An article critique is a genre of academic writing that provides critical evaluation through intensive analysis of an article, which involves giving a brief summary of the article. Reading an article critique helps an audience in understanding the key points of the article, the author’s ideas and intentions. It indicates the perceived success of an article and analyses its strengths and weaknesses. As with other types of academic writing, an article critique has to be written in formal language and using a structured format. It should consist of an introduction, several body paragraphs and a conclusion. Though the general pattern is similar, some formatting styles have certain specific guidelines for writing an article critique. It is important to study how to write a critique properly and to be sure what each formatting style requires. In order to be able to write an effective critique, a writer must also have a full understanding of the topic they are analysing. The main purposes of writing an article critique are to: • Describe the main ideas and what the author wants to express • Analyse each important and interesting point and develop an explanation of the article • Interpret the author’s intention • Summarise and Evaluate the value of an article, stating whether you agree or disagree with the author of an article, with supporting evidence. Steps involved in writing an article critique: 1. Read the article for the first time to understand its main ideas. If you are unsure if you understand it clearly, reread it. 2. Once you feel you understand what the article is talking about, read the article again and make notes as you go. If you find any interesting sentences or paragraphs that you think should be discussed, you should quote them as evidence to support your discussion. 3. From your notes, analyse and discuss each important point. You can give your comments and opinions at this stage. 4. Summarise and provide a conclusion regarding whether you like or dislike the article. Support your ideas with the evidence you found. Tips: • Although called a ‘critique’, an article critique does not only give critical and negative feedback on an article. A good critique should include both positive praise and negative criticism for a particular work. • Use direct quotations of the author’s work where appropriate to avoid accusations of plagiarism. • Write the critique in the third person.
