HOW TO WRITE AN ARTICLE REVIEW

An Article Review is a critical, constructive evaluation of literature in a particular field through summary, classification, analysis, and comparison. If it is a scientific review article, it uses database searches to portray the research.

An article review gives scholars or students the opportunity to analyze and evaluate the work of other experts in a given field. Outside of the education system, experts often review the work of their peers for clarity, originality, and contribution to the discipline of study. When answering the question of what is an article review, you must understand the depth of analysis and evaluation that your instructor is seeking.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

What Is An Article Review
Types Of review
Formatting
Pre-Writing Process
Outline
Post-Writing Process
Example

What Is An Article Review

An article review is a type of professional paper writing. It demands a high level of in-depth analysis and a well-structured presentation of arguments. Your primary goal is to review the topic, summarize everything and present a clear understanding of the topic you’ve been working on.

Writing involves:

Summarization, classification, analysis, critiques, and comparison.
The analysis, evaluation, and comparison require use theories, ideas, and research, relevant to the subject area of the article.
It is also worth nothing if a review does not introduce new information, but instead presents a response to another writer’s work.
Check out other samples to gain a better understanding of how to review the article.

Some Types Of Review

Journal

Much like all other reviews, a journal article review evaluates strengths and weaknesses of an article. A qualified paper writer must provide the reader with an analysis and interpretation that demonstrates the article’s value.

Research

A research article review differs from a journal article review by the way that it evaluates the research method used and holds that information in retrospect to analysis and critique.

Science

Scientific article review involves anything in the realm of science. Often, scientific articles include more information on the background that you can use to analyze the article more comprehensively.

Formatting An Article Review

The format of your paper should always adhere to the citation style required by your professor. If you’re not sure, seek clarification on the preferred format and ask him to clarify several other pointers to complete the formatting of an article review adequately.

How many articles should you review?

In what format you should cite your articles (MLA, APA, ASA, Chicago, etc.)?
What length should your review be?
Should you include a summary, critique, or personal opinion in your article?
Do you need to call attention to a theme or central idea within the articles?
Does your instructor require background information?

When you know the answers to these questions, you may start writing your literature review. Below are examples of MLA and APA formats, as those are the two most common citation styles.

Using the APA Format

Articles appear most commonly in academic journals, newspapers, and on websites. If you write an article review in the APA format, you will need to write bibliographical entries for the sources you use. Here’s how to do it:

Web Article: Author [last name], A.A [first and middle initial]. (Year, Month Date of Publication). Article title. Retrieved from {link}
Journal Article: Author [last name], A.A [first and middle initial]. (Publication Year). Article title.Periodical Title, Volume(Issue), pp.-pp.
Newspaper Article: Author [last name], A.A [first and middle initial]. (Year, Month Date of Publication). Article title. Magazine Title, pp. xx-xx.

Using MLA Format

Web Article: Last, First Middle Initial. “Article Title.”Website Title. Website Publisher, Date Month Year Published. Web. Date Month Year Accessed.
Newspaper Article: Last, First M. “Article Title.” Newspaper Title [City] Date, Month, Year Published: Page(s). Print.
Journal Article: Last, First M. “Article Title.” Journal Title Series Volume.Issue (Year Published): Page(s). Database Name. Web. Date Month Year Accessed.

The Pre-Writing Process

Organization in an assignment like this is of utmost importance. Before embarking on your writing process, you could outline your assignment or use an article review template to organize your thoughts more coherently.

Start with an introduction that mentions the article and a thesis for the review
Follows with a summary of the main points of the article
Highlights the positive aspects and facts presented in the article
Critique of the article through identification of gaps, contradictions, disparities in the text, and unanswered questions

Outline And Template

As you progress with reading your article, organize your thoughts into coherent sections in an outline. As you read, jot down important facts, contributions, or contradictions. Identify the shortcomings and strengths of your article. Begin to map your outline accordingly.

If your professor does not want a summary section or a personal critique section, then you must alleviate those parts from your writing. Much like other assignments, an article review must contain an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. Thus you might consider dividing your outline according to these sections as well as subheadings within the body. If you find yourself troubled with the prewriting and the brainstorming process for this assignment, seek out a sample article review outline.

Your article must contain these constituent parts:

Pre-title page: here, you will want to list the type of the article that you are reviewing, the title of the article, all the authors who contributed to the article, author’s affiliations (position, department, institute, city, state, country, email ID)
Optional corresponding author details: name, address, phone number, email and fax number.
Running head: *Only in the APA format. It is the title of your paper shortened to less than 40 characters.
Summary page: Optional, depending on the demands of your instructor. The summary should be maximum 800 words long. Use non-technical and straightforward language. Do not repeat text verbatim or give references in this section. Give 1) relevant background 2) explain why the work was done 3) summarize results and explain the method.
Title page: full title, 250-word abstract followed by “Keywords:” and 4-6 keywords.
Introduction
Body: Include headings and subheadings
Works Cited/References
Optional Suggested reading page
Tables and Figure legends (if instructed by the professor.)

The Post-Writing Process

Summarize the Article

Make a summary of the article by revisiting what the author has written about. Note relevant facts and findings of the article. Include the author’s conclusions in this section.

Critique the Article

Present the strengths and weaknesses that you have found in the article. Besides, highlight the knowledge that the author has contributed to the field. Also, write about the gaps and contradictions in the article. Take a standpoint of either supporting or not with the author’s assertions but back your arguments with facts and relevant theories that are pertinent to the area of knowledge. Rubrics and templates can also be used to evaluate and grade the person reviewing the article.

Crafting a Conclusion

In this section, revisit the critical points of your piece, your findings of the article, and your critique. Also write about the accuracy, validity, and relevance of the results of the article review. Give way forward for future research in the field of study. Before submitting your article, keep these pointers in mind:

As you read your articles, highlight the key points. This will help you pinpoint the article’s main argument and the evidence that they use to support that argument.
While you write your review, use evidence from your sources to make a point. This is best done using direct quotations.
Select quotes and supporting evidence adequately and use direct quotations sparingly. Take a lot of time to analyze your articles.
Every time you reference an article or use a direct quotation use a parenthetical citation to avoid accidentally plagiarizing your article.
Re-read your piece a day after you finished writing it. This will help you spot grammar mistakes and see any flaws in the organization.
Use spell-check or get a second opinion on your paper.

Example Of An Article Review

The best way to learn how to write this kind of paper is to look for an article review example online that matches your grade level. Here is a college-level article review sample.

DOWNLOAD

Article Review