How to Write an Article Review

Article Review Definition

An article review is an evaluation and summary of a writer’s article. To publish an article in a special journal, first you need to worry about having a review of it. If the last one is not drawn up in accordance with existing rules, the article will not be published. In fact, peer review is a kind of procedure, a kind of filter for articles on which publishing the article depends. We will tell you today about how to write an article review correctly and what items should be included in it.

Reviewing is not just writing a text, it’s a mutual dialogue between the reviewer and the author of the article. The reviewer should try to understand what the author wanted to convey to the reader with his or her article. The writing of the review is prompted by the impression of the article and the need to share it with a wider range of people.

To write a review, such conditions are obligatory:

• Knowledge of the theory of a certain area.
• Detailed analysis of the article, possibly with elements of comparison.

The reviewer can not just write “like” or “dislike,” you need to justify your views with reasoning. The depth of analysis is the main indicator of the professional skills of the reviewer.

The Purpose of an Article Review

The article review is a form of criticism for other writers or journals. You will analyze the strong and weak points of the article, the authority of the source, and actuality of the topic or problem which the article presents. When you need to write an article review, you need to ask questions, such as, “What is the purpose of its creation?” and “How to write a critical review of a journal article?” There are a few reasons why you should write an article review:

1. People value other opinions and read what other people write. The review will help them to decide whether they will like the article or not.
2. Article reviews help journalists, as they can see what people really think of their work and how they can make it better.
3. Writing an article review can help improve your writing skills.

How to Prepare for Writing an Article Review

1. Understand what an article review is (we have already gone through this) and how to write a journal article review.
2. Think how you will organize your article review.
3. Look at the article’s title, abstract, introduction, and conclusion. These parts are the most important for reviewing.
4. Read the article attentively.
5. Think about how you understand the article.
6. Make an outline for your review.

Questions to Ask Before Writing an Article Review

1. How to write a scientific review article (or the type you choose) and what sources are required?
2. Will the review be interesting to readers?
3. What are strong and weak points of the article?
4. How can the author improve his or her article?
5. What is the aim of the article?
6. Has the author clearly stated his or her point?
7. Is the data clearly stated in the article?
8. Does the introduction present sufficient background information?
9. Has the author presented sufficient evidence for the claims?
10. Are there other articles with similar claims?

Article Review Writing Steps

1. Write the title. The first thing that needs to be included in the review is the full title of the article and the data on its author – his/her position and name.

Example:

REVIEW

On the article “Control Functions in Teaching Foreign Languages of Students of Technical Specialties” by Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences, Associate Professor of the Chair of Foreign Languages at The New School Paul Rubio.

2. Describe briefly. Do not forget to briefly describe the problem mentioned in the article.

Example:

The article by J. Smith is devoted to the definition of the main functions and the importance of their observance in the organization of control over knowledge, skills, and habits of the students of technical specialties at the university.

3. Evaluate actuality. In the review it is extremely important to evaluate and indicate the degree of relevance of the study which was conducted in an article.

Example:

The relevance of this article is unquestionable, since the verification and assessment of knowledge and skills of students in technical specialties in the university is very important and a necessary part of the learning process, and mastering the testing methodology is one of the important and difficult tasks a teacher faces.

4. Do not forget about the main aspects. Be sure to indicate in the review the main aspects that the author opens in the article.

Example:

The author carries out serious work to determine the functions of feedback or control when teaching foreign language students of technical specialties. It is also important that J. Smith writes about the need to change the role of the teacher in the process of training students, since today the teacher in the university ceases to be the main source of information. The teacher should direct the studying rather than manage it.

5. Write a recommendation. While writing a review, remember that there must necessarily be a recommendation on behalf of the reviewer for publication in a journal.

Example:

Scientific article by J. Smith “Control Functions in Teaching Foreign Languages of Students of Technical Specialties” meets all the requirements for such works. This article can be recommended for publication.

6. Indicate authorship. In the review it is necessary to indicate the data on the reviewer himself/herself: the author’s full name, academic title, academic degree, place of work, position, and signature and seal.

7. Study examples of the review. In order to make it easier for you to understand what is required of you, below we give an example of such a review.

Article Review Sample Analysis

We present an article review example of high quality that was analyzed correctly. The following sample analysis was written to help readers better understand how review samples are written. The article review sample is of top-notch quality, and you can repeat this success if you read through the analysis and get ideas for your own writing.

