"St. Paul at the Movies"
Project Grading Protocol
last update: 27 March 2007
Agrees with negotiated choice? No Yes Comment:
Submitted on or before due date? No Yes Comment:
Adjustments to grade? No Yes If "yes," how much?
Author's information is complete 1  
File submitted electronically in html or xml format 1  
Print copies have correct header and pagination 1  
Bibliographic reference for film is complete, accurate, and correctly follows Chicago Manual of Style 5  
Scriptural references are incorporated as parenthetical notes in the body of the text 1  
Scriptural references follow standard format (e.g., Gal 3:16–18), including the standard abbreviations given in The SBL Handbook of Style 1  
Secondary source materials are cited in footnotes 5  
Footnotes correctly follow the Chicago Manual of Style    
No Internet resources are used for the discussion of the Pauline corpus    
If Internet sources are used for discussion of the film, complete authorship information is provided, and the first citation of each includes an annotation indicating why it is a reputable, academic-quality source for this kind of critical analysis    
If Internet sources are used for discussion of the film, the first citation of each includes an annotation indicating why it is a reputable, academic-quality source for this kind of critical analysis 5  
Select Bibliography correctly follows Chicago Manual of Style 5  
Select Bibliography includes a minimum of 10–12 commentaries, Bible dictionaries, journal articles, and other standard print resources for Biblical studies, as well as a minimum of 4–6 secondary sources discussing the film    
Select Bibliography includes a minimum of 4–6 secondary sources discussing the film    
  1. Remember to use specific scenes in the film to illustrate your points.
  2. Also, be sure to make specific references to the seven undisputed Pauline letters and to secondary sources in support of your theological claims.
    
     
Subtotal
 25

Students will design a two-part project comprising a critical, theological exploration of a contemporary film in dialogue with one of the keynotes of Paul’s “gospel.”

 

Part One: Synopsis & Sketch of Main Features

  1. What is the overall narrative structure or plot of the film? What do you think are the key theological and/or ethical themes being raised by this film?
  2. How would you characterize the producer's selection of which "moments" ... to include (or exclude) from this film?
  3. What kind of ... is portrayed in this film (e.g., personality, character traits, interests)?
  4. Who are the other leading roles, and how are these characters related?
  5. On which of the ... does this screenplay rely the most?  In what scenes do you see evidence of this?
  5 Clear, succinct, and accurate synopsis of the plot, selection, characterization, and gospel base to the film
  4 Clear and accurate synopsis of the plot, selection, characterization, and gospel base to the film
  3 Weak synopsis of the plot, selection, characterization, and gospel base to the film
  2 Synopsis of the film omits one of the following: plot, selection, characterization, or gospel base
  1 Synopsis of the film omits two of the following: lot, selection, characterization, or gospel base
  0 Inaccurate synopsis of film, or synopsis lacking all required elements
Part Two: Evidence & Illustrations
  1. What are the primary ...? What scenes provide key examples of these differences?
  2. What one or two scenes do you see as central to understanding the producer's portrayal ...?
  3. What are one or two techniques that you found particularly effective in conveying the producer's message ...?
  5 Succinct and accurate assessment of the main differences between the screenplay and the canonical story of Jesus; 3–5 "film clips" illustrating the key elements of the producer's understanding of Jesus
  4 Good but wordy assessment of the main differences between the screenplay and the canonical story of Jesus; 2–3 "film clips" illustrating the key elements of the producer's understanding of Jesus
  3 Accurate but wordy assessment of the main differences between the screenplay and the canonical story of Jesus; 1–2 "film clips" illustrating the key elements of the producer's understanding of Jesus
  2 Diffuse assessment of the main differences between the screenplay and the canonical story of Jesus; 1–2 "film clips" illustrating the key elements of the producer's understanding of Jesus
  1 Barebones assessment of the main differences between the screenplay and the canonical story of Jesus; no "film clips" illustrating the key elements of the producer's understanding of Jesus
  0 Inaccurate report of the main arguments and/or evidence used; no "quotable quotes" illustrating the author's key arguments
Part Three: Critical Evaluation
  1. What was the producer's fundamental message about Jesus in this film?  Are you convinced?
  2. What differences do you see between your reading of the pertinent Gospel texts and the way the film producer has interpreted them? Are these differences of method or content or both?
  3. If you were producing your own "life of Jesus" movie, which "moments" of Jesus' life would you be sure to include? How would your selection compare and contrast with the program for this film?
  4. What do you see as the three most important contributions of this film to understanding Jesus of Nazareth, and what do you see as its limitations?
  5. What two questions would you like to discuss in class concerning this film?
  5 Clear, succinct, and interesting responses to all five of these questions
  4 Clear and interesting responses to four of these five questions
  3 Clear responses to three of these five questions
  2 Vague responses to 3–5 of these questions
  1 Vague responses to 1–2 of these questions
  0 No responses to these questions, or responses based on significant factual or methodological errors
Composition: Grammar, Punctuation, Spelling, Syntax
  1. Does the essay follow the standard tri-partite format for a critique?
  2. Is the essay written in clear, direct, inclusive, and formal English?
  3. Are the sentences free of grammatical, punctuation, spelling, and syntactical errors?
  5 Perfect work
  4 One grammatical, punctuation, spelling, or syntactical errors
  3 Two or three grammatical, punctuation, spelling, and syntactical errors OR one instance of exclusive language
  2 Two or three grammatical, punctuation, spelling, and syntactical errors AND one or two instances of exclusive language
  1 Four grammatical, spelling, or syntactical errors OR several punctuation mistakes and three grammatical, spelling, or syntactical errors OR several punctuation mistakes AND two or three instances of exclusive language
  0 Essay does not follow the standard tri-partite format for a critique OR essay has more than four grammatical, punctuation, spelling, and syntactical errors OR essay has more than four instances of exclusive language
 
Organization 1 2 3 4 5  
Introduction          
Thesis Statement          
Proper Paragraphing          
Sentence Structure          
Conclusion          
Subtotal
  
Format 1 2 3 4 5  
Bibliography          
Citations          
Orthography          
Punctuation          
Typography          
Subtotal
  
Content/Clarity 1 2 3 4 5  
Depth of Development of Argument            
Logical Progression of Argument            
Breadth of Evidence            
Completeness/Depth of Evidence            
Use of Course Data            
Subtotal
 
Interest 1 2 3 4 5  
Confrontation of Objections to Thesis          
Interaction with Course ideas          
New Ideas          
New Use of Old Ideas          
Succinct Presentation          
Subtotal
   

Total Points  for Part B
Less any adjustments from Part A
   
Total Score for Paper
 = A B C D F