Assignment #2

Evaluating/Summarizing a Scholarly Journal Article
Due October 19. Post Word doc in Assn #2 folder on BB; Don't send a pdf please!
--Read Assignment CAREFULLY
Choose an article from this list of journals.

• Search for article on the Falvey search page, limiting your search to the years 2020-2023. (Articles are listed in the middle column.). Do not summarize a newspaper, magazine article, or book review.  Be sure your article comes from a scholarly journal.

• Do a SEARCH for the country and topic you want to research. Add a second search term or more specific words for better results, e.g., "Brazil favelas" or "China sustainable fashion"; I suggest you stick with the country of your presentation so as to gain a deeper understanding of it, but this is not a requirement.

• Go here for topic ideas

• Let me know of any problems, and we'll solve them together!

• Every student must choose a different article. List and link your article on the Google docs chart. Read through the list to be sure you aren't evaluating an article someone else has already chosen. And DO NOT choose a book review.

  • List your article here

    • • First read the abstract very carefully;  If it's not interesting to you, choose another! If the terminology is overly specialized, choose another!  Make sure it's on a topic you'll want to find out more about.

      • Use your own words for the evaluation; paraphrase!; don't use quotations from the article; 

      • DO NOT USE AI FOR ANY PART OF THIS ASSIGNMENT !!

• First read the abstract very carefully; if it's not interesting to you, choose another!  Make sure it's on a topic you'll want to find out more about.

• Use your own words for the evaluation; paraphrase!; don't use quotations from the article;

• Length -- about 4 pages; essay format; 12 pt typeface, normal margins

• Submit -- As Word doc on BlackBoard > Content Homepage > Assn #2

Number each section as indicated below. Make each answer about 1/2 page long double-spaced (about 100 words).  Try not to repeat information in the sections.  Make each one different.

1. First/thesis paragraph--1/2 page (probably write this section last)

   • Include title of article, name of journal, name of author, and date of publication

   • Sum up your impression of the article

2. What is the author's main argument? (Paraphrase as accurately as possible.)

3. What is the most important information the author provides in the article? (What supporting evidence, facts, experience or data do the authors provide to support their argument?)

4. What are the author's key concepts needed to understand the article? Define these concepts.  (What important ideas do you need to understand in order to understand the authors' line of reasoning?)

5. Comment on the methodology the author uses to gather information in the article.  Describe the way research was conducted:  was it dependent on other scholarship, quantitative surveys, interviews, case studies, etc.?

6. What are your reactions to the author's argument? Are you convinced? Why or why not?

7. What questions do you have for the author about their article? (Do you need more information? Is part of the argument unclear? Is there something the authors haven't considered? What would you ask the authors if you spoke with him/her/them?)

8. Conclusion-- One or two sentence paragraph. Provide a summative statement that gives the overall impression of the article; Was it enjoyable? useful? clear?

Adapted from Critical Thinking: Concepts and Tools buy Paul and Eider.

***Common Stylistic and Punctuation Mistakes to Avoid--

• Look over any past assignments and AVOID making similar mistakes.

• Avoid unclear referent for "This," "That," "These" etc.  Instead, write, "this book," "that comment," "These facts."

• Avoid using "everything," "something," "thing"; use a specific word if possible, i.e. "this entire situation," "the problem," "the machine."

• Use literary present tense when describing the author's claims:  "Smith argues that severe consequences will be the result of these actions."

• Pay attention to the blue underlining in Word. It is an alert to possible grammar problems. If you want to ignore the "advice," right click on "Ignore."

• Avoid unconscious repetition of words. Find synonyms. "I hope to avoid using too many pronouns.  Pronouns are often unclear to the reader." 

• Put Names of Journals in Italics; put "names of articles" in double quotation marks.

• "Use double quotation marks," 'not single quotation marks'

• Periods and commas go INSIDE quotation marks."

• Note: An author or researcher doesn't "talk" or "say things" in an article. They write, claim, assert, report, argue, point out, etc.