Select a passage in the religious text that poses interesting problems or questions. It may be a well-known passage that has been interpreted many times in the exegetical literature or it may be a more obscure passage. If you are doing an exegetical study of a popular passage, focus on providing a new angle or interesting point of view.
Carefully study and analyze the passage and write down a list of the key words, word-patterns and phrases, themes and topics used in the text. Read the passage in several translations, as well as in the original language. Different translations may help provide different points of emphasis in the text, as well as providing multiple perspectives through which to interpret the text.
Pay attention to literary, historical, social and theological contexts of the the passage. Biblical exegesis makes use of multiple contexts to better understand and interpret a passage. For example, the prophets in the Old Testament, such as Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Amos, are typically regarded as commenting on the contemporary political context of their day as well as prefiguring the political climate of the New Testament at the time of Jesus.
Develop your own interpretation of the passage. The goal of an exegetical paper is to say something original and interesting about the passage in question. Outline the basic ideas for your interpretation, such as the primary topics or issues raised by the passage, the manner and style in which the passage addresses the issues, how it relates to other parts of scripture as a whole, and your concluding thoughts about the passage. For example, the passage may be clear and definitive or it may be vague and ambiguous. It may answer some questions but pose other questions that remained unanswered.
Write the paper using your outline as a guide. The exegetical paper should have an introductory section that states the thesis of the paper and that includes an outline of the passage, a main body that presents the different stages of the analysis and a conclusion that summarizes the main points of the paper.