Paper instructions:
An analytic or critical review of an article is not primarily a summary; rather, it comments on and evaluates the work in the light of specific issues and theoretical concerns. Keep questions like these in mind as you read, make notes, and write the “review.”
• What is the specific topic of the article?
• What overall purpose does it seem to have?
• For what readership is it written?
• Does the author state an explicit thesis?
• Does he or she noticeably have an axe to grind?
• What are the theoretical assumptions?
• Are they discussed explicitly?
• What exactly does the work contribute to the overall topic?
• What general problems and concepts in criminology/nature of crime does it engage with?
• What kinds of material does the work present (e.g., primary documents or secondary material, literary analysis, personal observation, quantitative data, biographical or historical accounts)?
• How is this material used to demonstrate and argue the thesis? (As well as indicating the overall structure of the work, your review could quote or summarize specific passages to show the characteristics of the author’s presentation, including writing style and tone.)
• Are there alternative ways of arguing from the same material? Does the author show awareness of them?
• In what respects does the author agree or disagree?
• What theoretical issues and topics for further discussion does the work raise?
• What are your own reactions and considered opinions regarding the work?
• How does the article relate to things you are learning in this class? From the assigned textbook? From the lectures and classroom discussions?
To keep your focus, remind yourself that your assignment is primarily to discuss the article’s treatment of its topic, not the topic itself. Your key sentences should therefore say: “This book shows…the author argues” rather than “This happened…this is the case.”
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