1. Personal Reflection (Journal Entry – 500 words)

• Reflect on your own understanding of “Validity.” Have you ever felt “lesser than” clergy in major denominations? How does the distinction between validity and recognition help resolve that tension?
• Consider the concept of “Isolation.” In your previous ministry, have you operated as a “Lone Ranger”? What fears do you have about submitting to the mutual accountability of the Mission Council?

2. Theological Essay (1000 words)

• Prompt:
  “The Apostolic Old Catholic Mission claims to be ‘Catholic in faith, yet free in structure.’ critically analyze this statement in light of the rejection of Papal Infallibility. How does the AOCM’s definition of ‘Independent’ differ from a Protestant congregationalist understanding of independence?”
• Reference Requirements: You must cite the Ecclesiology and Doctrine document and the Guide to Formation sections 1.1–1.3.

STUDENT GUIDE: ESSAY WRITING & ASSESSMENT STANDARDS

“Clarity of writing reflects clarity of thought.”

In the Apostolic Old Catholic Mission, we do not require you to be a professional academic. However, we do require you to be a competent communicator. As a member of the clergy, you will be writing sermons, newsletters, pastoral letters, and reports. Therefore, the essays in this course are not just “homework”; they are practice for your future ministry.

Please read the following standards carefully before submitting any written work.

1. ACADEMIC INTEGRITY & PLAGIARISM

Your integrity is your most valuable asset as a minister.

• Own Work: All work submitted must be your own. Copying text from Wikipedia, other websites, or other students without attribution is Plagiarism. In a formation context, plagiarism is not just an academic offense; it is a character flaw regarding honesty.
• AI Usage: You may use AI tools (like ChatGPT) to help structure your thoughts or find resources, but you may not use AI to write your essay for you. We want to hear your voice, your theology, and your heart. A generic, AI-generated essay will be marked as a Fail.
• Citation: If you quote a source (the Bible, a theologian, a website), you must say where it came from. We do not demand strict Chicago or APA style, but we do demand clear attribution (e.g., “As St. Augustine said in his Confessions…” or “According to the AOCM Statutes…”).

2. GRAMMAR, SPELLING & PRESENTATION

Sloppy writing acts as a barrier to the Gospel. If your reader is stumbling over typos, they are not hearing your message.

• Proofread: Always read your work aloud before submitting.
• Spell Check: Use the tools available to you.
• Structure: Every essay should have a beginning (Introduction), a middle (Argument/Reflection), and an end (Conclusion). Do not submit a “stream of consciousness” or a wall of text without paragraphs.

3. DEPTH OF THOUGHT (Quality vs. Speed)

This course is self-paced, which leads to the temptation to “rush” just to tick the box.

• Reflection: We are looking for evidence that you have thought about the material, not just that you can memorize it. Do not just summarize the lesson; tell us how it applies to your life and ministry.
• Theology: Connect the dots. How does this topic relate to the AOCM’s ethos? How does it impact the person in the pew?
• Word Count: If an assignment asks for 1,000 words, do not submit 300. Conversely, do not submit 3,000 words of waffle. Be concise but thorough.

3. TECHNICAL SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

To ensure your work can be opened and marked by our Mentors, you must adhere to strict file limitations. Work submitted in the wrong format will be rejected.

• Accepted File Formats: We ONLY accept:
  • Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx)
  • PDF (.pdf)
  • (Note: Apple Pages, Google Docs links, or .txt files are NOT accepted).
• Maximum File Size: The file limit for all uploads is 2 MB.
  • Advice: If your file is too large, it is likely because you have included high-resolution images. Please compress them or convert the document to PDF to reduce the size.

4. GRADING POLICY: PASS / REFERRAL

To reflect the nature of vocational training, we do not award grades (A, B, C). We operate a Pass / Referral system.

• PASS: The work demonstrates a solid understanding of the topic, is written clearly, meets the word count, and shows pastoral sensitivity.
• REFERRAL (FAIL): The work is unsatisfactory. This may be due to:
  • Significant theological errors without justification.
  • Poor effort / Insufficient length.
  • Incoherent writing / Excessive grammar errors.
  • Plagiarism.

5. THE “SECOND ATTEMPT” RULE

If your assignment is marked as a Referral (Fail):

1. Feedback: Your Mentor/Grader will provide specific feedback on why it failed and what is missing.
2. One Retake: You will be allowed one (1) opportunity to rewrite and resubmit the assignment.
3. Final Decision: If the second attempt is also a Fail, you will fail that specific module. Repeated failure of modules may trigger a review of your candidacy by the Rector.

THE PRE-SUBMISSION CHECKLIST

Before you hit “Upload,” ask yourself:

1. [ ] Is this my own work?
2. [ ] Have I credited my sources?
3. [ ] Did I spell-check this?
4. [ ] Did I actually answer the specific question asked in the prompt?
5. [ ] Does this reflect the theology of the AOCM?