What is an Article Critique: Things to Understand Before Writing

Students and researchers deal with many types of papers. The problem is that they all have different requirements. Let’s start with answering a question: What is an article critique? Unlike a variety of objective papers, this one demands a student’s objective viewpoint through the prism of personal understanding. Consequently, a person must be ready to manipulate the information to sound smart. 

How to critique an article? Are there any secrets to follow? Here are the answers you need.

What is the Point of Writing an Article Critique?

Article critique writing is not that easy to manage. One should spend enough time to provide a quality paper.  Long story short, this paper is a reflection of the writer on the article. However, it has nothing to do with a simple summary. It makes a writer read the text attentively to analyze and evaluate information. Such an analysis is not an ABC thing for beginners. It is necessary to follow a guide with each step given in detail. 

How to Structure This Piece of Writing?

First of all, one should think of creating a stunning article critique outline. It is your path from the article search to the final word creation. Generally, it must include the following parts.

Intro part 

Almost all academic papers begin with an introduction. It serves as a greeting card between a writer and the readers. Yet, this section has its requirements. It must include the following information:

• details about the author
• the main points of the article
• your thesis statement concluding the core message of the article

So, this section is like an annotation for the journal article. 

Summary

Unlike the previous section, this one gives more details. They are based on a writer’s point of view. Article summaries demonstrate the following things:

• your understanding of the main idea previously given in the thesis statement
• search for the given arguments and their discussion
• the provided novelty or value of the evaluated article

This section is the analysis a student must learn to make. This step is the hardest. One must know where to search for the message and how to introduce it. Besides, it is necessary to support each argument with convincing evidence. 

Critique

Finally, you can critique the text. What does that mean?

• First, find the strengths of the article.
• Then, highlight its weaknesses.
• Provide your opinion concerning the accuracy of the topic presentation. 

So, here you should be specific and include facts to prove the author gave relevant or irrelevant information. 

Conclusion

The last step is to collect all brilliant ideas and negative points. One should address the future perspectives that this article managed to discuss or not. One should also mention where this research can be used.

Where to Start and Things You Might Need

As has been said, beginners need a plan to manage the task. Any custom article critique writing service would recommend keeping in mind a specific approach. These are the most significant tips all experts use.

Tip 1. Research

You should not critique an article whose value has already expired. Such a job is possible only as a trial assignment for inexperienced writers. Professors assign these tasks to students who learn how to critique an article. Due to that, an educator evaluates a student’s ability to analyze and assess things. Besides, it is a great way to test a student’s fairness. Academic integrity is a vital thing, and everyone must avoid plagiarism.

So, you should examine new and updated sources in your field to find a stunning topic. After that, select a trustworthy journal or magazine to find a suitable article. The chosen article must meet the criteria of your college and a mentor.

Tip 2. Verify the information

Literature choice is a responsible task for your evaluation. You should ensure all data is updated and reliable. It is necessary to prefer only reputable sources. These are scientific magazines, journals, and similar printed or online periodicals.

It is not a problem to find dependable work in the library. What about online sources? One should consider the following things.

• A publication must have authors with a scientific degree or related professional skills.
• It must not deal with rumors like the yellow press or amateur blogs full of personal opinions.
•  The URL should end with “edu” (educational institutions), “gov”(governmental research), or “org”(reputable organizations).

Experts recommend checking a writer’s background too to provide more credibility.

Tip 3. Read every word of the article attentively

You should devote enough time to reading. It is better to do that with a pencil or a marker. Critique notes are essential. They help writers remember key information and define the message of the article. Depending on the discipline, one should pay attention to different details. 

For example, literature articles can have hidden hints. Their authors adore allegories and allusions. So, you should check all references so as not to miss a thing. Biologists can mention other sources in their articles. You can read them for a better understanding or at least check their authenticity.

You should critically evaluate the lexical constituent of the article. Is it hard for reading and general comprehension? Who can be the target audience of the author(s)? Does the chosen publication source fit the purpose? 

For example, a journal article has specific requirements requested by a publisher. It must meet the interests of the target readers and the related topic or field. Research publications can have a wider range of readers. They can be posted in blogs and research magazines as their information meets both publication demands. 

Tip 4. Be objective and fair

Even though you pretend to be a critic, your task is to remain objective. For this, you should not judge an author for the chosen position. If your personal beliefs contradict, you can only provide the existing samples to disprove the given theory or hypothesis. Still, you should evaluate the writer’s contribution. It is necessary to highlight the positive and negative aspects of your critique paper. To do that, you should answer such questions.

• Can I call these writers experts in the chosen field? What are their credentials?
• What is the research design of the authors? Do these research methods fit the purpose?
• Are there any inconsistencies with the findings?
• Is the applied structure appropriate and smart? 
• Is there a dual presentation of the problem? 
• Are authors objective and logical in their work?
• Are the findings still relevant or do they need an upgrade?
• Is the given information valuable for the related scientific discipline? Are there gaps? What is its novelty?

You must back up each thought with evidence from the article. This approach helps you stay objective and professional.

Tip 5. Edit and Proofread

Finally, you should read your writing before introducing it to your mentor. Check out your outline to ensure you have given all the details. How to proofread an article critique effectively? Here are some red flags to avoid. If you have some, use the best solutions given in the table. 

So, what is an article critique? It is a paper that covers objective analysis combined with subjective criticism. Besides, it is academic writing. Neither grammar nor content or formatting mistakes are acceptable. 

Final Recommendations

Professional tips also have a note concerning the analysis of several samples. It is hard to write a book if you do not know what it is. You may ask a senior student to show an example or ask a writing agency to provide it. Besides, professionals can help you with proofreading. They can underline errors and inconsistencies and suggest content enhancement. If you need assistance with writing, simply send us a message, for eg. “I want to pay to write my essay” and we will do the rest.