The context: I use this strategy in an introductory course on the Old Testament. The course is part of the general education program at a Christian university. The pedagogical purpose: The purpose of this tactic is to engage students directly with significant life questions that the Old Testament repeatedly addresses. With this pedagogy, students not only develop the intellectual habits/skills of close reading, analytic and synthetic writing, and text-based dialogue, they also see how the Old Testament adds its voice to the discussion of these big questions. Description of the strategy: On the first day of class students are introduced to the three big questions the course will address: Who is God and what is God like? What does it mean to be human? and How do God and humans relate? The students then think for a minute, write a one-sentence response to one of the questions, and share and explain their answers. Next, in the first week, students write a short thought paper on Genesis 1–3 explaining how these chapters address the big questions. This paper serves as the prompt for a seminar discussion. Finally, the students write a major paper that addresses one of the big questions. They develop this paper in stages: (1) they pick one of the big questions and, while reading the assigned Old Testament passages, note relevant and significant texts; (2) they write an annotated list of several texts from each part of the Old Testament canon and a few secondary, scholarly sources that can be used to answer the question; and (3) they create a formal outline or rough draft of the paper and meet with me individually to discuss the paper's thesis, texts, interpretations, argumentation, and use of secondary sources. Finally, the students hand in the final draft during the last week and have a culminating seminar discussion on these questions based on the Old Testament. Why it is effective: This strategy succeeds for three reasons. First, it hooks students into the course with perennial questions, existential issues that students – whatever their creed and major – want and need to wrestle with as young adults. Second, it gives students a golden thread that helps them analyze individual passages and synthesize the Old Testament canon. Third, by giving students time to read, write, and talk about a few questions throughout the course, they can reflect on and refine their understanding of and thoughts on these big questions.