Learning and Teaching Unit
An article review analyses one or several articles so that readers can decide whether the article/s is useful to them. The review:
You will be told the required word length. They are often set as early assessment as a way of introducing you to the literature in your field of study. They require you to show your knowledge of the content area, your ability to understand and interpret what you read and your writing skills. You may or may not be required to refer to other literature, so check the requirements in the course outline.
You are typically required to:
or
Article reviews have three main parts or stages
The summary and critique follow one another without subheadings. More information about summarising and critiquing is given below.
Steps in writing an article review:
Be clear about your purpose so that you can read with useful questions in mind.
Brainstorming the topic can be a good starting point before you start your detailed reading. Jot down all you know about the topic and your questions about it. Have alternative views been presented on this topic? This process can identify the strengths and gaps in your knowledge and it may prompt questions to guide your reading of the article and any wider reading.
The following questions might be helpful:
Some of these questions will be addressed through your wider reading on the topic.
Your notes on the main article/s should include an outline of the author’s argument and the structure of the overall article/s. This will forms the basis of your summary. Note the relevant bibliographic details about all sources (author, date, title, publisher etc).
Assume your audience is interested in your assessment of the article/s.
Provide the required bibliographic information at the beginning: author, title, year of publication, name and number of journal. This tells the reader that you are writing about a particular article by a particular author.
A good summary demonstrates that you understood the article well. In the summary you provide readers with:
The critique is your evaluation of the article. Critique each of the points in your summary so your critique mirrors the organisation of the summary. You need to be explicit about your reasons for your claims of strength and weakness. Present the evidence that influenced you. For example if you consider that the author had a biased view, you need to provide examples of bias from the article.
It may be appropriate to offer recommendations. For example you may decide that the article has valuable ideas but they are difficult to find because the article is not well organised. You might want to recommend another author’s work on the same topic. You can do this as long as you support your point of view. This enables your readers to make their own decisions about the article in the light of the evidence that you have presented.
You need to allow time for revision between the completing the first draft and the final version. Some students find it useful to seek comments on their first draft. You could ask someone whether:
Note that your assignment has to represent your work—in seeking feedback you should not ask another person to amend or rewrite any part of your work, but you can use their comments as a basis for refining your work.
Use feedback from previous assignments to inform your current work. Staff may indicate your strengths and weaknesses—make use of the feedback that you receive.
If you are writing your first article review, read a review that someone else has written. Most professional journals have a review section where you can read published reviews on issues relevant to your studies. See the journals recommended by your lecturer or use the Library to locate relevant periodicals.
When you look at a review that could serve as a model, consider the review’s purpose, structure, organisation, and use of language. What does it set out to do and how well does it do it?
