BTS | Research and Writing Center
BTS | Research and Writing Center
Welcome to the BTS Research and Writing Center!
The BTS Research and Writing Center exists to support our students with research and writing aids, from writing workshops to online resources.
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We provide BTS students with online and in-person writing workshops scheduled several times per semester. Students will be emailed a sign-up link the week before each workshop.
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The links below provide students with resources from style guides and grammar helps to online journals.
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Announcing: the Birmingham Theological Journal Vol. 3, Issue 1
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The 2026 Call for Papers is now closed.
Style Guides
BTS has adopted A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 9th edition (Turabian) and provided students a customized supplement.
Writing Resources for Grammar & Avoiding Plagiarism
Grammar Resources
A free grammar course is available online from Daily Grammar (recommended by Cengage). Students may start from the beginning or access individual lessons from the Daily Grammar archive page.
Lessons on sentence structure from Purdue OWL offer help with correcting sentence fragments, run-on sentences, and subject-verb agreement. See the drop-down menus at this link:
If you prefer learning with videos, several options are available on YouTube:
These books on grammar have a more engaging style than most text books. Where they may differ from Turabian and the BTS Form and Style Guide, students should follow the official style guides.
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Bullock, Richard, Deborah Bertsch, Maureen Daly Goggin, and Francine Weinberg. The Norton Field Guide to Writing with Readings and Handbook. 6th ed. New York: W. W. Norton, 2022.
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Clark, Roy Peter. The Glamour of Grammar: A Guide to the Magic and Mystery of Practical English. New York: Little, Brown Spark, 2011.
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Truss, Lynne. Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation. New York: Gotham Books, 2006.
Avoiding Plagiarism
The Harvard Guide to Using Sources: Avoiding Plagiarism
The University of Cambridge: Good Academic Practice and Avoiding Plagiarism
The Purdue Online Writing Lab: Plagiarism Overview
Rutgers Writing Program: Plagiarism Defined
Online Databases, Journals, and Logos
Many books and peer-reviewed academic journal articles are available in online databases. BTS students should search for the open-access and peer-reviewed options.
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Alabama Virtual Library (BTS students outside AL may request access in the contact form below.)
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JSTOR (requires a free account)
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Project Gutenberg (Older sources)
In addition to online databases, many institutions have their own peer-reviewed, online journals.
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Association of Professional Chaplains Publications (requires membership)
Many theses and dissertations are available online as well.
Open Access Theses and Dissertations
EThOS: E-Theses Online Service
BTS students use the Logos Bible Software academic package. These are some helpful videos:
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The Birmingham Theological Journal (BTJ) is the annual, peer-reviewed journal of Birmingham Theological Seminary (BTS) that publishes articles and book reviews from BTS students and faculty in the following fields of study: Old and New Testament studies, biblical theology, church history, systematic theology, biblical counseling, Christian education, and related disciplines. BTS is a multi-denominational confessional and reformed seminary. The journal seeks to further scholarship by focusing on areas of academic study related to the Bible and its application primarily within the reformed tradition and a broadly historic reformed community.
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The journal will be published once per year.
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The call for papers closes each year on May 1.
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Please see our Guidelines for Submission (PDF).
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Authors assign copyright to Birmingham Theological Seminary for publication of accepted essays and book reviews, with permission granted to author for continued non-commercial reproduction of the work, along with credit to Birmingham Theological Seminary (e.g., Birmingham Theological Seminary © 2024).
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Disclaimer: BTS is a reformed, multi-denominational seminary, but the views expressed by the authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the theological positions of the BTJ editors or the BTS faculty, staff, or board.
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2025-26 Staff: Bonnie Malec, Associate Editor; R. R. Lord, Associate Editor; Jay Haley, PhD, Associate Editor; Pat Sanders, PhD, General Editor (faculty sponsor) and other field readers
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Please click below to download the current volume of the BTJ!
Birmingham Theological Journal Volume 3, Issue 1
Helpful Research and Writing Links
Harvard Writes: Harvard Faculty Explain Analytical Writing
Contact Us!
Please use the form below to contact the BTS Writing Center.
"I would absolutely recommend this to my classmates."
"Turabian can be a challenge to master with its many writing elements, but I feel more comfortable with it because of the time you took with me."
"The workshop was so helpful! Please keep doing them!"
Writing Workshop Testimonials
Birmingham Theological Seminary
2200 Briarwood Way
Birmingham, AL 35243-2923
Telephone: (205) 776-5650
Fax: (205) 776-5241