5 Do’s and Don’ts: Writing an Article Critique

An article critique is a specific form of an essay, written to evaluate and respond to an author’s ideas, using both positive or negative arguments. The article being reviewed can be a journal article, a research article or a literature review. Article critique assignments are designed to test the analytical and critical thinking skills of students. While critiquing, students are expected not just to summarise the article, but to engage with it and analyse its content carefully from different perspectives. Before beginning to write, students should extensively read it and identify its strengths and weaknesses from different angles. The entire point of an article critique is to help the students understand the big picture. And present their opinion either in agreement or in contention of a particular point of view or a combination of both. You can either propose a new point of view or extend the existing with a better explanation. Follow the above do’s and don’ts and critiquing will never seem confusing again.

Do’s

• Identify the background and purpose

Always begin by identifying the article; it’s title, author, date of publication, source (example: magazine, journal, etc.), the issue and volume of the publication. Identify the main idea of the article and present it concisely in your own words.

• Identify the audience

Since, the organisation of the piece might vary depending on the audience, the intended audience should be identified, be it academics, people working in the industry or the general public. Articles written for the general public might not be that technical in nature.

• Balance

Balance your critique with both strengths and weaknesses of the article. A critique must not be biased. The more number of perspectives you take into consideration, more balanced your critique will be.

• Explore the evidence

It is essential to consider the quality of the evidence used in the article. Find out if the evidence contradicts some other sources and decide if it is substantial enough to support the main argument of the article. If it isn't, present your viewpoints and substantiate them by citing credible sources.

• Follow a structure

Beginning with a brief summary of the main idea, discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the article. Conclude with your point of view on the article.

Don’ts

• Don’t defy referencing rules

A lot of standard referencing styles are acceptable in universities. If your professor didn’t mention any particular style, choose any one from APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard and follow it religiously all through the writing.

• Don’t cite data from unreliable sources

Be very careful while picking your sources of information. Only rely on trustworthy sources, like books, journal articles, research papers, etc. Avoid websites like Wikipedia, which allow multiple people to edit their pages.

• Don’t present unsupported arguments

A critique should be objective, and should be supported by credible evidences rather than instinct or emotion. The point is not whether you liked it or not, it is to prove why.

• Don’t summarise too much

Remember that a critique is not a summary, so don’t waste too much of your word limit in summarising the article. Just present a brief background and proceed with your arguments.

• Don’t forget to proofread

After having worked so hard, it would be futile to lose marks over typographical and grammatical errors. Make sure you proofread and revise what you have written before submission. Also, respect the word limit. The whole point of writing a critique is to identify the main idea of the writer, examining how effectively they have supported these ideas in the article and presenting your opinion on it supported by credible evidence. In case you still need help, you can contact My Assignment Services and our experts will help you with your assignment.