, like

• “What do you think?”
• “Where do you think I need to focus more attention moving forward? Why? How?”
• “What blind spots do you see that I may be missing?”
• “If you were in my position, how would you go deeper to develop in this area?”
• “Have you made mistakes in this area that I can learn from?”

Lastly, don’t forget to say thanks for the investment your mentor made in your life. Send your mentor a thank-you card or small gift to express your appreciation.

Daryl Eldridge is President and Cofounder of Rockbridge Seminary.

www.rockbridgeseminary.org

Technology now makes it possible to connect to a learning community from your home, office, or coffee shop. I believe there is a place for residential seminaries, and nearly every week I steer a prospect for Rockbridge to a residential seminary program. However, there is also a place for online learning. Most residential programs now offer up to one half of their studies online. You may find the convenience and the type of courses offered online could benefit your learning program.

Here are a few discoveries I have made in my journey:

1. Authentic community can be developed online. Some leaders tout community as a reason to attend a residential program. However, if a student is working full-time, with church and family responsibilities, they often run from classes to work or church and don’t get to know their fellow learners. In a good online course, you will develop meaningful relationships. Because you interact with your colleagues daily, you develop relationships otherwise not experienced in a classroom setting.

2. Online learning is highly interactive. In a typical residential class, 10% of the class will raise questions. In an online environment, everyone participates. Typically, students are required to be online at least 4-5 days a week and post at least 9 times in a forum discussion.

3. Online learning is not easier. Some have the mistaken notion that all you do in an online course is read material on a screen, or view a video, and take a test. Online learning courses are nothing like correspondence courses. While there is flexibility as to when you go online, the class will still demand 10-15 hours of work each week. (That is why at Rockbridge our program is set up so that students only take one course at a time.)

4. Online learning is learner centered, not teacher centered. This doesn’t mean that you do not interact with the professor, or with content, but the real learning takes place in learner forums that are directed by the professor. Students who thrive best in an online environment are self-starters who take responsibility for their learning and see their role as contributing to the learning of the entire group. It is a learning community.

5. Spiritual formation can take place online. The online community allows for the expression of personal issues. Students feel free to share their spiritual journey and they trust their colleagues to hold the online experience as sacred space. Courses have prayer rooms, where prayer concerns can be shared and students will post prayers for one another.

6. Not every teacher is wired to teach online. Some professors think they just have to dump their lectures into a virtual can, and that’s all there is to online learning. The best online teachers are a combination of counselor, mentor, friend, spiritual guide, coach, and facilitator. They excel at asking students questions and redirecting their thinking. They coach from the sidelines. Their best teaching is done by the feedback they give on the assignments. So, check out who is teaching the online course. How long have they taught online? Is this their first course? How do other students rate the online class experience with this teacher? Do your homework before signing up.

Online learning is not for everyone, but if you keep these six things in mind, you can make some wonderful friends and learning colleagues in the process.

Daryl Eldridge is President and Cofounder of Rockbridge Seminary.
www.rockbridgeseminary.org