A Complete Writing Guide of Article Review for Beginners

Do you want to impress your professor with an article review? However, no idea how to write it. Then, we’ve got you covered.

If you're reading this, then you will easily write it. You are one of the few who have been assigned an article review. This may seem like a daunting task, but it's actually not that bad.

In fact, if you follow some guidelines and tips, you will easily write like a professional writer.

Writing an article review is a great way to engage your audience. It's also a good way of showing off your research skills and knowledge on the subject you're writing about. If you want to know how, keep reading!

In this blog post, we'll be going over what an article review is, why it's important, and give a step-by-step guide on how to write one.

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What is an Article Review?

A review is an article that summarizes and assesses the central theme of another person's work.

The reviewer must understand the main points, insights, and observations given in the article to present a logical evaluation during summation.

There are two types of reviews:

1. Critical Analyses: It deals with one particular piece or books extensively
2. Literature Reviews: It provides more broad ideas about many different pieces but less detail on each item.

It acts both as a summary and evaluation of a certain work, and writing one helps you improve your critical analysis skills.

Making an article review is vital for a variety of reasons:

• It helps the author make sure that his writing is clear and accurate. There may be instances where vague terms are used, or unclear statements are a problem in the article. This will help them decide on whether it's time for some changes.
• It helps in clarifying key questions.
• A systematic review is a perfect way to allow an author the opportunity of seeing other people’s views and perspectives on different issues.
• It helps the author improve his grammar and writing style.
• It encourages the writer to do better the next time.

All this makes writing an article review a good practice and an essential learning tool.

Many students wrongly think that an article review is the same as a research article. On the contrary, a research article is a primary source while an article review is a secondary source.

Types of Article Reviews

‘What are the different types of reviews?’

Below are the main kinds of article reviews;

Journal Article Review

A journal article review, like a paper evaluation, assesses the publication's strengths and flaws. A competent author must offer the reader an analysis and evaluation of the piece that shows its significance.

Here is a sample journal article review;

Research Article Review

It differs from a journal article evaluation in that it considers the study approach employed and keeps that information in review for analysis and criticism. When writing a journal article review, it is important to keep in mind its purpose.

Science Article Review

Scientific article review entails everything that has to do with science. Scientific papers frequently include material on the context surrounding the study that you may employ in your analysis.

Article Review Format

‘How to format an article review correctly?’

A correct format is necessary for a lasting and desired effect. To make sure that there are no confusions, ask your professor about the citation style and format. Here is how to format your article review properly;

• Which citation style will be appropriate for your article? (Choose from MLA, APA, ASA, Chicago, etc.)
• How long should your review be?
• What should you include in your assignment (summary, critique, or personal opinion)?
• Does it need to mention any specific theme or main idea?
• Has your professor asked you to add background information?

Once you get your answers, you start working on your article review. Below are the two most commonly used citation styles: APA and MLA style.

• How to Use APA Format?

  Articles are usually submitted to academic journals, websites and newspapers. When formatting your review in APA format, follow the following format for different entries;

  • Web: Author [last name], A.A [first and middle initial]. (Year, Month, Date of Publication). Title. Retrieved from {link}
  • Journal: Author [last name], A.A [first and middle initial]. (Publication Year). Publication Title. Periodical Title, Volume(Issue), pp.-pp.
  • Newspaper: Author [last name], A.A [first and middle initial]. (Year, Month, Date of Publication). Publication Title. Magazine Title, pp. xx-xx.
• How to Use MLA Format?

  When using the MLA format, follow the following format for the sources;

  • 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.
  • Journal: Last, First M. “Publication Title.” Journal Title Series Volume. Issue (Year Published): Page(s). Database Name. Web. Date Month Year Accessed.

