An article review is a critical evaluation of an article. To write an article review, you select and read an article carefully, and summarize the author’s main ideas and research findings. You then provide your own evaluation and critique based on your analysis of the article and your knowledge of the topic. For reference, your review (the entire assignment) should be about 2–3 pages, double–spaced (5-8 paragraphs).
Understand the Assignment
- For this assignment, you will choose your own empirical, peer-reviewed article discussing psychological research published within the last 3 years. Remember what is meant by “empirical” (must include research conducted by the authors, not a literature review or meta-analysis). Take care to select an article that is of a topic that you have some understanding of and does not include methodology that you do not understand (e.g., neuroscientific methods like fMRI or EEG). You should have received “approval” of your article with your final project proposed article assignment.
Step 2 – Read the article
- Readthrough the article a minimum of 2 times, however reading the article more times, with time between readings to think, will allow you to think more critically about the research.
Step 3 – Evaluate the article
Establish the research context
- What is the purpose of this research? How does it relate to existing research?
- Does the author identify existing literature on the subject? How does this relate to the authors’ hypotheses and methodology?
- What are the implications for further study?
Judge the success or failure of the article
- Does the author identify the limitations of the study? How appropriate are they?
- Do you notice any other shortcomings, biases, or flaws?
- Does the author argue the thesis successfully?
Step 4 – Plan and write
Plan your first draft
- Remember, the body of an article review ordinarily consists of two parts: a summary of the article, and your critique of the article.
- List the points to include in your summary of the article.
- Outline your arguments concerning the success or failure of the article. For help see Two ways to create an outline.
- Develop a draft thesis statement. Your thesis should focus on whether or not the authors met their stated purpose. For more information see Thesis statements.
Write your first draft
- Write your critical analysis of the article. Be sure to evaluate the source and convey your own original impressions of the research.
- Write the introduction, article summary, and conclusion.
- Remember that your paper is an argumentative style paper. Provide your thesis, and use subsequent paragraph to provide support for that thesis. Be sure to always refer back to your thesis.
- Check out these strategies for Writing a first draft.
Step 5 – Revise and plan
Revise your draft
- Read it carefully and look for high–order problems first. [Tip: print out your review and work from a hard copy.]
- Does your argument flow logically?
- Do you support your arguments with relevant evidence?
- Do you present your material in the best order?
- For help with these issues, check out tips for revision.
- Narrow your focus to paragraph-level issues such as flow and transitions. See Transition words for help.
Proofread and format
- Last step! Read carefully to catch all those small errors. Here are some tips on Proofreading strategies.
- Make sure your paper adheres to the conventions of the style you’re using. Think about titles, margins, page numbers, reference lists, and citations