Click the images to see their full size.

Stylistic and Linguistic Features of the Review

The style of review balances between the artistic and journalistic styles, and the preponderance in one or another direction depends on the theme, the nature of the publication, and where the review and individual preferences of the author are published. Separately there are scientific reviews, the language design of which is strict and restrained (in accordance with the scientific style).

The following are features of the set of language units for reviews written in the journalistic style:

• the use of lexicon for the designation of social and cultural realities;
• artistic means: epithets, comparisons, metaphors that gravitate both to the artistic and to the journalistic style (it is not worth much to saturate the text with them);
• phraseological units;
• terms that relate to a particular field.

You can build a review in the form of a dialogue with the reader. In scientific article reviews, scientific style cliches, terms, and slang are forbidden. Note! To enliven the review, insert citations (from the article, the biography of the writer), and interesting facts can be added.

Phrases Recommended for Writing an Article Review

• The author in his work gives a detailed analysis …
• The author competently analyzes …
• The author of this article focuses attention on …
• The author demonstrates a high level of knowledge in the field of …
• The author on concrete examples proves …
• The author based on a large factual material examines …
• The author draws attention to the fact that …
• The author rightly notes …
• The author successfully argues his/her own point of view …
• The author offers original ideas …
• The relevance of this study is …
• As the main points of the methodology used by the author …
• In the article the author considers …
• The article analyzes the main approaches …
• The article reveals the main problems …
• Important in the article is consideration …
• The whole content of the article is logically interconnected and confirmed by quotations from authoritative sources.
• This article shows …
• The author has studied in sufficient detail (presented, described) …
• That is why in this paper, much attention is paid to …
• Sources cited in this article reflect the current viewpoint on the problem under study.
• The positive aspects of the work can be attributed …
• As a positive fact, it can be noted that …
• The article is based on a detailed analysis …
• Especially it should be stressed that …
• Particular attention in the study … is given …
• A conclusion is of special interest about …
• Special attention is deserved …
• The practical significance of this article is …
• The proposed approach to the study of the problem …
• The original concept considered in the article …
• The work under review is a serious and interesting scientific article on a rather rare topic …
• The work under review is distinguished by the novelty and demonstrability of a number of ideas.
• It should be noted that this scientific article reveals a number of interesting aspects …
• The article is executed on a high scientific level, and contains a number of conclusions of practical interest.
• The article contains a certain concept …
• The theoretical significance of this article is …

Criteria for Evaluation of an Article for a Review

There is a list of traditional criteria for a professional review of an article:

• the relevance of the article to the subject matter of the publication;
  the problem (in the article the author must solve a certain problem);
• scientific quality (for texts intended for publication in a scientific source);
• the length of the text (compliance of this parameter with the requirements of the publication, the correlation of the structural parts of the future publication);
• the quality of the content of the annotations and a list of key words;
• evaluation of the content of the article;
• degree of completeness (the publication must completely solve the problem posed – start with its formulation and culminate in its solution);
• correctness of the bibliography (bibliographic references and source list);
• general execution of the article (in accordance with the editorial requirements).

Useful Tips for Writing an Article Review

Here are a few more tips that you should never forget when reviewing:

• Analyzing the content of the article, pay special attention to the validity of the author’s position, because this criterion is one of the most important in assessing the work.
• The criterion of completeness is important not only for the article being analyzed, but also for reviewing it. Completion is the recommendation of the reviewer, but they must have sufficient argumentation in the analysis.
• In the review, more than just the language should be clear – you can not allow ambiguity in the presentation of your thoughts.
• Do not use too many complex sentences.
• The review should be written in clear language using well-known terminology. Terminology should be used competently; if you doubt the uniqueness of the concept or its relevance, it is better not to use it at all.
• Pay attention to the correlation of the tonality of the analysis object and the review itself. For example, to describe a scientific article, humorous intonations will be inappropriate.
• While retelling the article, remember the principle of laconism: the story needs to be built in such a way as to illuminate the problems.
• Do not allow the review to go into similar genres.
• The position of the reviewer should be unambiguous, and blurring of opinion is not allowed. Arguing the position is also a very important point, as without it the review will be perceived simply as an amateur review.

We hope that now you know how to write an article review as we tried to gather the best tips for dealing with this type of paper. Also, check out our article review examples to come up with your own ideas on how to create a high-quality review. Read how to write an art review in details. You may find more guides on our blog that show what to do with other academic papers!