Study Skills

Taking time off

Do you remember those ‘magic eye’ pictures that were popular in the 1990s? You may have stared at a jumbled pattern for what seemed like hours, hoping a three-dimensional image would suddenly leap out at you.

The strange thing was, the more you looked, the harder it became to see the hidden image. Sometimes, you needed to take your eyes away from the picture, so that they could rest awhile. Then, when you looked again, you’d see the wonderful picture immediately – a welcome reward for all that staring.

Theological study can be a bit like this. There will be occasions when the pieces don’t fall together, when you sit at your desk and just can’t get going. That’s why it is so important to give yourself regular breaks, to rest your eyes and your brain, so that when you return, you can see more clearly.

Take regular breaks in your study sessions, so that you don’t become too tired and lose your concentration. And make sure you also take time not to study. Enjoy days off without feeling guilty; don’t feel as if you always need to load up your suitcase with theology books when you go on holiday; watch television occasionally, or go to a football match. These moments are the equivalent of looking away from the magic eye picture – and you might be amazed at what is revealed once you return your gaze.

Reading for pleasure

One final, related point: just because you’re studying theology, it doesn’t mean you can only read theological books. If you enjoy reading other types of book – novels, say, or biographies, or travelogues – then make time for this interest. Indeed, even if all you read for pleasure are newspapers and magazines, we encourage you not to feel guilty about continuing to do so.

The reason for this is twofold. First, theology shouldn’t be all-consuming. You need other sources of intellectual stimulation to ensure you have a wider perspective on your theological work. Reading for pleasure is one very good way of making this happen. Second, you’ll actually find that no time spent reading is wasted. Pretty soon, you are likely to discover profound connections between literature, or the arts, or current affairs, and theology. In fact, you might find there’s just as much to think theologically about in books and articles that don’t claim to be about the subject as in those that describe themselves as theological works.

Avoiding distractions

“Procrastination,” wrote the poet Edward Young, “is the thief of time.” When it comes down to it, we’re all well-practised at putting things off. Just look at this animation, by the brilliant ‘Tales of mere existence’ cartoonist Lev Yilmaz.

Creating the perfect study environment

Establishing the right study environment will vary from person to person. This is about knowing yourself.

Some people need to study in perfect silence, without answerphones or emails or televisions anywhere in sight, and quite possibly in the middle of the night. Others can only work during the day, with a radio blaring in the background, and there are still others who are at their most creative when in the midst of a busy café.

You need to find what works for you. And when you’ve done that, try to study in that environment whenever possible. It will help you concentrate and make it easier to get stuck into your work. As a result, you’ll be more likely to work more quickly, and more effectively – as well as feel a lot less stressed.

The following exercise might help you work out your preferences when it comes to your study surroundings.

What next?

You’ve stilled yourself and accepted an invitation to participate in the conversation about God. You’ve worked out your motivations for studying on this course, and written them down to keep you fired up in the future. And you’ve discovered the importance of a nice cup of tea and a good (non-theological!) book.

You’ve thought about what might distract you from study and made an undertaking to prevent that from happening wherever possible. And you’ve worked out how to establish the optimum conditions in which to work.

Small wonder, then, if you’re feeling ready to step away from this module for a while. Our advice is that you take some time out. Then, before getting stuck back into the next section, try to enact all of the things you’ve learnt in the past hour. Do what’s needed to avoid distractions, and try to set up your study space in the way you’ve just identified as being right for you. It’s good practice for when you start on the theological material later in the module, and helps you to form good study habits from the beginning. 

Understanding how you prefer to learn does not mean that you should immediately discount the chances of picking anything up when information isn’t presented in your favoured format. But it does mean that you are able to prepare more effectively when information is presented in a way that doesn’t come as naturally to you.

If you’re a visual learner, for example, you may find that a lecture on the doctrine of the Holy Trinity is a real test. By understanding this in advance, you can prepare accordingly – perhaps by undertaking some background reading in advance of the lecture, or looking at pictorial presentations of the Trinity such as Andrei Rublev’s famous icon.

