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SOC 225 Social Diversity - Miskovich

A critique asks you to evaluate an article and the author’s argument. In this type of paper, you need to look critically at what the author is claiming, evaluate the research methods, and look for possible problems with, or applications of, the researcher’s claims.

In your introduction, give an overview of the author’s main point and how the author supports his or her point. Explain what the author found and describe the process he or she used to arrive at this conclusion. Next, interpret the information from the article; think about the following:
 

  • Evaluate the research methods:

  • Does the author review previous studies? Is current and relevant research used?
  • What type of research was used – empirical studies, anecdotal material, or personal observations?
  • Evaluate the sample. Can you detect any problems with the sample, in size, composition, or in the way the sample was selected in relation to the purpose of the study? For example, was the sample too small to generalize from? Was it composed of all white participants or participants only of one sex, or all of a similar age? Does the way in which volunteers were found influence the results? For instance, volunteers gathered at a health food store might have different attitudes about nutrition than the population at large.
  • How useful does this work seem to you? How does the author suggest the findings could be applied and how do you believe they could be applied?
  • How could the study have been improved in your opinion?
  • Does the author appear to have any biases (related to gender, race, class, or politics)?

  • Is the writing clear and easy to follow? Does the author’s tone add to or detract from the article?

  • How useful are the visuals (such as tables, charts, maps, photographs) included, if any? How do they help to illustrate the argument? Are they confusing or hard to read?
  • What further research might be conducted on this subject?

In your conclusion, try to synthesize the pieces of your critique to emphasize your own main points about the author’s work, relating the researcher’s work to your own knowledge or to topics being discussed in your course.


Center for Academic Excellence, Saint Joseph College https://suu.edu/hss/polscj/mpa/pdf/critiquing_a_research_article.pdf (page no longer exists as of 5/15/17)

A journal article review is written for a reader who is knowledgeable in the discipline and is interested not just in the coverage and content of the article being reviewed, but also in your critical assessment of the ideas and argument that are being presented by the author.

Your review might be guided by the following questions:

Objectives   What does the article set out to do?
Theory   Is there an explicit theoretical framework? If not, are there important theoretical   assumptions?
Concepts   What are the central concepts? Are they clearly defined?
Argument   What is the central argument? Are there specific hypotheses?
Method   What methods are employed to test these?
Evidence   Is evidence provided? How adequate is it?
Values   Are value positions clear or are they implicit?
Literature   How does the work fit into the wider literature?
Contribution   How well does the work advance our knowledge of the subject?
Style   How clear is the author's language/style/expression?
Conclusion   A brief overall assessment.

Adapted from: Academic Skills and Learning Centre (ASLC), The Australian National University

http://www.anu.edu.au/students/learning-development/writing-assessment/critical-reviews

The purpose of a summary is to give the reader a clear, objective picture of the original text. Most importantly, the summary restates only the main points of a text or a lecture without giving examples or details, such as dates, numbers or statistics.

Guidelines for writing a summary of an article:

• State the main ideas of the article.
• Identify the most important details that support the main ideas.
• Write your summary in your own words; avoid copying phrases and sentences from the article unless they’re direct quotations.
• Express the underlying meaning of the article, not just the superficial details.
• Your summary should be about one third of the length of the original article.

Your summary should include:

Introduction
• Start with a summary or overview of the article which includes the author’s name and the title of the article.
• Finish with a thesis statement that states the main idea of the article.
Body Paragraphs
• The number of paragraphs in your summary depends on the length of the original article.
• Your summary should be about one third the length of the original article. For a one-paragraph summary, discuss each supporting point in a separate sentence. Give 1-2 explanations for each supporting point. For a multi-paragraph summary, discuss each supporting point in a separate paragraph.
• Start each body paragraph with a topic sentence.
• Each paragraph focuses on a separate main idea and just the most important details from the article.
• Put the ideas from the essay into your own words. Avoid copying phrases and sentences from the article.
• Use transitional words and phrases to connect ideas.
Concluding Paragraph
• Summarize the main idea and the underlying meaning of the article.
 

Adapted from "Guidelines for Writing a Summary" by Christine Bauer-Ramazani, Saint Michael's College.

http://academics.smcvt.edu/cbauer-ramazani/AEP/EN104/summary.htm