article analysis article
Writing an article analysis
In this assignment you are required to find a journal article of your choice for critical analysis. 1. Find the article:
a. You must use a scientific article for this assignment. That is mandatory. These articles are found, surprisingly enough, in scientific journals. Find something you are passionate about. The only restriction for this assignment is the quality of the article, not the topic of it. Acceptable sources of articles for this assignment: Pfau Library. Pfau Library’s website is the best place to find scientific peer-reviewed journals as a CSUSB student. Our library subscribes to many important journals at high cost, so you can have access to both physical and electronic versions of important journals in all academic fields. Most recent issues of these physical journals are kept in the lobby of the Pfau library, for online sources continue reading! Remember, you can always ask the librarian on duty for assistance if you need help locating anything. They will be more than happy to help you. NOT acceptable sources of materials for this assignment: books (ain’t no one got time for that!), general circulation magazines (Time, The New Yorker), sports magazines (Sports Illustrated, Formula1), newspapers (LA Times, NYTimes), websites (Anything with “.com” or “.net” at the end of its URL), blogs (So-and-so’s brain droppings, Tumblr). Ask me if you are not sure; -- beforehand!!!!
b. If you want to find articles about a particular topic online, use the databases available through the library’s home page (accessible from any computer with your Log-In). Two of the most commonly used databases are: the EbscoHost (for most general topics), and PsycINFO (for Psychology). See: library.csusb.edu. Look for Databases A-Z under Research Links.
c. Make sure you get the full text of the article(s) you are analyzing. Also, when possible choose the PDF format instead of TXT format. PDF format guarantees you will see that article on your screen the way it was intended without any possible corruption due to changing computers (PDF keeps the images, the data, the tables, etc. in the correct format and the same place as the publisher did).
2. Read the article: a. This part is kind of important. You must read the article you choose. Expect to read it at least twice for
complete understanding of it. First time is to get a general idea of what is going on. b. Use techniques discussed in the class to find useful, relevant, and important information for reference in
your own work. (Skimming, coding, etc.) c. Read it again, this time pay more attention to what you are reading. Details are important! This time you
form your opinion of the piece by critically examining what you are reading and what you are thinking about it.
3. Write down your notes: a. These are thoughts, questions, intellectual agreements, or disagreements you might have with the article.
It is an exercise for your mind to start the processing of the information. Be mindful of how your position is supported by scientific evidence. In general, unsupported claim must be abandoned or corrected.
b. Write stuff down. Some of what you write down at this time may become important parts of your work later. What matters most is for you to have something tangible and written on paper to go back to. Do not rely solely on your memory or try to remember what you thought at the time of reading the article. I will give you the advice my father gave me, use it freely: “the weakest pencils are far more powerful than the strongest memories!” Write things down, you will appreciate yourself.
4. Now, think about what you want to say to your instructor about what you read: a. This is where you start forming your position toward what you read. Here, you can use what you wrote
previously to make your job easier. I am looking for clarity of thought. b. You can use some of these questions for help to form your opinion:
i. What is the author saying? Try to be as exact and as precise as possible (Consider the thesis, conclusion, any data sets, charts, or visual materials, tables, or pictures.)
ii. Do I agree? Do I disagree? Why? Why not? (You must have evidence for the position you are taking. “I did not like it,” “too much stats,” “I feel it was…” do not count as acceptable intellectual positions).
iii. Is what you are reading logical? Is it coherent? Could you follow the logic? Does it make sense? If not, read it again. If you still cannot make sense of it then find an article you can clearly understand. That means find an article you can explain to someone who has not read it without major error(s) or misrepresentation(s) of facts.
5. Start a draft by writing down your position statement: a. This is also called the tentative thesis development. That is a mouthful, I know! For now, let’s call it your
position statement. Remember, this position statement (thesis) is not the repetition of the author’s thesis. It is what it says it is: statement of your position in relation to author’s proposition.
b. Use your knowledge (personal, academic, life) to form your stance. Note that you do not have to disagree with something to be critical of that thing. On the contrary, a critical agreement is more valuable, strong, and sought after than a non-critical disagreement. Lastly, a critical analysis piece and an author-bashing piece are two different things. The latter is not taught in this class, so please do not write me one!
6. Organize your mind and your paper: a. Stop. Get away from your desk. Take a break and try to do something completely unrelated to your paper.
Do not think about your paper, the topic, the assignment, or anything related. Let your brain take a break and then come back to writing. Give your brain at least two hours to cool down. My suggestion is to write what you write, then come back the day after and proceed to b.
b. Use the MEAL plan to organize your mind and start shaping your work: i. Main point = What is your point? What are you saying?
ii. Evidence = Really? Is that what you are saying? Prove it! iii. Analysis = Oh, I see! Can you elaborate on that? iv. Link = Well, how is that related/different to/from what the author was saying?
7. Read it back to yourself. OUT LOUD! a. Okay, maybe not all caps loud, but read your work back to yourself loud enough so you can hear it with
your own ears. It is “you hearing it” part that is important. So, read it out loud, not in your heart, not in your mind, but out loud. Act like this paper will stop the apocalypse and you are asked to read it on TV for the people of Earth so they can see how you stop the annihilation. You are saving the world, so make it sound good and read it loudly and proudly. If you cannot read your own paper to yourself, then please do not subject me to read it. Have mercy!
8. Finally: a. Go through your paper and do one final check, maybe two if possible. Do a spellcheck, organizational
check, check your evidence, check your reasoning, check your sentences, and check your paragraphs. b. Use your word processor to do spell check. If you do not know how to do that, please consult your
software’s help section. Help on a computer software is normally accessible by pressing the F1 key on top left corner of your keyboard.
c. Make sure your word count meets the requirement for this assignment. 1000 to 1250 is the required range of word count. That is neither 999 words nor 1251. Follow that!
d. Make sure you are using Times New Roman font size 12 with 1 inch margins all around. Let me know if you do not know how to do this stuff. I get paid to teach you all that I know, so use me!
e. Citation style can be of your choice, just make sure you are following guidelines and it is uniformly cited throughout your paper the same way. Caution: In-text citation and a reference page at the end are required. Neither in-text citation nor reference page do not count toward the overall word count.
Any questions? Read this manual again. Still, any questions? Email Sina.Bastami@csusb.edu