Article Review Template

1. Step 1: Preparation and Research
   Percent time spent on this step: 40%

   Instructions:

   • Find an article to review
     

     If there is no specific article assigned to you by your instructor, you should choose one yourself. Choosing an article is an important step, because you might not be competent enough to analyze some articles for your review.

     Choose an article that corresponds with your current interests, and which is in a field that you are familiar with.

     Consider the article’s length and difficulty. Before making your final choice, quickly read through the article to make sure that it matches your reading level.

     Decide on what your purpose is. Usually, a review either summarizes an article, or criticizes it.

   • Read the article
     

     Read the article in a way that you can grasp its general idea; this is important in order to write a quality review.

     • Whenever you see an unfamiliar term, write it down on a separate piece of paper, or in a notebook; you will return to them later.
     • Mark places that you will need to return to in order to understand them better. For the first reading, your goal is to grasp the general idea of the article, so leave particularities for the second reading.

   • Read the article for the second time
     

     It is time to return to the unclear places that you marked in the text of the article while reading it for the first time; the second reading will help you get a clearer picture of what the article discusses and its implications.

     • Take notes. The first time you read the article, briefly record who the article’s author is, what it is about, and what is its main thought.
     • Check the list of unfamiliar terms you composed while reading the article for the first time. Look up for their meanings in a dictionary; for this purpose, you can use multiple online dictionaries.

   • Prepare the material
     

     Regardless of whether your goal is to summarize or criticize an article, you must figure out to which points of the article you will be appealing to.

     • Decide on whether you want to write a long or short review. Mind that sometimes your plans can change - for example, when you might have initially planned to write a short review, but the volume of the article just does not let you do this.
     • Decide on which arguments, facts, or opinions introduced in the article have affected you: whether you were amused, surprised, sceptical about them, and so on.
     • Make a record of these points. You do not necessarily have to write down all the main points of the article you are reviewing; choose around five of them if you are planning a lengthy review, or three if your review is going to be short.
     • Briefly record the main idea of the article--in the way you understood it. Be as precise as possible, look for the right words, and try to not write more than five sentences. This will be your synopsis, and you will need this record when you will be composing your thesis statement.

   • Schedule time to write your review
     

     Writing an article review is not an easy task; usually it requires a considerable amount of time.

     • Make sure that you do not have anything urgent for the next few days. If you do, it is better to deal with these tasks first in order to not get distracted later.
     • Do not start writing an article review hoping to finish everything at once. If you want to write a decent review, you will have to return to it at least several times.
     • Keep in mind that the more time you give yourself to write a review, the better it will be in the end. An article review is not a task that can be completed in several hours (if you want to write a quality review, or course).
2. Step 2: Create an Outline
   Percent time spent on this step: 25%

   Instructions:

   • Organize your notes and ideas
     

     Now that you have finished reading and recording, your notes are probably in a rather chaotic order. In order to work effectively and quickly, you will need to sort them.

     • Create several documents for each type of notes you have taken, and sort your notes between these documents. These can be notes regarding the article’s main idea, unfamiliar terms, places you did not understand well enough, and so on. Name the documents respectively.
     • Make sure you did not miss anything. Sometimes even one missed note can be crucial for understanding the whole article.
     • Think about the structure of your future review, and in which order it would be better to list the main points from the article (or your critique of these points).

   • Make the actual outline
     

     Before you actually start writing, you need to create an outline that reflects everything you want to say about the article, but in a shortened, sketch-like way.

     • Make a brief scheme of the introduction. Describe a general introductory sentence that represents the general subject (for example, economics), then describe a “narrow-down” sentence that would lead your readers to the actual subject of your review--the article. Include the description of some background information. The main part of this paragraph, however, is the thesis statement in it, you must express your general opinion on the article.
     • Sketch out the main body of your review. For each point from the article that you criticize or summarize, you should make a separate paragraph. A typical main body paragraph usually consists of a topic sentence, the subject to which this paragraph is dedicated, as well as your opinion and arguments on it (may expand to one or two more paragraphs though). Quotes and excerpts from the original article can serve as solid supporting evidence.
     • Make a scheme for the conclusion. Usually, it briefly summarizes the information presented in the main body, and provides an afterthought.
3. Step 3: Write the First Draft
   Percent time spent on this step: 20%

   Instructions:

   • Proofread and edit
     

     A review should be free from grammatical, punctuation, or stylistic mistakes, typos, inconsistencies, slang, and other inappropriate elements.

     • Read through the text of your review, paying attention to the spelling of words, and punctuation marks. Look for typos.
     • Read your review aloud. This way you will be able to find parts that seem unnatural, and fix them. Cut out all unnecessary words.
     • Check your language. Slang is only acceptable if you are writing a jokey review on a comedy movie, for example. However, if you are planning a serious review, words like “dude” can spoil the general impression of it. Also, remember that explicit vocabulary is prohibited under any circumstances.
4. Step 4: Write the Final Draft
   Percent time spent on this step: 10%

   Instructions:

   • Proofread and edit
     

     A review should be free from grammatical, punctuation, or stylistic mistakes, typos, inconsistencies, slang, and other inappropriate elements.

     Read through the text of your review, paying attention to the spelling of words, and punctuation marks. Look for typos.

     Read your review aloud. This way you will be able to find parts that seem unnatural, and fix them. Cut out all unnecessary words.

     Check your language. Slang is only acceptable if you are writing a jokey review on a comedy movie, for example. However, if you are planning a serious review, words like “dude” can spoil the general impression of it. Also, remember that explicit vocabulary is prohibited under any circumstances.
5. Step 5: Feedback
   Percent time spent on this step: 5%

   Instructions:

   • Ask a person you trust or who is competent enough to look over your final draft
     

     Visiting your school writing center is the best option. If you are not in school, hire a private tutor to look over your writing.

     • Set an appointment at your local writing center. Be sure to be on time, to bring in a printed copy of your writing, and to be open to suggestions/critique.
     • When hiring a private tutor, it is better to hire an experienced tutor that charges a bit more than expected. They can, sometimes, completely change your outlook on wiring and dramatically improve your writing.

   • Make corrections as necessary
     

     Listen carefully to what your colleague and/or tutor has said, and make notes about what needs to change. Use your best discretion and change your article review according to your teacher’s criteria.

     • When receiving criticism, be open-minded. Do not fall into the trap of being defensive.
     • Do not be overly-receptive as well. Do not change your entire article review based on others’ comments if the changes do not work better than the original.