Science Essay

Journal Article Review Instructions

Articles

During this course, you will write formal reviews on:

“East Africa’s Great Rift Valley: A Complex Rift System” by James Wood and Alex Guth at http://geology.com/articles/east-africa-rift.shtml .

Content

In general, each Journal Article Review must contain an introductory paragraph, the body of the work, and a conclusion. In terms of the body, the following items must be discussed:

1. Brief overview of the theme of the article and its main points.

2. Strengths of the article. Answer questions such as:

a. What did the author do well?

b. Were any points made exceptionally clear?

c. Did the author write with concision and precision?

3. Weaknesses of the article. Answer questions such as:

a. What erroneous assumptions does the author make, if any?

b. Are any factual errors made in the article?

c. Is the scientific method violated in any way?

d. Could the author have stated his/her case better?

4. Remember, every article has weaknesses. You are expected to discuss some of these. Failure to identify any weaknesses in your Journal Article Reviews will negatively affect your grade.

Outline

Use the following outline when writing your papers. Each point on the below outline must be a separate section (with a section heading) within each of your Journal Article Reviews. You will notice that these section headings correspond to the content points above.

I. Introduction

II. Overview and Main Points

III. Article Strengths

IV. Article Weaknesses

V. Conclusion

Length

These reviews are to be 2–3 pages each. Do not exceed this page limit. The title page and bibliography do not count toward this page total.

Format

You must use current APA formatting. Papers must be double-spaced with 1-inch margins all around. The font is to be Courier New or Times New Roman, 12-point. Include a cover sheet with your name, instructor’s name, course number and title, date, and paper title.

Sources

The only source required for each review is the article itself. However, feel free to incorporate other sources if you so desire. Additional sources must be limited to journal articles, manuscripts, scholarly textbooks, and/or internet sites from .edu or .gov sources. Avoid internet sites from .com, .net, .org, etc. sources as the information contained therein are not often peer-reviewed. Also, Study Bibles are not appropriate for this assignment. List all of your sources in a bibliography at the end of the paper.

Citation

Be sure to cite your sources in the body of your paper using proper APA formatting..