Article Review Assignment?
You are likely to come across an article review assignment in different fields.
Just like a book review, an article critique, or a movie review, an article review focuses on a specific work.
The purpose of such a review is usually to introduce you to the works of different experts in the respective filed.
Based on its purpose, the article review assignment writing process slightly deviates from other assignments like essays.
Before you begin the review process, it is important to note that one of the basics on how to write an article review entails acquiring a clear understanding of what is an article review.
What is an Article Review?
So what is an article review?
An article review can be defined simply as:
A specialized writing form that requires the reviewer to engage with a scholarly source by reporting its key findings, claims, positions, or ideas, and the reasoning behind the ideas.
Deriving from the above definition, to ensure an accurate summation of the article, you have to understand its key points and arguments.
Accordingly, good skills on how to write an article review focuses on logical evaluation of the article in three key areas, including:
1. Main theme,
2. Supporting arguments, and
3. Further research implications
For this reason, although understanding the usual steps to essay writing is important, you will require other sets of writing skills when executing an article review.
Such skills should correspond to the different tasks entailed in the article review process, including summarizing and critiquing.
This makes the article review assignment an elaborate endeavor that demands key analytical and summation skills.
Navigating through this endeavor will require the use of essential tools like an appropriate article review template.
Such a template is as elaborated below.
Article Review Template
A good template is critical when it comes to how to write an article review.
Such a template encompasses key areas as illustrated below.
Article Tile:
Author(s):
Journal:
Publication Information: Date, Volume and Issue, Page Numbers
Information of the Publisher: Publisher and City, if available.
Keywords: In this, you should include keywords on the major topics covered in the article.
Keywords in the article review template should entail the different words that could be used to search a database of the article under review as well as other related articles.
Reviewer: This entails the person doing the article review assignment.
Introduction
This entails an introduction to the article.
It should be short and concise, about 2 sentences in length.
The introduction should briefly explain the relevance of the review or what made you review the article.
Abstract and Overview
The abstract is one of the more important areas to pay attention when it comes to how to write an article review.
The area demands adequate attention.
This is because it entails a concise summary of the article, which makes it a prominent part of the article review template.
The abstract should be a single paragraph that ranges between 100 and 150 words.
Analysis and Synthesis
This is considered the actual “meat” when it comes to how to write an article review.
The questions to ask and answer in this section include:
1. What are the article’s most significant conclusions?
2. What do you view as the article’s most significant aspects?
3. How does the entailed conclusions or aspects inform you or your project?
4. What were the important things you learned from the project?
5. What points in the article do you agree or disagree with and why?
6. What conclusions or implications are the most significant?
This section requires paragraphs that are well-developed, succinct, direct and with sound arguments advancing your position.
Implications
This is also an important area to adequately consider when it comes to how to write an article review.
Implications encompass the concluding punch lines for your article review.
It should be as a short paragraph as possible.
When possible, it should be in the bullets list form.
Article Review Format
Formatting is another area to give adequate attention to.
It reflects on an individual’s skills on how to write an article review.
Note that there is no one particular conventional article review format.
The format to use is usually dictated by the provided instructions.
That noted, common article review formats should adhere respective formatting styles.
Such styles include:
1. APA
For the APA, the article review format should adhere to the APA style.
This would require the article review to pay emphasis on areas such as the first page, headings and subheadings, in-text citations, and references.
2. MLA
This is another style that could be adopted for the article review format.
The referencing style is different to the APA style in various aspects and should therefore consider all the relevant areas, including title page, headings, page numbers, etc.
3. Harvard
Proficiency in the use of this style is important.
Its understanding good skills on how to write an article review.
Although close to the APA style than the MLA, this style gives the article a totally different format.
You should therefore familiarize yourself with the style’s key areas of formatting.
How to Write an Article Review
The process of writing an article review can be categorized into two distinctive phases.
These phases are:
1. Preparation
2. Writing
Preparation Phase
These are the preliminary steps on how to write an article review.
They are:
1. Brainstorming the Article Review Organization
This is considered the first step on how to write an article review.
You should brainstorm even before you start the reading the article.
Such brainstorming should entail deliberating on how the article review will be organized.
This organization would consider factors likes:
1. Summary of the article: This entails the important claims, information, and points to focus on.
2. Article’s positives: This involves determining where the author excels, good points made, and perceptive observations made.
