Article Review Guidelines

If your assignment is to find an article (online, magazine, newspaper) read it and write a review of that article, use the following as a template to develop an outline for your review. Do not use the section labels to write your review.  You will need to turn in a copy of the article to get full credit.

Introduction

Ÿ Identify the author, the title, and ( if informative) the place of publication

Ÿ State the author’s purpose [You can choose from the following]:

Inform, Instruct, Reflect, Speculate, Entertain, Persuade, Convince, Reform, Revise, Explain, Clarify

Ÿ Explain what the author is trying to do with the purpose you identified

Ÿ State the author’s theme that deals with norms, principles, beliefs, values relating to culture or our human condition

Ÿ State the author’s main idea

Development (Body)

Ÿ Briefly summarize in no more than two paragraphs the major ideas that support the author’s main idea

Ÿ Choose at least three ideas you think are most important to developing the author’s purpose and theme

Ÿ Respond to the author’s ideas by using your answers to the questions on the Criteria for Evaluating Reasoning guide (the more answers you use, the fuller your response)
Consider especially:

Is the theme clearly stated and developed? In what ways? If not, why not?

Do the author’s ideas adequately and clearly develop and support the theme and main idea?

What does the author do to achieve this unity, coherence, and development?

Are the author’s ideas provocative? Do the author’s ideas lead you to reflect, to respond emotionally? On what do you reflect?  What has the author done to make you reflect?

Conclusion

Ÿ What did you learn from this source?

Ÿ What did you learn from this analysis?

Ÿ What would you consider telling others about what the author said, about how the author presented the ideas?

Documentation

Place the complete publishing information for your source at the end of your paper.

CRITERIA FOR EVALUATING REASONING

Purpose

Is the purpose well-stated?

Is the purpose clear and justifiable?

Question

Is the question at issue well-stated?

Is the question clear and unbiased?

Does the expression of the question do justice to the complexity of the matter at issue?

Are the question and purpose directly relevant to each other?

Information

Does the writer cite relevant evidence, experiences, and/or information essential to the issue?

Is the information accurate?

Does the writer address the complexities of the issue?

Concepts

Does the writer clarify key concepts when necessary?

Are the concepts used justifiably?

Assumptions

Does the writer show sensitivity to what the he/she is taking for granted or assuming?

(Insofar as those assumptions might reasonably be questioned)

Inferences

Does the writer develop a line of reasoning which explains well how he/she is arriving at the his/her main conclusions?

Point of View

Does the writer show sensitivity to alternative relevant points of view or lines of reasoning?

Does the writer consider and respond to objections framed from other relevant points of view?

Implications

Does the writer show sensitivity to the implications and consequences of the position the he/she is taking?