Feel free to quote selectively from the article, especially if the author has a particularly sharp turn of phrase.
Your article review should include (in paragraph, essay form but not necessarily in this order):
- A title that reflects the thrust of your review. For example, the article title is “The Political Ecology of Deforestation in Chile.” Your title might be “They’re Only Trees: Cutting Down Old Growth Forests in Southern Chile.”
- A full bibliographic reference for the work, in proper style, just below your title.
- Set the scene. What does the reader need to know to understand the main points of the article?
- The author’s thesis. Many writers do not state a clear thesis (because they are not as well trained in writing as you are), therefore you may have to figure it out yourself and state it in your own words. Sometimes, there may be three or four main points, not just one.
- What is the author’s argument and what information/evidence and sources does he/she use to support that argument?
- What are the author’s general conclusions?
- Your critique: A critique is not whether you liked the article or not. Rather, you should assess whether the the main point(s) is really significant? Does the author’s argument support the main point(s)? Is the evidence convincing? Are there wider ramifications to the conclusions? Can you apply this information to subjects with which you are familiar? Does the author employ a particular paradigm (such as postmodernism) or a particular theory (such as ecological materialism)? What don’t you understand, and is this because you lack certain assumed knowledge or vocabulary or because the writer is unclear?
The body of your paper should be in 12-point Times-Roman font and double spaced and a total of two full pages in length. Papers less than two pages in length will have points deducted.
*Choose one of the articles linked below. Further information and a sample of what it should look like is uploaded as well.
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/vote-black-women-200-year-fight-for-vote/