Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsSteps for Writing a CritiqueEvaluating the ArticleHow to Write ItHelpful Tips

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Table of Contents

Steps for Writing a Critique

Evaluating the Article

How to Write It

Helpful Tips

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An article critique involves critically analyzing a written work to assess its strengths and flaws. If you need to write an article critique, you will need to describe the article, analyze its contents, interpret its meaning, and make an overall assessment of the importance of the work.

Critique papers require students to conduct a critical analysis of another piece of writing, often a book, journal article, oressay.No matter your major, you will probably be expected to write a critique paper at some point.

For psychology students, critiquing a professional paper is a great way to learn more about psychology articles, writing, and the research process itself. Students will analyze how researchers conduct experiments, interpret results, and discuss the impact of the results.

At a GlanceAn article critique involves making a critical assessment of a single work. This is often an article, but it might also be a book or other written source. It summarizes the contents of the article and then evaluates both the strengths and weaknesses of the piece. Knowing how to write an article critique can help you learn how to evaluate sources with a discerning eye.

At a Glance

An article critique involves making a critical assessment of a single work. This is often an article, but it might also be a book or other written source. It summarizes the contents of the article and then evaluates both the strengths and weaknesses of the piece. Knowing how to write an article critique can help you learn how to evaluate sources with a discerning eye.

Steps for Writing an Effective Article Critique

While these tips are designed to help students write a psychology critique paper, many of the same principles apply to writing article critiques in other subject areas.

Your first step should always be a thorough read-through of the material you will be analyzing and critiquing. It needs to be more than just a casual skim read. It should be in-depth with an eye toward key elements.

To write an article critique, you should:

The following guidelines can help you assess thearticle you are readingand make better sense of the material.

Read the Introduction Section of the Article

In addition to answering these basic questions, note other information provided in the introduction and any questions you have.

Read the Methods Section of the Article

Is the study procedure clearly outlined in themethods section? Can you determine whichvariablesthe researchers are measuring?

Remember to jot down questions and thoughts that come to mind as you are reading. Once you have finished reading the paper, you can then refer back to your initial questions and see which ones remain unanswered.

Read the Results Section of the Article

Are all tables and graphs clearly labeled in theresults section? Do researchers provide enough statistical information? Did the researchers collect all of the data needed to measure the variables in question?

Make a note of any questions or information that does not seem to make sense. You can refer back to these questions later as you are writing your final critique.

Read the Discussion Section of the Article

Experts suggest that it is helpful to take notes while reading through sections of the paper you are evaluating.Ask yourself key questions:

The discussion section offers students an excellent opportunity to take a position. If you agree with the researcher’s conclusions, explain why. If you feel the researchers are incorrect or off-base, point out problems with the conclusions and suggest alternative explanations.

Another alternative is to point out questions the researchers failed to answer in the discussion section.

Begin Writing Your Own Critique of the Paper

Once you have read the article, compile your notes and develop an outline that you can follow as you write your psychology critique paper. Here’s a guide that will walk you through how to structure your critique paper.

Introduction

Thesis Statement

The final part of your introduction should include your thesis statement. Your thesis statement is the main idea of your critique. Your thesis should briefly sum up the main points of your critique.

Article Summary

Provide a brief summary of the article. Outline the main points, results, and discussion.

When describing the study or paper, experts suggest that you include a summary of the questions being addressed, study participants, interventions, comparisons, outcomes, and study design.

Your Analysis

In this section, you will provide your critique of the article. Describe any problems you had with the author’s premise, methods, or conclusions. You might focus your critique on problems with the author’s argument, presentation, information, and alternatives that have been overlooked.

When evaluating a study, summarize the main findings—including the strength of evidence for each main outcome—and consider their relevance to key demographic groups.

Organize your paper carefully. Be careful not to jump around from one argument to the next. Arguing one point at a time ensures that your paper flows well and is easy to read.

Conclusion

Your critique paper should end with an overview of the article’s argument, your conclusions, and your reactions.

More Tips When Writing an Article Critique

What This Means For You

Tips for Writing Psychology Papers

5 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Archibald D, Martimianakis MA.Writing, reading, and critiquing reviews.Can Med Educ J. 2021;12(3):1-7. doi:10.36834/cmej.72945Pautasso M.Ten simple rules for writing a literature review.PLoS Comput Biol. 2013;9(7):e1003149. doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003149Gülpınar Ö, Güçlü AG.How to write a review article?Turk J Urol. 2013;39(Suppl 1):44–48. doi:10.5152/tud.2013.054Erol A.Basics of writing review articles.Noro Psikiyatr Ars. 2022;59(1):1-2. doi:10.29399/npa.28093American Psychological Association.Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association(7th ed.). Washington DC: The American Psychological Association; 2019.

5 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Archibald D, Martimianakis MA.Writing, reading, and critiquing reviews.Can Med Educ J. 2021;12(3):1-7. doi:10.36834/cmej.72945Pautasso M.Ten simple rules for writing a literature review.PLoS Comput Biol. 2013;9(7):e1003149. doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003149Gülpınar Ö, Güçlü AG.How to write a review article?Turk J Urol. 2013;39(Suppl 1):44–48. doi:10.5152/tud.2013.054Erol A.Basics of writing review articles.Noro Psikiyatr Ars. 2022;59(1):1-2. doi:10.29399/npa.28093American Psychological Association.Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association(7th ed.). Washington DC: The American Psychological Association; 2019.

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Archibald D, Martimianakis MA.Writing, reading, and critiquing reviews.Can Med Educ J. 2021;12(3):1-7. doi:10.36834/cmej.72945Pautasso M.Ten simple rules for writing a literature review.PLoS Comput Biol. 2013;9(7):e1003149. doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003149Gülpınar Ö, Güçlü AG.How to write a review article?Turk J Urol. 2013;39(Suppl 1):44–48. doi:10.5152/tud.2013.054Erol A.Basics of writing review articles.Noro Psikiyatr Ars. 2022;59(1):1-2. doi:10.29399/npa.28093American Psychological Association.Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association(7th ed.). Washington DC: The American Psychological Association; 2019.

Archibald D, Martimianakis MA.Writing, reading, and critiquing reviews.Can Med Educ J. 2021;12(3):1-7. doi:10.36834/cmej.72945

Pautasso M.Ten simple rules for writing a literature review.PLoS Comput Biol. 2013;9(7):e1003149. doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003149

Gülpınar Ö, Güçlü AG.How to write a review article?Turk J Urol. 2013;39(Suppl 1):44–48. doi:10.5152/tud.2013.054

Erol A.Basics of writing review articles.Noro Psikiyatr Ars. 2022;59(1):1-2. doi:10.29399/npa.28093

American Psychological Association.Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association(7th ed.). Washington DC: The American Psychological Association; 2019.

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