There are several types of introductory remarks. First, you have locators. This will narrow down the question and answer to a specific section, chapter or book. Second, you have “question” modifiers. These tell you what kind of question is going to be asked. Third, you have “answer” modifiers. These tell you how you have to give your answer.
Question modifiers
Two-Part Question, Three-Part Question, Etc.
This introductory remark tells you that the question has two parts. Unless used in conjunction with a multiple part answer, there must be exactly as many answers as there are questions. An example of a Two Part Question is the following question from 1 Cor 1:22:
Jews demand what, and Greeks look for what?
Most of the time, the multiple parts of the question are somewhat related. For instance, if you interrupt this question after the first part, the logical completion is to play off the comparison Paul makes between Jews and Greeks. Similarly, a writer could ask:
Who demand miraculous signs and who look for wisdom?
Most writers will never ask something like the following:
Jews demand what and who look for wisdom?
These questions don’t go well together. When you complete these questions, try to remember the analogies that you have to do on standardized tests.
Quotation Question
These questions require the quizzer to give the verse perfectly. That means you cannot add, subtract, modify or change any word. You cannot say “Um” in the middle. You can’t stutter in the middle of a word and start it over again. There are typically two ways to ask these:
Quote the eighth verse from the opening chapter.
Here you are asked to quote by reference. Sometimes writers will put the chapter in the introductory remarks. There are technical reasons for doing so, but they are irrelevant now.
Quote the verse in which Apollos is named.
Here you are asked to quote based on the information in the verse. Writers can also ask you to quote sentences or similar things. You can use this remark in conjunction with multiple part questions. For instance, the following would have the introductory remark “Two Part Quotation Question. From Mark Chapter 1.”
Quote verses 8 and 9.
In this case, you can give the verses in any order you want. Also, if the chapter is given in the question instead of in the introductory remarks, it no longer needs to be a multiple part question as long as the verses demanded are consecutive.
Quotation Completion Question
The following is an example of a quotation completion question from 1 Cor 1:
Finish this verse, quote, “Therefore, as it is written…”
The rules state that you must start at the beginning of a verse in this case. The rules also state that the first word must be sufficient to differentiate the answer based on the material the question is asked from. In this case, no other verse of 1 Cor 1 begins with the word “Therefore”, so this question is valid. However, if the first word of the verse I demand is “For”, it is invalid, since verses 17, 18, 19, 21 and 25 begin with that word. However, if the question narrows it down to the section “Divisions in the Church”, it is valid.
You may also be asked to quote more than one verse. For instance:
Finish this verse, and the two which follow, quote, “Jews demand…”
Besides asking for verses, writers can ask you to finish a sentence, an Old Testament Scripture, etc.
Essence Question
The only difference between these questions and quotation questions is that you are no longer required to give the verse perfectly. This means you must only give, in essence, the phrases, clauses and keywords. It is up to the quizmaster and judges to determine if your answer is “in essence”. Leaving out a phrase is not a good idea. Replacing it with your own words is usually fine. In questions, the word “Quote” is usually replaced with “Give, in essence,”.
Essence Completion Question
As with Essence Questions, the only difference between these and quotation completion questions is that you can now give the answer in essence. The question looks exactly the same as a quotation completion completion.
Scripture Text Question
These questions involve a preamble, then the word “quote”, then a direct quotation from the Scripture. For instance, the following is from 1 Cor 1:1:
Who was a, quote, “apostle of Christ Jesus?”
If you interrupt one of these before the “quote”, you do not need to say “quote” when you finish the question. The rules state that the Scripture text must come from the verse, the previous verse or the following verse from which the answer comes.
Statement and Question
A statement and question is exactly what the name implies. For example:
First Corinthians was written by two people. Who are they?
Most good writers make it so that these questions may be interrupted by the time the statement is complete.
Application Question
These are provided in advance each year from NYM. The questions and answers are given in advance and the idea is to teach doctrinal knowledge. Please visit biblequiz.ag.org for more information.
Answer Modifiers
Two-(Three-,etc-) Part Answer
As the name implies, this is used to demand you to give multiple answers. For instance, the following is a three part answer from 1 Cor 1:13:
First Corinthians 1:13 contains which questions?
There is no analogous introductoy remark to reference questions. It is valid for a question to be labeled as a multiple part answer and have the answers come from all across the book.
Give A Complete Answer
This is used when the answer the writer wants has multiple clauses, phrases or key words. Unless used with other introductory remarks, the answer must come from a single verse. Consider the following question from 1 Cor 1:10:
What appeal did Paul make to the Corinthians?
Here, you do not necessarily have to give all of verse 10 to be counted correct. This is not a quotation question, so you must only give the answer in essence. Moreover, the way this question was asked does not have to demand “in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” as part of the answer. Typically a writer will underline what they consider to be part of the answer on the question sheet given to the officials. Most of the time it’s best to quote the verse, but you have to be sure that by quoting the verse you aren’t providing incorrect information.
Give Two (Three, etc) Complete Answers
This is exactly like the multiple part answers, but each answer must be a complete answer.
Give A (Two, Three, etc) Complete Answer From Two (Three, etc) consecutive verses.
This type of answer spans multiple verses. For instance, the following question from 1 Cor 1:4-6 could be labeled “Give a Complete Answer From Three Consecutive Verses”
Why did Paul always thank God?
Here, the answer would be the end of verse 4 and all of verses 5 and 6.
The trickiest thing is to see what happens when you mix and match. For instance, see if you can find a question that might be labeled “Two Part Reference Question. Give Four Complete Answers.”