Article Review Assignment

World Literature I
In this assignment, you will find an article (or book chapter) written by a literary critic about one of the texts we have read this semester. This assignment will help you familiarize yourself with professional writing about literature, practice sound research techniques, read analytically, and (I hope) learn a little more about a work of literature you have found intriguing.

You will do three tasks for this assignment:
(1) Locate, using the library’s resources, an article or book chapter about a literary work we have read this semester
(2) Read that article or book chapter
(3) Write an article review about it.

Guidelines for these tasks:
Find an article or book chapter
1. Find an article or book chapter about a character, historical/cultural background, or literary background from one of the texts that we have read. These are your limitations, however:
It must be something of interest to you; use this as an opportunity to explore
It cannot be information from a website
It cannot be a “book review,” that is someone writing a review of someone else’s scholarly work (that’s what you will be doing later)
It cannot be an encyclopedia article (whether online or not)
It cannot be an article from Masterplots.
You must find it using the library’s databases for articles or on-line catalogues for books. To do this, start on the MGA library home page, look under “Resources” for “Subject guides,” then choose the English subject guides and select the one for ENGL 2111 (World Literature). You will find a number of databases in which to search (under “Find Articles”). OR you may use GIL to find one of our library’s books (Under “Find Books”). Chapters from ebooks (if found through the library’s catalogue or Galileo) are OK to use, too. If you choose a book chapter, you only need to read/use one chapter (not the whole book – one chapter will be roughly the same length as an article)
You should choose an article or book chapter you can understand. If you find something that, once you start reading, sounds like gobblety-gook to you, leave it and find something else.

2. Make an electronic copy of your article or book chapter.
If you are working from a “hard copy” — that is, a physical book – scan the article or book chapter or a copy of it to make a digital file. If you need help with this, see me.
If you are using an electronic copy, use the option to download a copy or email a copy to yourself.
Being able to submit an electronic copy of your article or book chapter (in a .html, pdf, or other supported file) is part of the assignment, so this step is important.

Read the article or book chapter
This one task is exactly what it sounds like. Read carefully and see what you think of the author’s argument.

Write an article review
Follow the format given below and do all the tasks, as asked. Read the instructions carefully. They should explain everything

Submit
In the appropriate Dropbox, submit BOTH your article review AND an electronic copy of the article or book chapter you have found.

Article Review Guidelines
This assignment should be double-spaced and written in Word.
You should label each section with a bold-faced header, which should align with the left margin (not be centered).
Your review should have each of the following sections (listed in bold followed with some guidelines).
Your audience is me (of course) and your classmates. [Give your name, date, etc., as usual]

ARTICLE REVIEW
After this title and before the introduction, give the Bibliographic information about the article you have used. That is, give what would be the article’s (or book chapter’s) works cited entry. You should be sure you use MLA citation format (see resources I have given for help with this).

Hints: Be sure that, if you use a book chapter, your entry uses the “chapter from a book” format, not the format for the whole book.

Remember to use a hanging indent for this information and to be technically correct. Again, if you need help with this, see the resources I will provide.

Introduction
For the introduction, orient your reader to the article you will discuss and its main point. You can use the following format to get you started:
The article / chapter ___[title]______] by _______ in _____[journal or book title]_____discusses ________________. It uses [what kind of evidence?] to show that ______________________. The article highlights _______[1-3 sentences]_________________. It helps to show that _________________________.

IMPORTANT: Don’t forget to format the title of your article or chapter correctly (put in quotation marks). Titles of whole books or of academic journals are italicized.

Article Summary
Summarize the thesis statement and the main supporting points of the article, in no more than 1 – 2 paragraphs. Remember that a thesis isn’t a statement of the article’s topic (“Weapons in The Iliad”). It is the main point the article makes about the topic (“The weapons used in The Iliad indicate that. . . .”) To begin your summary, lead into the thesis, beginning with “This article argues that. . . . “ Then go into your summary of the article’s main points that support this position. This summary must be in your own words, although put quotation marks around any occasional sentences or lengthy phrases that might come directly from the article. Use MLA-style in-text citation within this summary you write. [Also, if the article already has a summary, an “abstract,” you may not just copy or rephrase it. You must read the article and write your own]

Critical Reflection
Write 2 – 3 paragraphs in which you:

  • (a) Explain how this article relates to any issues or ideas we have been studying in the class.
  • (b) Discuss what are the article’s most important additions to the class’s knowledge about the subject.
  • (c) Give your opinion about the article’s strengths or weaknesses.

In all cases, be sure to illustrate and support your positions.

Conclusion
In no more than 1 paragraph, remind your reader of three things (1) the main point the article makes about its topic (2) the strongest contribution this article makes to the reader’s knowledge (3) whether or not you recommend this article to classmates and why.