article critique example apa

article critique example apa

A Comprehensive Guide to Writing an Effective Article Critique in APA Style

1. Introduction to Article Critiques

The Advantages of APA Style. The advantage of writing formal critiques is that formal critiques present credible evidence needed to support published products. Researchers need the skills to evaluate arguments made by others, which is a common academic exercise. Therefore, developing expertise in critique writing is important. Formal critiques offer researchers benefits; these critiques provide a method for researchers to practice their evaluation skills of published research. The ability to critique the work of others also requires practice. Formal critiques effectively prepare researchers with these necessary skills. All professionals need the skills to evaluate research in order to have informed opinions about the tools they use in the workplace. A common professional workplace is academia, and professors have special responsibilities to use the scientific method that include the expectations to produce scholarly research products and serve on thesis or dissertation committees. The academic workplace functions more effectively when research consumers are proficient in evaluating arguments and judging events. Therefore, the process of writing a formal critique is important because judgments should only occur after careful evaluation.

What is an article critique? An article critique requires you to critically read a piece of research and identify and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the article. How is a critique different from a summary? A summary of a research article requires you to share the key points of the article so your reader can get a clear picture of what the article is about. A critique may include a brief summary, but the main focus should be on your evaluation and analysis of the research itself. What format should my critique take? As much as possible, your critique should be written in your own words. In general, the best way to present your critique is to work through the article and identify each section and subsection, and then, for each, answer the following questions. The questions being asked will help you to thoroughly understand the article. If you cannot answer a certain question, then you must make an effort to research the topic further. Always use your own words; teachers want you to write a critique in order to get your opinion on the article.

2. Understanding the APA Style Guidelines for Article Critiques

The APA styling guidelines are published in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. This manual provides extensive information regarding the use of language, the construction and display of accurate and reliable APA references, and writer tone. As previously communicated, these articles entail more of an article review than a standard document critique example. The document critique entails evaluating the information presented in various academic and professional types of writing. This is different from how to critique an article, which intends to appraise academic content with the goal of interpreting data and establishing the credibility of the data and content.

APA style refers to the citation style established by the American Psychological Association. APA stands for the American Psychological Association, which has established writing styles for a broad range of academic disciplines. In most fields of science, the APA style is used, and it has many rules on how to write articles and how to list references used at the end of the article. The critique is used to carefully analyze all the articles in most fields. An article critique calls for a balance of the “critic’s” reaction and the “criticized” article’s history, accomplishments, and composition. When you are asked to write a critique of an article, keep in mind that students often make wrong assumptions about an article critique regarding the structure and content.

3. Key Components of an Effective Article Critique

Secondly, write your summary of the article and use APA guidelines in doing so. Your summary should be concise and clear, in the 150- to 250-word range. To achieve this goal, consider the following key components: general category of the topic, research problem, hypothesis, independent variable(s), dependent variables, control variables, key theoretical constructs. In your summary, you should identify main topics and subtopics. The main topics or key issues appear to represent major content. These are hierarchical in their importance and relevance to your critique. Subtopics represent supporting content for main key topics, and these appear to be the most important points in a particular text section. Main key topics also appear to be the most relevant and thought-provoking, while subtopics appear to be less relevant and have less thought-provoking impact.

An effective critique, also known as a formal analysis, discusses information, facts, and joy, presents a perspective, and sometimes suggests subsidiary corrective action. Generally, an article critique consists of detailed points. To present an effective critique, first summarize the article. In this initial summary, you need to demonstrate your understanding of the article, including key points of the research, problem being investigated, the main findings, and the conclusions drawn. Remember to offer enough details where your instructor can determine that you’re actually prepared for class. This topic can be one sentence or a detailed paragraph. Consistency in your summaries and critiques is very important. Details and facts presented in the article need to support your viewpoint.

4. Step-by-Step Guide to Writing an Article Critique in APA Style

Notice that your conclusions should be distinct and clear enough for readers to recognize that they have to be able to understand how you have arrived at your hypothesis and what it means. If you are making a complex argument, you need to explain it and guide your reader to the conclusion. You have to be able to understand and identify different writing strategies, such as the writer’s main argument and his supporting ideas. Also, you need to be able to identify the thesis of the article. You also need to be able to observe how the writer has structured the article and the strategies that he uses to support his arguments.

The ‘introduction’ of your critique forms the greatest part of your critique. You must use a specific writing style and include specific elements for your article critique to be successful. You must read your article through the first time, trying to understand the article. This first reading is only for getting the general idea of the point that the author was trying to make. This is also an important step in understanding the article. At this first stage, you are not made to understand the main arguments of the article. It will be inappropriate to attempt to critique the article or to start writing an article critique without having a good grasp of what the author is talking about. It means that you need to read the article several times.

Step 2. Write the introduction paragraph.

– Title of article and author name – Title of journal, volume number, date, month, and page numbers – Your name

You must first correctly identify the title of the article, the authors, and the main point of the article. Many students forget to include this important element in their critique. You need to include the following in your critique header:

Step 1. Write the title of the article, authors, and the main point.

5. Common Mistakes to Avoid in Article Critiques

Don’t forget to use the appropriate language for the readers. When you are purposing an article critique, don’t assume that the reader remembers what the author’s style was when you are quoting this particular author. An article critique has a very specific form, for most of the information, it is necessary to introduce other author’s citations. Make sure it is a well-structured paper. Your critique should be written in accordance with these standards without grammatical and punctuation errors. It should involve well-supported points and a logical, coherent flow. It is important for your intended audience to understand all findings rather than narrow and unimportant issues only. Remember to get rid of in-text references (or footnotes) in your critique. They would point to the references on the separate page.

Discuss only relevant issues of the article. When writing an article critique, you are expected to consider the strengths and weaknesses of the experimental design and the data collection methods, as well as information on the interpretations that are based on the data presented in the manuscript. You should address only such issues in your critique as whether a research question is of interest, whether it is original, and whether the study is done in a way to answer that question. Don’t be overly critical. It is important to maintain good manners while you will be presenting your critique of the manuscript.