Article Review Writing - The Pre-writing Process

Creating an article review for the first time might be overwhelming, leaving you unsure of where to begin. To get started, follow these two simple steps:

1. Define the Best Organization for Your Evaluation

   Knowing how your paper will be structured in the future will assist you in determining how to read it. Here are the actions you need to take:

   • Summarize the article based on your research - identify the major points, ideas, claims, and basic information presented in it.
   • Define the good aspects - point out the successful elements, ideas, and perceptive remarks the author has made.
   • Look for gaps - see whether the author has any inconsistencies, gaps, or contradictions in the content, and assess whether he or she made effective use of arguments and facts to back up his or her claims.
   • Identify the main and answered questions - finally, determine if there are any unanswered questions after reading the piece.
2. Continue Reading to Learn How to Decipher the Article

   Here's a quick and easy approach to help you get started:

   • Examine the article's title, abstract portion, headings and subheadings, opening sentences in its paragraphs, and conclusion.
   • To begin, focus only on the beginning and conclusion of the piece (introduction and conclusion). These are where writers put all of their major ideas and claims. As a result, if you start with these sections, you'll have a good understanding of the author's key arguments and points.
   • Finally, go through the article completely.

The bigger part of the prewriting process consists of these steps. You may now proceed to write your own review after you've completed them—and we'll walk you through the writing process as well.

It's critical to have organization in an assignment like this. You might use an article review template to better organize your ideas before beginning your writing process.

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Article Review Outline

Once you have formatted the review, it is time to create an outline based on it.

‘How to Create an Article Review Outline?’

Below is a sample article review outline.

• Title Page - The Title page will be formulated as per the referencing style you are following. For example, when following an APA style, the title page will be according to it. The same goes for other styles.
• Title - Write the title of your article review.
• Your Name - Here, the writer will add their name.
• Date - The date of submission.
• Abstract - The abstract should contain a summary of the review question, the primary study reviewed, and conclusions. The abstract doesn’t include any references. It should be 200 to 300 words long.
• Introduction - Write the article’s topic that you will review, and it should show the readers what the article has. Create and present an outline in which the entire sub-topics will be presented. Add some background information also.
• Body - This section will include the sub-topics and sections that you will be discussing. The article’s strengths and weaknesses, negative and positive aspects, and scope for future research, everything would come in this section.
• Conclusion - This will be the end of your article review and will restate the review’s main points.
• References - Here, add the sources that you will use to back your claims and arguments.

A good and easy-to-follow outline is important for a smooth article review writing process. Make sure that you create the outline beforehand.

How to Start an Article Review?

Below are the steps involved in starting an article review.

1. Understand the Meaning of an Article Review

   The success of a review depends on how well it meets the expectations held by its audience.

   It is important to summarize what you have read and evaluated whether or not this material contributes anything new and worthwhile in terms of knowledge about your subject.

2. Identify and Follow the Correct Flow of the Review

   You must know the right organization of your review to understand how to write an article review successfully. Here are the steps involved in it.

   • Summarize the Entire Article - It includes a summary of the article, including the important points, ideas, and details.
   • Discuss the Positive Points - Enter and discuss the positive points that the author discusses.
   • Identify and Point Out the Gaps - Identify any gaps in the research and make notes of them.
3. Preview the Article Carefully

   Read some main details about the article. These details include the title, abstract, introduction, headings, opening sentences, and conclusion. The introduction and conclusion will help you identify the writer’s main points.

4. Read the Entire Article Carefully

   Read the article several times and take notes of important details, ideas, and themes discussed. Highlight the main points and supporting details.

5. Rephrase the Article

   Rephrase the article in your own words and write down all the main and crucial points. Once done, review it carefully and make sure that you did not miss anything important.

   After you are done with the prewriting steps, you are ready to write the review.

How to Write An Article Review?

Here are the steps involved in writing an article review.

1. Add a Short and Engaging Title

   Your article review should have a short, creative title that is strong enough to grab readers' attention. Remember, the title can be responsible for 70% of your audience engagement.

   The other 30% will read it because they love reading reviews or otherwise follow you and want more content from you in general; this means that "long titles with complicated words" are not ideal for an article review.

