Article Review / CritiqueDo you know how to argue with someone when you disagree with them? If so, you already know how to write a great article review/critique in no time. An article is like something somebody says in a conversation. If you read an article that explains why students should wear school uniforms, for example, maybe you agree or maybe you disagree. Maybe you only partially agree. What do you think – should all students wear uniforms in school? Let's use that as an example and fly through the five easy steps for writing a great article review/critique.
1. Write paragraph one: Explain the article's message.
The first step in writing an article critique is to figure out what the author is saying. It's so easy! You can find out what the author is saying if you read the article's introduction and its conclusion. Write a few sentences to give the name of the article, the author, and the main “message” the author is trying to send. Example: John Thompson's 2011 article “All Students Should Wear School Uniforms” explains the benefits of a school uniform policy and gives examples associated with educational outcomes, social/emotional health, and school safety.
2. Write paragraph two: Explain the article's purpose.
The second step is to dig deeper and be specific about the purpose of the article. Is the author trying to persuade the reader to agree with an idea? Is s/he trying to persuade the reader to do something? Or maybe the author is just trying to inform the reader without trying to persuade. Maybe the purpose is simply to entertain the reader.
You should also be able to tell who the author is trying to persuade or inform. For example, an article about school uniforms may be written for the sake of persuading policy-makers, or it may be written in a way that addresses teenagers about the ways school uniforms can benefit them. The purpose of any article may be to inform, persuade, or entertain a certain audience, so when you write a paragraph about the purpose you should mention the author's intended audience. Example: Thompson's purpose is to persuade all stakeholders – educators, parents, students, and policy-makers – to share his view about the importance of making school uniforms mandatory.
3. Write an incomplete paragraph about each of the author's main points.
Read the article, and look for the first idea or point that author is trying to make in order to support the main idea. Type a few sentences about it, and then hit ENTER a few times to do some line breaks. Repeat this process for every important point made in the article. You do not need to write a complete paragraph -- just the first few sentences. Every time you type some sentences about an idea in the article, do a few line breaks. Example: One example used to support the author's argument is a reference to research evidence that shows improved graduation rates after the implementation of a uniform policies at several schools. The study focused on public schools where uniform policies were put in place between the years of 2002 and 2006.
4. Go back and add a sentence to the end of every paragraph.
Now that you have written about the main idea/message, the purpose, and intended audience, and have written an incomplete paragraph about each of the author's points, go back and add a sentence to the end of every paragraph. This is where you criticize or agree with the author. Going back to the paragraph that begins with a description of improved graduation rates after the implementation of a uniform policy, you might add sentences of critical analysis this way:
Even though improved graduation rates were noticed after the implementation of a uniform policies at the schools included in the research study, one cannot simply conclude that the uniforms were the cause of the improvement. It is possible that the same determination to improve outcomes through the use of a uniform policy also motivated teachers and administrators to make other efforts to improve outcomes. Furthermore, the educators who favored the use of a uniform policy may have tried harder to work toward desirable outcomes after the policy's implementation because they wanted to show that the policy was effective. Improvements observed after the introduction of a uniform policy do not necessarily indicate that uniform policies cause improved outcomes.
Above, you see what is meant by “critical analysis.” You begin each body paragraph of the paper by explaining a point made by the author, and then you complete the paragraph by telling whether you think the it is a good point or not and giving your reasons.
5. Scroll to the top and add a thesis statement to the end of the introduction paragraph, and then scroll to the bottom and write a conclusion paragraph.
Based on the way you critically analyzed – and agreed or disagreed with – the points made in the article, you can come up with one sentence that sums up your opinion about the author's message. This is the thesis statement you add to the end of the first paragraph.
After you write the thesis statement, scroll down to the bottom of the paper you're writing and explain the thesis statement again, using different words, in a conclusion paragraph. The conclusion paragraph can also summarize the main points you made in your paper. Since this is the conclusion of the article you are now reading, I'll now summarize the main points made in this article: