Article Critique: How to Critique an Article in APA Format
Writing a critique essay is usually seen as an intimidating task because the very word ‘critique’ is often associated with something negative. But in this sense critique is neither inherently good nor bad: it is a kind of feedback on the work performed by an article writer that highlights strong and weak points as well as gaps or potential paths of further development of the research. This overall positive image of writing should help students set to work with greater ease and confidence.
It is hard to explain in a few paragraphs how to critique an article because articles may belong to various areas of science with their particular content and form of presentation. It is easier to say what this writing is not: it is not an extensive summary of the article, it is not a compilation of personal opinions or outright judgmental claims about the article without evidence, and it is not a repetitive blabbering about a single aspect of the article.
So, after all, what is an article critique? It is in-depth analysis of most important sections of the article that relies on textual evidence and on wider context of the area of science in which the article is presented. Usually students are assigned articles that are within the familiar scope of knowledge, so placing them in context is not a big trouble.
When it goes how to write an article critique, several components are a must while others may be skipped or replaced with something different. It goes without saying that work with the article begins with thorough reading, two or three times, plus note-taking and jotting down the ideas and considerations that cross your mind during reading.
In the video below you will learn how to critique a journal article.
Now back to the writing. Read the points and questions below, answer them to yourself, put down your answers and you arrive at a rough draft of an article critique example – just created by you to fit the requirements.
- Introduction – contains author’s name, article title and date of publication as well as source. It also provides the overall idea of your critique that you plan to develop further.
- Body of the paper. It may contain different number of elements depending on the subject:
- Problem/hypothesis – is it accessible for exploration, is it important, is it outlined sufficiently?
- Literature review – is it substantial, presents opposing views, relies on recent and credible sources? Are sources relevant to the article?
- Method of research – is the design suitable for a given field? Is sample selection unbiased and representative? Are instruments valid and suitable for a given research?
- Results – are they presented in sufficient scope? Are they persuasive and reliable?
- Discussion – are results tested against hypothesis? What other researchers say about this issue and their own results?
- Recommendation – are there any solutions or recommendations for future made?
- Conclusion. It sums up concisely everything said before. May contain your own ideas about developing or improving the work in question.
Article and Essay Critique Example
So now it is more or less clear what should go into the article critique format but what about the real papers? The best way to get a grip on something is to see it closely and then try in person. So it is quite logical that students seek every available example of article critique to read closely and then use as a guideline for writing their own critique.
As practice shows, this way of dealing with critique pieces is a successful one, so we offer a variety of samples of this writing dedicated to the widest range of subjects and fields of study. Choose one and investigate its structure, language, elements and figures of speech (or their absence) – in other words, everything you need to complete your critique assignment successfully. You can imitate the cool tricks and interesting elements in your own paper, just do not copy-paste directly from the critique essay example, it is called cheating.
APA Format for Article Critique
When it goes about APA format article critique it may seem that the whole essay should follow some rigid pattern. But actually, it is about overall formatting with little impact on content of the paper.
Any article critique example APA opens up with a cover page that shows a paper title, student name, college or university name and date. Next goes the abstract. This is the specific feature of APA style so do not skip it. Abstract is about half a page long and it sums up what will be presented in the critique, that is, main points of analysis and overall significance of the research. The main body includes all sections analyzing and critiquing the article. Conclusion summarizes what was said but in brief. The last important section is References. Whichever additional sources were involved in writing, they are to be listed here in APA style.
The general formatting standard is 12 pt font, Times New Roman, double-spaced with one-inch margins. These basics can be found in almost all the popular formatting styles, so you will make no mistake when following them in all of your papers.
Teacher Rose has been working as an English teacher and tutor for more than five years. She is aware of all peculiarities of the English language, and her vocabulary is very rich. After finishing Oxford university, she has worked as a freelance ghostwriter, where she managed to master her writing skills.