The challenge of studying on a course like this is that, although we make every effort to present information in a variety of formats, you won’t always be able to learn in the way that best suits you. Knowledge is power in this regard: understand yourself, and you’ll be able to make sure you get the very best out of every learning opportunity.

Gaining knowledge, testing understanding

It’s tempting to think the process of completing your assignment portfolio is about demonstrating all the clever things you have learned as a result of your studies. To an extent, this is true, and your work will be marked according to criteria that assess the quality of your understanding. But this is an over-simplification, because assignments are about so much more than showing what you know. Let’s return to the meal conversation analogy mentioned above. In the conversation, the best participants are those who offer something up to the discussion, almost on spec, as a way of carrying it forward. It’s a bit like they’re saying: “This is what I make of the subject we’re discussing. What do others think? 

That’s how decent conversations really get going, and the conversation about God is no different. When you produce items for your portfolio, therefore, we encourage you to think of them as a contribution to a discussion – an attempt by you to move the conversation on a little, to try out ideas and find your voice.

Portfolio work isn’t principally about showing your knowledge, then; it’s about testing your understanding and applying it to your worship leading (and preaching). It’s your chance to put something out there and see what others make of it. And when the topic under discussion is God, that’s one of the most exciting things imaginable.

 Here’s a quick summary, which may help you as you prepare assignments.

Gaining knowledge is about reading, listening, watching, thinking. It’s about putting new ideas and understandings into your head and heart, so you’re better able to participate in the conversation about God.

Testing understanding involves writing, speaking, drawing, composing. It’s about expressing your ideas in a way that carries the conversation forwards, and invites a response. It is open-ended, therefore, and necessarily dialogic (meaning the assignment portfolio doesn’t end once you submit it, because it’s part of the ongoing theological conversation).

Reading and comprehension

The exercise you’ve just completed is a taster of some of the work you’ll be doing in this course. It involves analysing a source, reflecting on what you make of it, and trying to set it within a wider theological framework, then testing your understanding of it by reporting your reflections – often in a creative manner.

When you put it like that, producing work for your portfolio doesn’t sound too scary at all. It is, in fact, a process that we all go through on a daily basis – of engaging with information, chewing it over in our minds, and offering our response to it.

Of course, for most of us the way we imbibe information is usually rather more straightforward than reading densely argued works of theology. But we will be doing some of that in this course (though not all the time!). So in this section, we will introduce you to the fundamentals of reading theological texts, and engaging with their content, before inviting you to put into practice what you learn.

Finding sources

First things first. If you’re going to play a part in a conversation, you need to know something about the subject matter. If you were attending a party in a new social or cultural environment, you might mug up on some things before you go on the assumption that this would give you something witty and interesting to say. You might speak with someone who is already part of this social world to see where the conversation has got to. There might be many sources you could consult; some might be more reliable than others.

When it comes to talking about God, the sources that Methodists take seriously are the Bible, tradition (such as, among other things, what the Church has taught over the centuries, theological writings, prayers and hymns), our experience of God in the world, and our collective reasoning together. Don’t get too bogged down with this right now; you’ll have plenty of time to think about it in more detail later in this module. But here are a number of reference points for you, which will equip you to orient yourself make your contribution.

 On this course, a number of those sources are signposted for you, so you won’t have to spend hours trawling library shelves to identify them. But if you want to expand your knowledge, a good place to start is by following the references (footnotes and endnotes) in the book excerpts and articles you read. They’ll be a good guide to other relevant material for the topic you’re studying, helping you to broaden your knowledge and engage with a wider variety of perspectives.

There’s one more thing to say about finding sources for producing pieces of portfolio work, and it has to do with their reliability. One of the disciplines of academic study is having your work examined and critiqued by other people. It happens at every level, and is a way of ensuring the quality of what’s produced. When you’re selecting sources, then, it pays to look for those that are clearly involved in this process: ones, that is, which make good reference to other texts, have credibility, and are referenced by other people.

