Demystifying the Art of Article Review: A Comprehensive Guide

An article format gives scholars or students a chance to examine and assess other people’s work in a particular area. Most times, experts review the works of their associates for precision, uniqueness, and contribution to the area of study.

As you answer the questions “what is an article review ?” and “how to write one,” you should comprehend the depth of assessment and evaluation that your professor is looking for.

What is an Article Review

This kind of professional writing requires a high level of in-depth scrutiny and a well-organized presentation of claims. It is a crucial, helpful assessment of literature in a specific area/field through classification, summary, analysis, and comparison.

Suppose you are writing a scientific review; you must use database searches to describe the investigations. Your main goal is, to sum up, everything and present a clear comprehension of the topic you have been working on.

Writing Involves:

• Summarization, categorization, scrutiny, critiques, and comparison.
• The analysis, evaluation, and comparison involve using theories, ideas, and research relevant to the article’s subject area.
• It is worth bearing in mind that a review does not give new information but rather presents a response to another author’s work.
• Look at other samples to acquire a better understanding of how to review an article.

Types of Review

Journal Article Review

Just like all other reviews, a journal article review assesses the strengths and weaknesses of a publication. A professional writer should provide the reader with an analysis and explanation that portrays the article’s value.

Research Article Review

A research article review is different from a journal article review because it evaluates the research method used and holds the information in retrospect to analysis and critique.

Science Article Review

A science article review entails anything in the field of science. Usually, scientific publications incorporate more information on the background that you can use to analyze the publication at length.

Formatting an Article Review

The article’s format must always adhere to the requirements of your instructor. To complete the formatting of an article review adequately, seek clarity from your professor on his/her preferred format. Also, ask for some other pointers that could assist you in handling your article review successfully.

How Many Publications Should You Review?

• In what format should you cite your article ( MLA, APA, ASA, Chicago, etc.)?
• How long should your review be?
• Should you incorporate a summary, critique, or personal opinion in your work?
• Does your professor require background information?
• Are you required to call attention to a theme or central idea within the articles?

Once you know the answers to these questions, you may begin writing your assignment. Here are examples of APA and MLA formats since they are the most used citation styles. Check out how to format in MLA to get a better understanding of how to cite your article review.

Questions about article review

Using the APA Format

Articles mostly emerge in academic journals, newspapers, and websites. Suppose you write an article review in the APA format; you will need to add bibliographical entries for the sources you use:

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

Using MLA Format

• Web: Last, First name, Middle Initial. “Publication Title.” Website Title. Website Publisher, Date Month Year Published. Web. Date Month Year Accessed.
• Newspaper: Last, First name, Middle name Initial, e.g. (Danhof, Clarence H.) “Publication Title.” Newspaper Title [City] Date, Month, Year Published: Page (s). Print.
• Journal: Last, First name, Middle name Initial. “Publication Title.” Journal Title Series Volume. Issue ( Year Published): Database Name. Web. Date Month Year it was Accessed.

The Pre-Writing Process

Tackling this type of paper for the first time can be complicated and make you uncertain of where to start. To create an outstanding article review, commence with a few preparatory steps. Below are the main two stages of getting you started:

Step 1: Outline the appropriate organization for your review. Distinguishing the future structure of your paper will assist you in defining how you should read the article:

• Summarize the article- Look for the primary points, ideas, claims, and general information presented in the article.
• Describe the positive points- Identify the strong aspects, ideas, and insightful observations the author has made.
• Identify the gaps- Find out whether or not the author has any contradictions, gaps, or conflicts in the article and assess whether or not he or she used an adequate amount of arguments and information to support his or her opinions.
• Detect unanswered questions- lastly, find out if there are any questions left unanswered after reading the text.

Step 2: Move on and review the article. Below is a short and simple guide to assist you to do it right:

• Begin by looking at and analyzing the title of the article, its abstract, introductory part, headings, and subheadings, opening sentences in its paragraphs, and its conclusion.
• First, read only the start and the ending of the piece ( introduction and conclusion). These are the sections where writers incorporate the primary claims and points. Hence, if you begin with reading these parts, it will give you a great understanding of the author’s key points.
• Lastly, read the article in full.

The pre-writing process mostly consists of these three steps. Once you are done with them, you can begin to write your article review. We are going to guide you through the writing process as well.

Let’s move straight to the outline and Template.

Outline and Template

As you continue to read the article, arrange your ideas into cogent sections in an outline. When reading, write down essential facts, contributions, or contradictions. Find out the limitations and strengths of your publication. Start to map your outline accordingly.

In case your instructor doesn’t want a summary section or a personal critique section, you should remove those parts in your work. Just like any other papers, an article review comprises an introduction, body, and conclusion. Therefore you might consider separating your outline based on these sections and the subheadings within the body. Seek out a sample outline if you find yourself troubled with the pre-writing and brainstorming process.