2. Add the Citation of the Article You are Reviewing

   Below the title, cite the article that you are about to review. This way, people can read what was originally written before reading their own thoughts on it and vice versa. It's important to choose the correct referencing style for citations in this paper.

3. Add a Strong Introduction

   Your introduction must answer questions like;

   • Why have you chosen the respective article?
   • What excites you about this article?
   • How relevant is your article to the contemporary world?
   • What are the main points of your discussion and evaluation?

   Make sure that you answer these questions to avoid any confusion among the readers.

4. Add a Thesis Statement at the End of the Introduction

   The introduction of any article should be interesting, engaging and draw the reader in with anticipation for what they'll read next. It's also important to have a strong thesis statement at the end to know why they are reading this review.

   The thesis statement should be an intelligent combination of both points from within or outside of the argument.

   Start by organizing your thoughts into logical sections before inserting them into your essay. Doing so will make understanding all points more seamless for readers who aren't familiar with this topic area.

5. Add the Background Information

   Some people may not have time to read the whole original article before reading your judgment.

   Others might miss key points of the article, even if they do finish it all, so you should always dedicate a paragraph that summarizes the article and tells the readers about what's going on in the essay or report.

   To avoid plagiarism and make summaries more interesting, pick out one or two direct quotes from the text using double quotations around them as needed - don't repeat any verbatim sentences though.

6. Write the Main Body of the Review

   Now that you have finished writing the introduction, it is time to tackle the main body of your paper. The format for an article review can be a little tricky when deciding what information should go where and how much detail should be included in each section.

   It differs from other papers because personal opinions cannot always be shared openly as they might interfere with objectivity or bias readers’ opinions on certain topics—you must show unbiased thoughtfulness instead.

7. Add a Relevant Conclusion

   The body section concludes with a strong tone. As writers, we must keep the reader engaged until the very end of our work to make sure they walk away with a sense that everything was worth it- not just from their perspective but ours as well.

   Take an approach like that in research papers. Your concluding paragraph shouldn't be more than 150 words long either (and no shorter!).

   Start by restating what you initially proposed about this piece: is there anything else noteworthy? What did you find most interesting or relevant? Give some final thoughts before providing recommendations for others who might read this article too-- could it help them out somehow?

   Discuss everything briefly and add the article’s contribution to its field of study.

8. Add a Reference Section

   It’s time to end your article review with a properly cited reference section. If you have used the format of APA referencing style for your article review, then cite accordingly.

   Otherwise, use one of these popular formats: MLA, Chicago (or Turabian), Harvard or Oxford referencing styles are all commonly used styles.

9. Review and Proofread It

   Reread your article to check for any errors and fix them. You should also be sure not to include unnecessary information in the review, making it less helpful.

   Following these steps, you will be able to write a great article review successfully.

Article Review Examples

Here are some examples to help you further.

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Article Review Topic Ideas

Are you looking some ideas to write an article review? Here are some topic ideas.

• Communication peculiarities between men and women.
• Importance of extracurricular activities for students.
• Negative effects of drugs and substance abuse.
• Cons of using drugs and steroids in sports.
• Obesity and its health consequences.
• Causes and affordable treatment methods for infectious diseases.
• Causes of illegal immigration in the USA
• Changing gender roles and their global consequences.
• Causes and effects of global warming.
• Rise of multicultural families and its causes.

All these ideas could be converted into interesting ideas and make way for a great article review.

To write a good article review, you need to have a thorough understanding of the content. You should be able to summarize it easily and succinctly while also engaging with the information in your own way that reflects how you as a writer feel about the material.

After reading this article, you should have a basic understanding of what it takes to write an article review.

If you want more information on how to do so or are unsure about writing your article review, please feel free to reach out to CollegeEssay.org.

We are an expert at providing college essay writing help. Our team of experts is always ready to provide you with any assistance needed. We're here 24/7, and we’ll be sure your essays meet the highest standards before they're published, so don't hesitate to contact us!