This doesn’t quite argue against using internet sources, but it does underscore the wisdom of handling them cautiously. If you go online for information, check that it has come from a reliable source, perhaps by clicking on the ‘About us’ link and viewing the credentials of the writer, or by evaluating the extent to which it draws on other, trustworthy, sources. Further advice is available here. The same goes for books and articles: check that they are reputable and reliable.

Engaging with a source

Okay, so you’re sat at your desk with a pile of (trustworthy!) books and papers beside you, just waiting to be read. Remember that list of things that might prompt you to put things off? Now’s the time to fish it out and make sure you’re not tempted by any of these distractions.

Got the washing on? Peeled the carrots for dinner? Cleaned the car? Right then, let’s get going.

It can seem daunting to be faced with a number of different sources and have to work your way through them. But once you get going, you’ll find it’s easy to build up a head of steam. You want to be sure you’re really engaging with the material, which is why note-taking (see below) is so important.

Engaging with a source involves more than simply reading it. You need to read it actively, asking questions about its meaning, and about what you make of it, and how it relates to the other things you’re reading in this field. Remember what you did when engaging with Tim Gibson’s poem? You probed it, wrestled with it, lived with it, so that you could offer a genuinely insightful response to it. That’s what engagement means – it requires you to be active, not passive … and that’s exactly why you need to do it in the best possible environment for your concentration.

Taking notes

You’re unlikely to take much in from a text unless you have some means of recording what it says and your responses to it. Note-taking, broadly construed, is one of the most important study skills you can develop, because it provides the raw material for your assignments.

There are lots of ways to take notes, and your preference may well have something to do with your favoured learning style. A visual learner, for example, might like to draw pictures and diagrams to help them store and process information, while an auditory learner may want to record their reflections and listen to them later.

If you’re writing notes, adopt whatever method works best for you. You may want to try a few techniques from the list below. You’ll quickly discover which one is your favourite.

• Write detailed notes: Write longhand notes about whatever you’re reading, recording the main points and using different colours or quotation marks to identify direct quotations from the source (this is important in avoiding plagiarism, of which more below). It uses a lot of paper, and can be time consuming; but it means you have a detailed record of what you’ve read. Clearly distinguish in your notes between what the author has said and what you made of it, to refer to when the time comes to produce a piece of work for your assignment. There’s an important caveat to this approach, though; the clue is in the word ‘notes’. Try to resist the urge simply to copy everything you’re reading – it will take forever, and won’t give you a chance to digest the information. Go for the main points.

• Trigger words/phrases: If you have a good memory, you may find it sufficient to write a list of words that will enable you to recall the content of your reading when you revisit your notes. If you’re canny, you’ll also include page numbers for your sources, so you can quickly go back to particular sections and lift quotations from them for use in your portfolio work. 

• Draw a mind map: Start with a blank piece of paper. Write a word or two to remind you about the first topic or idea you encounter in a source. Continue to do this with subsequent topics and ideas, drawing lines to connect those that seem to relate to each other. You can add further commentary along these lines, perhaps highlighting other sources that make a similar point. By the end, you’ll have a large picture that shows you how your sources interrelate, enabling you to cluster ideas and order your thoughts. To see some examples, click here.

• Write on your sources: Some people find it sufficient simply to highlight or underline key passages in their sources, and write notes in the margins to jog their memory of relevant thoughts. It depends on you owning the books and papers, of course. And it does make it harder to see connections between different sources, or organise your own thoughts. Even so, it’s good if you’re on a train or in a café, with limited room. 

Avoiding plagiarism

Plagiarism is something you definitely want to avoid. It involves passing somebody else’s work off as your own, and in the majority of cases, it’s committed completely by accident.

Of course, there are some people who willfully steal other people’s material, and that simply can’t be tolerated. These are people who download essays from the internet, or rip off whole chunks of text from books without attributing them. And they almost always get found out.

