"How to read a scholarly article "

How to Read an Academic (Scholarly) Article Name: ____________________ EAPP 0900 Score: ________ / 34

Part 1: Parts of Academic (Scholarly) Article Watch the video about how to read an academic (scholarly article). Write 1-4 in the chart to show the order in which you should read a scholarly article. You will use some numbers more than once. Then write a short definition for each part.

Step (order)	Part	Definition
	Abstract
	Introduction
	Literature Review, Background, or History
	Methodology or Research Methods
	Results, Data, or Findings
	Discussion
	Conclusion
	References, Works Cited, or Bibliography

Part 2: Using the Database to Find an Article Apply the tips from the video to read a scholarly article related to immigrant families in the U.S.

1. Find the article “Maternal Attitudes and Parent Education: How Immigrant Mothers Support Their Child’s Education Despite Their Own Low Levels of Education”

a. Go to www.saintpaul.edu

b. Click Student Services > Library

c. Choose Articles & Databases > Databases A-Z > Academic Search Premier (EBSCO)

d. Search for the article in the database.

e. Download and print a copy of the article.

Part 3: Vocabulary Define the words and part of speech according to the context of the article. Do not use a dictionary. (1 point each)

2. The title of the article is “ Maternal Attitudes and Parent Education: How Immigrant Mothers Support Their Child’s Education Despite Their Own Low Levels of Education” (Schaller et al. 351).

What does maternal mean in this sentence? ____________________________________

What part of speech is maternal? _______________________________

3. Paragraph 10 says, “We chose this sample of AVANCE-Dallas graduates because they were the most homogeneous in terms of a Mexican education, with no levels exceeding sixth grade and most of our graduates falling within this range” (Schaller et al. 352).

What does homogenous mean in this sentence? ____________________________________

What part of speech is homogenous in this sentence? _______________________________

4. Paragraph 14 says, “These parents overwhelmingly held strong convictions about their child’s educational future” (Schaller et al. 353).

What does convictions mean in this sentence? ____________________________________

What part of speech is convictions in this sentence? _______________________________

5. The abstract says, “A study of Mexican immigrant mothers of young children in the AVANCE-Dallas early childhood intervention program demonstrates that low-educational parents often exhibit ambitious attitudes about educational achievement for their children” (Schaller et al. 351).

What is the best meaning of exhibit?

a. verb: to show something in a public place so that people can go to see it 

b. verb: to clearly show a particular quality, emotion, or ability

c. noun: something, such as a painting, that is put in a public place so people can go to see it

d. noun: an object that is shown in court to prove whether someone is guilty or not

6. The abstract says, “The best way to capitalize on immigrant parents’ educational drive for their children is to partner with them” (Schaller et al. 351).

What is the best meaning of capitalize?

a. verb: to write a letter of the alphabet using a capital letter

b. verb: to supply a business with money so that it can operate

c. verb: to use a situation or something good in order to get an advantage

d. verb: to calculate the value of a business based on the value of its shares or on the amount of money it makes

7. The abstract says, “The best way to capitalize on immigrant parents’ educational drive for their children is to partner with them” (Schaller et al. 351).

What is the best meaning of drive?

a. verb: to make a car, truck, bus etc move along

b. verb: to strongly influence someone to do something

c. noun: determination and energy to succeed

d. noun:  the hard area or road between your house and the 

8. Paragraph 7 says, “Mothers who graduated from the AVANCE-Dallas program….need guidance for channeling their positive attitude to most effectively advance their children” (Schaller et al. 352).

What is the best meaning of channeling?

a. noun: a television station and all the programs that it broadcasts

b. noun: directing people or things to a particular place, work, situation etc

c. noun: an area of water that connects two larger areas of water

d. noun: a practice based on the belief that dead people can communicate with living people by making their spirit enter a living person’s body and speaking through the

Part 4: Short Answer Follow the tips in Part 1 to read the article “Maternal Attitudes and Parent Education.” Answer each question using complete sentences. (2 points each)

9. Who are the authors? Evaluate the credibility of the authors. Are they qualified to write about this topic? Explain.

10. What is the source for this article? Is the source reliable? Why or why not?

11. Find and highlight the thesis in the article. Paraphrase the thesis in the space below using your own words. Introduce your paraphrase and include an in-text citation.

12. Which two groups did researchers survey in the AVANCE-Dallas study?

13. You want to research the education of Mexican-Americans in more detail. Write the title and author of another source you could use for your research.

Part 5: Textual Evidence—Direct Quotations Find a direct quotation from the article that supports the main point. Write the quotation correctly, including correct punctuation. Introduce the quotation and use an in-text citation (2 points).

14. The author states that in the past, many Mexicans were not well-educated. Find a statistic to support this point. Write the statistic as a direct quotation. Don’t forget to introduce it and use an in-text citation.

Part 6: Textual Evidence--Matching Match each quotation with a main idea by writing the correct letter in the blank (1 point each).

15. ______ The majority of AVANCE-Dallas mothers participate in effective literacy activities with their children.

16. ______ Teachers should work closely with immigrant parents to help them learn how to successfully engage in their children’s education.

17. ______ Children of AVANCE-Dallas graduates outperformed other students in Texas on standardized tests.

18. ______ Latino parents place great value on higher education.

a. “Nearly all (95%) Latino parents say that it is very important to them that their children go to college and the majority (54%) of Latinos say that young people have little chance of success without a college degree” (Schaller et al. 353).

b. “When 97% of AVANCE-Dallas mothers read to their children always or sometimes, they are doing a simple activity that sets the stage for lifelong literacy” (Schaller et al. 355).

c. “Their scores on standardized TAKS (Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills) assessments reveal their high academic achievement: 88% of AVANCE-Dallas child graduates enrolled in school met the passing standard in reading—compared with 73% in the DISD (Dallas Independent School District) and 83% in the state” (Schaller et al. 355).

d. “As early childhood educators, we must be aware of ways we can partner with immigrant parents so that we empower more mothers like Alma Coronado to transform their families with deep-seated attitudes about education and effective academic preparation” (Schaller et al. 355).

Part 7: Main Ideas & Details Identify the main idea and details for each paragraph. Use your own words and complete sentences (2 points each).

19. What is the main idea of paragraph 3 (beginning with “In Alma’s case…”)? Use your own words and write complete sentences.

20. Write two details to support the main idea of paragraph 3. Use your own words and write complete sentences.

a.

b.

Part 8: Multiple Choice Circle the best answer for each question (1 point each).

21. Who is the main audience for this article?

a. educators

b. immigrants

c. parents

d. students

22. What is AVANCE-Dallas?

a. a parenting program

b. a preschool program

c. a research institute

d. a reading program

e.