3. Contradictions and gaps: This encompasses identifying inconsistencies in the article by determining whether adequate data has been used to support claims made.
2. Previewing the Article
This should be the second step when it comes to how to write an article review.
It entails scanning through the key parts of the article, including:
1. Title
2. Abstract
3. Introduction
4. Headings
5. Paragraphs’ topic sentences
6. Conclusion
This scanning is meant to help develop an idea on the author’s key points and line of argument.
The scanning should be followed by a complete reading.
Note that the first reading should intend to give you the whole idea about the article.
A good example of an article review writing should therefore focus on two things during this reading.
These things are:
1. Taking notes of issues and phrases you do not understand.
2. Finding the meaning of concepts and terms you do not understand.
3. Reading the Article Closely
This step involves reading the article keenly and thoroughly.
You should highlight the key points and the facts that support them.
The highlighting should be supported with relevant notes.
This reading should achieve two things that are:
1. Contextualizing the article: This entails finding the place of the article within the greater knowledge on the topic.
It involves knowledge from class and other readings.
2. Finding the article’s meaning: This involves gaining a full understanding of the article.
4. Creating an Evaluation Outline
As an important step on how to write an article review, creating an outline entails filling three key areas of the review.
These areas are:
1. The article’s purpose
2. Definition of central concepts
3. Adequacy of the evidence
In filling these areas, you should generate points on:
1. Cases of good writing in the article
2. New contributions
3. Areas that require improvement
4. List of strengths and weakness
In a good example of an article review, strengths could look at clarity in the summation of an issue, while weaknesses may entail lack of solutions or novel information.
Writing Phase
This phase on how to write an article review involves compiling the review into one coherent work.
It is defined by numerous steps as expounded below.
1. Generating the Title
This step entails coming up with a fitting title for the article review.
In this, the title should aligned to the focus of your review.
You have to decide between three categories of titles that include.
1. Descriptive title
2. Declarative title
3. Interrogative title
2. Citing the Article
This is the next step on how to write an article review.
It requires you to place a proper citation of the article under review.
A good example of an article review should contain a citation in a particular citation style.
It is important to note that the citation should be followed immediately by the next sentence in the review, without skipping a line.
Example of an article review citation in APA may appear like: Morrison, J. C. (2017). Best Practices in Creative Advertising and Marketing. International Review of Management and Marketing, 4, (3), 239-246.
3. Identifying the Article
This is another important step.
It demands that you refer to the article’s title and author, journal’s title, and its publication year at the beginning of the review, within the first paragraph.
Example of an article review identification may look like: “Best Practices in Creative Advertising and Marketing,” was written by Morrison Jack, a former CEO in three IT companies.
4. Writing the Introduction
This another key step on how to write an article review.
The introduction should contain:
1. Identification sentence
2. Article’s central themes
3. Author’s claims and arguments
4. Author’s thesis
The introduction should be concise, where it should not be more than a paragraph.
You should state your thesis at the end of the introduction.
5. Summarizing the Article
This step entails articulating you main findings, points, and arguments in your own words.
This should be summarized into concise paragraphs that illustrate how the article has supported its claims.
The article’s conclusions should be included in the summary.
While summarizing the article, you should avoid excessive use of direct quotes from the article.
You should go through the summary severally to ensure that your words accurately describe the article being reviewed.
6. Writing the Critique
This is considered the heart of an article review writing process.
You are required to exhibit exemplary skills on how to write an article review.
Such skills including effective critiquing.
In this, you should employ the opinions you generated in the outline to explore how effectively the author has addressed the topic.
Your opinions should examine whether the article was:
1. Clear
2. Thorough
3. Effective in explaining the subject
You should also examine the contribution of the article to the field.
The article’s main points and arguments should be examined to determine if the points advanced by the author help support the argument(s).
You should also look for any potential biases.
As well, you should determine whether you agree with the author or not and give your reasons why.
Lastly, you should propose the appropriate audience for the article.
When critiquing, you should:
1. Use evidence derived from the article and other texts to support the critique
2. For each opinion, use a topic sentence and supporting evidence.
3. Align the critique to the author’s argument identified in the summary.
7. Concluding the Review
This is the last step on how to write an article review.
Concluding should be done in one paragraph.
The conclusion should:
1. Provide a summary of the article’s main points
2. Summarize your opinions on the article’s significance, clarity, and accuracy
3. Provide further research implication where relevant