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Journal Review

The document discusses two approaches to reviewing journals or research: descriptive reviews and critical reviews. Descriptive reviews objectively present the content, structure, purpose and authority of the journal. Critical reviews not only describe the journal but also evaluate it based on accepted standards, comparing it to other research. The document then provides guidance on how to start a journal review, including thoroughly reading and annotating the article multiple times before critiquing it. It suggests considering aspects like the thesis, purpose, methods and conclusions. The review structure should include identifying details, a brief summary, and a critical discussion of key issues supported by evidence, followed by an overall evaluation.

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Shiela Linn Banate
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40 views14 pages

Journal Review

The document discusses two approaches to reviewing journals or research: descriptive reviews and critical reviews. Descriptive reviews objectively present the content, structure, purpose and authority of the journal. Critical reviews not only describe the journal but also evaluate it based on accepted standards, comparing it to other research. The document then provides guidance on how to start a journal review, including thoroughly reading and annotating the article multiple times before critiquing it. It suggests considering aspects like the thesis, purpose, methods and conclusions. The review structure should include identifying details, a brief summary, and a critical discussion of key issues supported by evidence, followed by an overall evaluation.

Uploaded by

Shiela Linn Banate
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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JOURNAL REVIEW

TWO GENERAL
APPROACHES TO
REVIEWING A JOURNAL OR
RESEARCHES
DESCRIPTIVE REVIEW
- Presents the content and structure of a journal as objectively
as possible, giving essential information about it's purpose and
authority. This is done with description and exposition by
stating the perceived aims and purposes of the author, often
incorporating passages quoted from the text that highlight key
elements of the work. Additionally, there may be some
indication of the reading level and anticipated audience.
CRITICAL REVIEW
- Describes and evaluates the journal in relation to accepted
literary and historical standards and supports this evaluation
with evidence from the text and, in most cases, in comparison
to the research of others. It should include a statement about
what the author has tried to do, evaluates how well [in the
opinion of the reviewer] the author has succeeded, and
presents evidence to support this evaluation.
How to start with your journal review?

Before getting started on the critique, it is important to review the


article thoroughly and critically. To do this, it is recommended to
take notes, annotate, and read the article several times before
critiquing. As you read, be sure to note important items like the
thesis, purpose, research questions, hypotheses, methods,
evidence, key findings, major conclusions, tone, and publication
information. Depending on your writing context, some of these
items may not be applicable.
Your review might
therefore be guided by the
following questions:
SO HOW CAN YOU BEGIN TO MEET
THESE DEMANDS?

STEP 1: GET TO KNOW THE ARTICLE YOU ARE


REVIEWING:
• Look at the title, the table of contents, the abstract and the
introduction.
• Skim quickly through the whole article.
• Read more closely to the first and last paragraph of the article.
• Now that you are familiar with the text, read the whole text
thoroughly to develop a basis on which to critically review it.
Step 2: Decide which aspects of the article you
wish to discuss in detail in your review:
• the theoretical approach?
• the content or case studies?
• the selection and interpretation of evidence?
• the range of coverage?
• the style of presentation?
Step 3: Now, on the basis of your overall
knowledge of the article and your decision
about which issues you will
discuss, read in closer detail the sections
which are relevant to these issues. Make
notes of the main points and key quotations.
Are you now ready to
start drafting and
writing your review?
The structure of your review should include:
➔ an initial identification of the article (author, title of article, title of journal, year of
publication, and other details that seem important, eg, it is originally a French
edition, etc), and an indication of the major aspects of the article you will be
discussing.

➔ a brief summary of the range, contents and argument of the article. Occasionally
you may summarise section by section, but in a short review (1,000-1,500 words)
you usually pick up the main themes only. This section should not normally take up
more than a third of the total review.
The structure of your review should include:
➔ a critical discussion of 2-3 key issues raised in the article. This section is the core
of your review. You need to make clear the author's own argument before you
criticize and evaluate it. Also you must support your criticisms with evidence from
the text or from other writings. You may also want to indicate gaps in the author's
treatment of a topic; but it is seldom useful to criticize a writer for not doing
something they never intended to do.
➔ a final evaluation of the overall contribution that the article has made to your
understanding of the topic (and maybe its importance to the development of
knowledge in this particular area or discipline, setting it in the context of other
writings in the field).
Thank you!

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