Your article must encompass these constituent parts:

• Pre-title page: List the type of article you are reviewing, the title of the publication, all the authors who contributed to it, author’s affiliations ( position, department, institute, city, state, country, email address).
• Optional corresponding author details: name, address, phone number, email, and fax number.
• Summary page:  This can be optional, depending on the requirements of your instructor. The summary should be a maximum of 800 words long. Use non-technical and upfront language. Do not repeat the text literally or give references in this section. 1. Give a relevant background 2. Explain why the work was done 3. Summarize the outcomes and describe the method.
• Title page: Title in full, abstract (250 words) followed by keywords (4-6 words).
• Introduction
• Body: Incorporate headings and subheadings
• Works Cited/References
• Optional Suggested Reading Page
• Tables and Figure Legends (if instructed by the professor).

Steps for Writing an Article Review

Below are guidelines of how to write a review paper:

Step 1: Write the Title

First and foremost, you should write a title that reflects the primary emphasis of your work. The title can either be interrogative, descriptive, or declarative.

Step 2:  Cite the Article

Secondly, create a suitable citation for the reviewed article and add it following the title. The most crucial thing to remember in this step is the citation style stated by your instructor in the assigned paper requirements. For instance, an article citation in the MLA style should appear as follows:

Author’s last and first name. “The Title of the Article.” Journal’s title and issue (publication date): page (s). Print

Example:

Abraham John. “The World of Dreams.” Virginia Quarterly 60.2 (1991) : 67-125. Print

Step 3:  Article Identification

You need to include the identification of your reviewed article after your citation:

• Title of the article
• Author
• Title of the Journal
• Year of Publication

You should incorporate all this information in the first paragraph of your writing.

Example:

The article, “Well-being and success,” was written by Dennis Shirley and Andy Hargreaves- a professor at Boston College and a director- in 2018.

Step 4: Introduction

The most important part of this type of assignment is how you organize your work. Prior to beginning your writing process, you should create an outline for your assignment or use an article review template to organize your ideas coherently.

• In case you are wondering how to begin an article review, start with an introduction that references the article and your thesis for the review.
• Next is the summary of the primary ideas of the article.
• Highlight the positive facts and aspects introduced in the presentation.
• Critique the publication by identifying gaps, implications, contradictions, unanswered questions, and disparities in the text.

Step 5: Summarize the Article

Revisit what the writer has written about to be able to make a summary of the article. This includes any relevant facts and findings from the article. Incorporate the author’s conclusion in this section.

Step 6: Critique it

Describe the strengths and weaknesses you identified in the publication. Point out the knowledge the author has contributed to that specific area of study. Additionally, include any gaps and contradictions you found in the article. Take a stance of either backing up or not backing up the writer’s statements, but supporting your claims with facts and relevant concepts applicable to that area of knowledge. Rubrics and templates can help evaluate and grade the author of the article.

Step 7: Craft a Conclusion

In this section, reassess the crucial points of your work, your finding in the article, and your critique. Additionally, write about the accuracy, validity, and significance of the outcomes of the article review. Introduce a way forward for future research in the field of study. Below are pointers worth noting before submitting your work:

• When reading the article, highlight the primary points. This will assist you in identifying the article’s key arguments and the proof they used to support the idea.
• As you write your review, use evidence from your sources to create a point. Using quotation marks is the best way of doing this.
• Choose quotes and supporting evidence adequately and use direct quotations modestly. Take time to analyze the article sufficiently.
• To avoid accidentally plagiarizing your work, use parenthetical citation each time you reference a publication or use a direct quotation.
• Re-read your text one day after finishing to write it. This will assist you in pinpointing grammar mistakes and noticing any flaws in your organization.
• Use grammar and spell checker to get a second perspective on your paper.

The Post- Writing Process: Proofread Your Work

Finally, proofreading is one of the last things to take care of once all the parts of your article review are set and ready. Despite students regularly neglecting this step, proofreading is a crucial part of any writing process. It will assist you in polishing your paper to make sure that there are no mistakes or inconsistencies.

To proofread your paper correctly, begin with reading it entirely and by checking the following points:

• Grammar
• Punctuation
• Mechanics
• Other mistakes

Then, find out whether or not there is unnecessary data in the paper and remove it. Finally, check the points you talked about in your work; ensure you discuss at least 3-4 main ideas.

Example of An Article Review

You may wonder why we have dedicated a whole section of this article to touch on an article review sample. Many of you might fail to know that looking through some solid examples of review articles is a vital step for your writing process, and we will explain why.

Looking through relevant articles can benefit you in the following ways:

• To assist you in finding solid references and claims for your review.
• To assist you in finding the primary people involved in a specific realm of science.
• To get a clear idea of how to write an article review.
• To assist you in gaining a better understanding of your area of study and become an expert in this particular field.
• To assist you in knowing the critical works of scholars and professionals in your field.
• To assist you in revealing the significant gaps within the existing knowledge of your field, which contributes to identifying new solutions.
• To assist you in generating ideas about any further field of research.
• To help you define what essential discoveries and advances were made in your field.

As discussed earlier, checking through samples can extremely benefit you. Hence, the best way to know how to write this type of paper is by looking for article review examples that match your grade level.