But there’s another variety that is slightly more common, and it results from poor study skills rather than a desire to mislead.

It’s easy to see what happens … a student includes quotations from the sources they’re reading while taking notes. Sometimes that’s because the content seems so good they want to record it, but they forget to make it clear that it’s not their own words. Sometimes it’s because they don’t realise they’re copying down the content word for word; it doesn’t even occur to them that they’re not putting it into their own words.

Then, when they revisit their notes to produce a piece of work for their portfolio, they’re struck by the elegance and precision of their expression, and so repeat it wholesale in their own work. And the trouble is, the words aren’t their own, and the marker spots the mistake.

Even though it’s unintentional, this error counts as plagiarism. So it really is best avoided, by paying very careful attention to your notes, and making it clear to yourself when you’ve quoted directly from someone else.

Here’s a tip: have three different colours of pen to hand when you’re writing your notes. Use one colour to record the main points the author is making in your own words, and another colour when you copy a quote from a source. [Then, in brackets, note the source, including the author, title and page number, immediately after the quotation]. Using a third colour, write your own ideas and questions or connections you are making as you read. That way, when you come back to your notes, you’ll be able to see at a glance which parts are direct quotations that must be attributed in your text, and which parts are your own summaries of the author’s ideas which you can legitimately use as they are, and which parts are your own ideas and questions.

(NB You don’t have to follow a standard form of referencing in this course, but please be consistent.)

Plagiarism and cultural sensitivity

In some cultures people find it hard to understand and accept the concept of plagiarism, especially if value is attached in a particular culture to memorization and repetition of learning without alteration. It has even been suggested that the concept of plagiarism is a ‘culturally-based, Western concept’ (see, for example, Tatum S. Adiningrum, ‘How different are we? Understanding and managing plagiarism between East and West’, Journal of Academic Language and Learning, 5, 2 (2011) A88-A98 - please note: we're not expecting you to read this article now, but this is one place where you could follow up this idea. If you are puzzled by the idea of plagiarism we recommend that you have a conversation about it with your tutor.

What next?

In this section, you’ve developed an understanding of your preferred way of learning, and explored the difference between gaining knowledge and testing understanding. By seeing your portfolio work as a contribution to the conversation about God, we hope you feel enthused by it, rather than anxious.

You’ve learnt how to locate sources and engage with them, how to take notes that guide you when you revisit them to produce an assignment for your portfolio, and how to ensure you don’t accidentally commit plagiarism. Finally, you’ve tested your skills in reading and comprehension, before producing a brief summary of a theological source. We hope that’s given you a taste for writing. In the next section, we’ll explore how to develop this skill.

Describing and evaluating

There are two key skills in essay writing, and they’re equally important:

• Describing involves reporting the views of others, so that the reader understands them
• Evaluating involves critical engagement with these views, usually by comparing and contrasting them with those of other people, and perhaps by expressing your own judgement concerning their quality.

Describing is usually the thing that people find easiest in an essay, but evaluation is essential to producing strong written assignments. So it pays to practise this, by asking critical (by which we mean ‘analytical’ rather than ‘negative’) questions about the sources you’re engaging with. Try the following exercise to help you notice the difference.

Redrafting and proofreading

There is only one thing that’s more important than actually producing a piece of work for your portfolio, and that’s revising it. This can be the hardest discipline of all: you’ve poured heart and soul into planning and constructing your work of art, and then you have to go through it to trim unnecessary content, sharpen its meaning and cut out any fripperies.

As any film-maker will tell you, though, what makes a great movie is a willingness to leave whole parts of it on the cutting-room floor. Your work will be stronger if you put the time into reviewing and editing it.

Here are some tips to help you edit your work, which are especially pertinent for written portfolio pieces:

• Try reading it aloud. This will give you a feel for its rhythm and concision. If there are bits that sound cumbersome or wordy, try to tighten them.

• Ask someone else to read it through. They don’t have to be a subject specialist. In fact, in many ways it’s better if they’re not. But a second pair of eyes can spot typos that you’re too familiar with the text to notice, and alert you to parts of the discussion that seem long-winded or unclear.

• Use a spell-checker. You can read and reread to your heart’s content, but it’s always worth running your assignment through the spell checker on your computer. These tools aren’t 100% accurate, but they will spot a good number of typos and spelling errors – and it’s important to iron these out before you submit work for assessment.

• Be careful about grammar and punctuation. None of us is perfect in this regard, so don’t be afraid to use a reference guide for assistance (for example, Fowler’s Modern English Usage (3rd edition) (Oxford, OUP, 2004) or, for a more accessible guide, Lynne Truss’s Eats, Shoots and Leaves (London, Fourth Estate, 2009). You can also pick up guidance online, but it’s worth checking that you go to a reliable source for information.

Protecting your work

Computers are wonderful tools and make the life of a writer far easier. You can draft and redraft as much as you like, and move passages of text around until you’re completely satisfied with what you’ve produced.

They do have pitfalls, however, and foremost among these is their tendency to lose information. If your computer gets struck by a virus, or has one of those meltdowns that come to all pieces of machinery in time, you want to be certain your half-written portfolio piece is safe, as well as any notes you’ve saved. One easy way to do this is to email documents to yourself at the end of each working session. That way, you can pick them up on any computer – meaning you’ll be able to retrieve them even if your own machine is broken.

Dealing with feedback

This is the moment you’ve been waiting for. Lots of hard graft ensured you handed in your work on time. And now you’re ready to get feedback on it. You may feel terrified and excited in equal measure.

So here’s the deflating news: how you perform in a single piece of work really doesn’t matter too much. Of course, if you do well, you should certainly celebrate. But if you don’t do as well as expected, remember that it’s just a small part of your overall assessment – and you will have the chance to modify it before submitting it as part of your portfolio.

That prompts a few reflections on dealing with feedback. The whole point of portfolio work is that you’re outlining where you stand on a topic, and making your contribution to the conversation about God. So it makes sense that the person offering feedback will want to continue that conversation, and the comments they make are one way of doing just that.

Therefore, try to view what is fed back to you as a constructive attempt at dialogue. Be encouraged by the positives, and try to learn from the more critical feedback. That’s how you’re likely to improve in future work.

More fundamentally, enjoy the experience of being directly involved in the theological conversation. Here you are, engaged in direct correspondence with someone about a subject matter that is the most important one of all. It’s a real privilege to be called to participate in such a dialogue.

That’s another way of saying that even participating in the process of theological learning and reflection is a great joy, and one that we urge you to savour. It should help you to get the portfolio part of proceedings into perspective, reminding you of your reasons for being involved in this course in the first place. And if you need a stronger reminder, look up from your desk at the motivations list you made earlier. Of course, it’s never pleasant to receive negative feedback about our work. But it’s worth remembering that it’s not about you as a person, and it’s very firmly intended to help you improve your practice as a preacher or worship leader. So try not to take constructive critical comments personally, and always look back over what you’ve done with the marker’s comments in mind, to help you recognise the strengths and weaknesses they identify.

Ultimately, what matters more than anything is your growth in Christ and it is in this context that you are seeking to develop the gifts and graces that belong to the particular calling of a worship leader or local preacher. Whether or not you go on to be accredited, you have been called by God to take your place in God’s own kingdom, and become more fully what he has made you to be. And as Paul writes in his letter to the Philippians: “I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). When it comes to getting feedback on your work into perspective, you can’t do much better than that.

Conclusion: Get going!

To help cement your learning, here is one final exercise.

Let us pray

We close this section with a prayer, adapted by Tim Gibson from Colossians 1:9-14:

May you be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.

May you lead a life worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him,

as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God.

May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power,

and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience,

while joyfully giving thanks to the Father,

who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light.

May you have confidence that he has rescued us from the power of darkness

and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved son,

in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Amen.