Analysis covers six primary categories: Individuals, Geographical Locations, Questions, Exclamations, Parenthetical Statements, and Old Testament Scriptures. Within analysis questions, you have book, chapter, section, and verse-question variations. Once you master the material, hitting these questions can be extraordinarily simple if you understand the different ways they are asked.
Mastering the material is pretty straightforward on analysis, but there are a couple things to keep in mind. Most importantly, quizzers must study these items as separate lists. It does not work to try to pick through the memorized verses and identify the answers, unless you are only looking for one or two. In every Scripture Portion (both with and without concordance), the analysis material is found in the back. Quizzers should memorize these in lists for each chapter.
After memorizing the chapter lists, they aren’t done. They also need to be sure they can identify the verses by reference, as well as knowing the section breaks, and which items are found in each section. The section analysis can usually be a subset of the chapter lists, while the references should be part of the quoting process anyway.
The final key for knowing analysis material is to know the number of parts for each answer. Quizzers need to know how many of each item there are in each section and chapter, because this is the key to early interruption.
After quizzers know all this information, they still need to know how to hit the questions. There are a few variations, which we’ll discuss below.
Verse Analysis Questions
for 10 Points. Mark 2:13 names which individual?
These questions are the most common analysis questions that are asked, because the options are so plentiful. These will come in as 10s, 20s, and even 30s, depending on the length of the answer. It should be fairly obvious, but quizzers want to hit these on the reference. Now, sometimes there will be multiple-part questions or answers, so it’s important to know all of the analysis that is in each verse. Occasionally, the verse will contain both an individual and a question, but the question will not be labeled as a 2-part question. In this case, the point value tells the correct completion. If it’s a 10, the writer wants an individual, location, or a very short answer for one of the other items. If it’s a 20, they are looking for the longer answer.
Section Analysis Questions
for 20 Points. From the section titled, The Calling of Levi. Which question is contained?
This question should be hit on the first word, as the introductory remarks tell you exactly where it’s going. The tricky part of these is usually making sure the quizzer has the knowledge up front. If the quizzer knows the section analysis, these are easy points, because many teams don’t pay attention to this. These are not the most common of questions, but they shouldn’t be neglected.
Chapter and Book Analysis Questions
for 30 Points. 9-part answer. From Mark chapter 2. Which questions are contained?
These are my personal favorite, as well as the questions that can turn a game most quickly. The reason is because these are more often 30s, and, since both teams ought to know them, usually it comes down to speed and accuracy. If your team can dominate these questions, you should come out on top more often than not.
Book analysis questions are exactly like chapter ones, except they obviously cover the whole book. These are rare on gospels, but are fairly common on short books like last year. The trick is identify what can be asked, and make sure you know the number of parts and the answer. Mostly, expect these at Pre-Nats and Nationals.
Practicing Analysis
To practice these questions, I approach it two ways. To help them demonstrate their knowledge, I have them write the answers on the marker board. Usually, I’ll put them on the stopwatch to see how quickly they are getting them (like a marker board, a stopwatch is a great tool for coaches to always keep nearby). A couple tips on this: First, keep score. It helps to set up a little friendly competition amongst your team sometimes, and it lets you know where your potential weak link is. Second, Don’t tell them how many parts there are to the answer, but make them write the number before they start writing the answers (so they don’t go back and count). Third, on long answers (OTs, questions, etc), have them write the first word or two rather than the whole thing.
The other way to practice these is to ask them in question format at the buzzers. Have quizzers practice hitting in the perfect spot. Also, try to have someone else read occasionally to change the cadence up. On first word hits, you don’t want your quizzers pre-responding because they are only used to hearing you. You can also keep score on these.
Analysis is one of the building blocks of Bible Quiz, so if you haven’t ever paid attention to it before, now is the time to start. It can make a huge difference in winning and losing games. Questions? Drop a comment.