What is an Article Review?
An article review is a common academic assignment where you summarize and assess another person’s article. In this type of assignment, you read a specific article, evaluate it critically, and write your observations in the review.
The main purpose of writing the article review is to:
- Explore the strong and weak points
- Highlight the main methodologies
- Provide a critical evaluation
- Help clarify questions
- Explain the current state of knowledge
A review of an article should not provide new information. Instead, it explores and evaluates the work done by another writer to help you make up your mind on whether or not this piece is worth reading in its entirety.
Moreover, thinking analytically and critically is a must when working on such an assignment. This task can be more difficult than it looks, but success comes with practice.
How to Write an Article Review?
Creating a well-written article review is not easy, but you can do it with some steps. To create an informative and engaging work for your audience, you should follow the below-mentioned steps.
1. Preparation
You need to know what type of review is right for your article. This will make it easier for you to read and understand it.
Below are some main stages that help you get started.
- Read the article. Make notes or highlight the main sections.
- Summarize the main ideas, arguments, findings, and positions.
- Identify the strong claim.
- Critique the article contributes to the field.
- Examine the title, abstract, introduction, headings, and conclusion.
Remember these stages in your mind and start writing your review.
2. Create an Outline
Review each item in the article summary to determine whether it was accurate and clear. Get back to your notes and preliminary outline to see what you include in your review. Then, create an outline and organize all the information you need to add to your review.
3. Write the Title
The title of your review should reflect the main focus. You can either use an interrogative, descriptive, or declarative title to attract readers’ attention and make them want more information about what you're writing about.
4. Cite the Article
Now, place the citation in the proper format. Consider the style your professor recommends; this will help you avoid future problems.
5. Identify the Article
In this step, you should include the identification of the reviewed article. Start by referring to the title, author, and year of publication in the first paragraph.
6. Write the Captivating Introduction
An introduction of an article review should accurately summarize the content. It may also mention key themes, arguments, and authors’ claims to identify their position on this subject matter.
You must state clearly what thesis was being argued. Sometimes, the thesis statement is not clearly stated, so you have to examine it yourself.
7. Summarize the Article
An engaging summary of the article discusses its central arguments and includes a list with key findings. The author's conclusion should not be missed in any case because it provides an important perspective on what was talked about previously by summarizing all relevant facts together as well.
8. Write Your Critique
The article’s contribution and importance to the field should be discussed in the article. You can support your critique with facts, evidence, or other perspectives.
It would be great to share your opinion on what is working well and where work needs improvement.
9. Conclude the Article Review
In the concluding section, summarize the main points and your opinion about the topic. Do not add irrelevant and new information that confuses the readers.
10. Proofread
Before you submit your article review, make sure to read it thoroughly and identify any mistakes in spelling or grammar. Proofread it again and again for errors and make it error-free.
Article Review Format
To create a well-written review and get an A+ from your teacher, you must follow the proper format recommended by your professor.
Citation styles can vary depending on the instructor’s requirements. Make sure your citations are formatted correctly to avoid any plagiarism.
If your instructor does not define any format, you can choose the best one from the below-mentioned formats.
- APA Format
An article can be in an academic journal, a website, or a newspaper. You need to include citations for sources when writing in an APA format review.
The below table gives you a better understanding of citing different sources in APA format.
| Sources | Format |
| Journal | Author [last name], A.A [first and middle initial]. (Publication Year). Publication Title. Periodical Title, Volume(Issue), pp.-pp. |
| Web | Author [last name], A.A [first and middle initial]. (Year, Month, Date of Publication). Title. Retrieved from {link} |
| Newspaper | Author [last name], A.A [first and middle initial]. (Year, Month, Date of Publication). Publication Title. Magazine Title, pp. Xx-xx. |
- MLA Format
MLA citations are the format used for citing sources in an article review. For those who are not familiar with the MLA citation format, it's just like APA. It's not very difficult, and it is a common method among many academic journals.
Here is an MLA format that you can use for your help.
| Sources | Format |
| Journal | Last, First M. “Publication Title.” Journal Title Series Volume. Issue (Year Published): Page(s). Database Name. Web. Date Month Year Accessed |
| Web | Last, First Middle Initial. “Publication Title.” Website Title. Website Publisher, Date Month Year Published. Web. Date Month Year Accessed |
| Newspaper | Last, First M. “Publication Title.” Newspaper Title [City] Date, Month, Year Published: Page(s). Print |
Article Review Examples
Writing an article review is tricky at first, but with these examples and some help from us, you'll easily be able to write a good one.
Article Review Topics
For those who find it difficult to do research and choose the topics, don’t worry. Our experts compiled some great topics that you can use for your help.
Take a look at the below-mentioned topics and choose the one that matches your needs and interests.
- Women roles in the modern world
- What new traditions could come out of the COVID-19 situation?
- Current issues in the education of students with visual impairments
- How To stop wasting time and improve your personal effectiveness?
- The future of work is through workforce ecosystems
- The positive aspects of the use of plastic products
- Examine the strengths and weaknesses of the cloud computing
- Significance of future research of artificial intelligence
- Child abuse and its influence on character development
- Global warming
Tips for Writing the Article Review
One of the most important aspects to remember when writing an article review is keeping it interesting for both readers and authors. Here are some tips from our team on how best to approach this:
- Give insight observations about the article.
- Write relevant background information.
- The opening sentence of the introduction should be attention-grabbing.
- Cover all the key points in your review.
- Know that review can be either a literature review or a critical review.
- Keep the main points of the article in mind.
- Keep the length of the article review in mind, e.g., systematic reviews are short in length.
To write a great review, you need to make a proper plan and start writing it. Pick the article from a legal source and evaluate the information for further limitations before writing your opinion about the chosen topic.
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