Article Review Instructions

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Article Review Instructions
The purpose of an article review (or summary) is to give the reader (your instructor) a clear,
objective picture of the original text. Most importantly, the review restates only the main points
of a text without giving examples or details, such as dates, numbers, or statistics.
Guidelines for writing a summary of an article:
 State the main ideas of the article.
 Identify the most important details that support the main ideas.
 Write your summary (review) in your own words; avoid copying phrases and sentences
from the article unless they are direct quotations.
 Express the underlying meaning of the article, not just the superficial details.
 Your review should be about one third of the length of the original article (but consistent
with the rules for this assignment, please keep the main body of the paper to two pages.
Your summary should include:
Introduction
 Start with a summary or overview of the article which includes the author’s name and the
title of the article.
 Finish with a thesis statement that states the main idea of the article.
Body Paragraphs
 The number of paragraphs in your review depends on the length of the original article.
 Your review should be about one third the length of the original article. For a oneparagraph review, discuss each supporting point in a separate sentence. Give 1-2
explanations for each supporting point. For a multi-paragraph review, discuss each
supporting point in a separate paragraph.
 Start each body paragraph with a topic sentence.
 Each paragraph focuses on a separate main idea and just the most important details from
the article.
 Put the ideas from the essay into your own words. Avoid copying phrases and sentences
from the article.
 Use transitional words and phrases to connect ideas.
Concluding Paragraph
 Summarize the main idea and the underlying meaning of the article (a summary of your
review).
References are not required because you are reviewing only one source of information.
However, you must provide your instructor with a copy of the article or a link (that he can open)
to the article.