Critiquing a Scholarly Article
When reading a published
article students often make the mistake of assuming that the information
they’re reading must be the truth. Such assumptions
are dangerous because historians, like everyone else, are susceptible to
personal bias. Any time you read a
historical article (or any article for that matter) you should approach it with
a critical eye. Think carefully about
what the author has written and ask yourself whether or not he or she has done
a good job of supporting his or her argument.
In this exercise you will be
selecting and critiquing a scholarly article from a historical journal that you
will find online. Your first assignment will be to select a journal article
that interests you. The article you
select must conform to the following criteria:
1.
You must select your article from the JSTOR database (see below for
more information).
2.
The article must cover an event, personality, or development that
occurred in the United States or significantly impacted the United States
during the period covered by your class (prior to 1877 if you are in HIST 1301;
after 1877 if you are in HIST 1302).
3.
The article must be at least 20 pages long (i.e., 20 pages of text).
4.
The article’s date of publication must be after 1950.
Article selection is perhaps
the most important part of this assignment.
Many students get in hurry and select the first article they find that
satisfies the four criteria. This
usually proves to be a big mistake because they end up with a confusing article
that is of little or no interest to them.
A better approach would be to browse through your textbook and find a
couple of topics that interest you. Once
you have identified a couple of topics then you can begin looking for an
article that makes sense and will hold your interest (but don’t forget about
the four criteria).
Before you begin critiquing
the article you must have it approved by the instructor. In order to have the article approved you
will submit a complete and accurate bibliographic citation to me. The citation should be submitted via e-mail. NOTE: Online students must submit
their citations using WebCT e-mail. If you do not have e-mail you may have
someone else send it for you, but make sure you identify yourself when you
submit your citation. If you absolutely
cannot submit the citation via e-mail, you will have to see me and make outside
arrangements. No article will be approved unless a complete and accurate
bibliographic citation is submitted.
All citations must be formatted in the same style as the examples
below. No citation will be approved
unless it adheres to this style.
Schulze,
Jeffrey M. “The Rediscovery of the Tiguas: Federal Recognition and Indianness
in the Twentieth Century.” Southwestern
Historical Quarterly 55 (July 2001): 15-39.
If you are uncertain about
how to interpret these citations you should consult a librarian or Kate L. Turabian’s Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses,
and Dissertations. After I receive
your citation I will determine whether it satisfies the criteria and will
approve or reject it accordingly. No two
students will be allowed to critique the same article; so the sooner you submit
your citation the greater the likelihood of having your request approved. Also, you may consider selecting two articles
and submitting both citations in case your preferred article is rejected. No article critique will be accepted for credit
without prior approval from the instructor.
Once your article has been
approved you will be ready to start critiquing.
Before you start reading the article you should be aware of one very
important point: one does not simply read a scholarly article, one
critically deconstructs it. In
this exercise, critical deconstruction will involve writing a paragraph that
expands upon each of the following statements.* Read all the statements and think
about them individually before you start writing. NOTE: The words appearing in boldface italics
below will be the first words in the first sentence of each paragraph.
1.
The main purpose of this article is . . . [State as accurately as
possible the author’s purpose for writing the article. In order to demonstrate the author’s purpose
you will have to furnish some background information on the topic so you may
need to consult your textbook about the topic]
2.
The key question that the author is asking is . . . [Figure out the key
question in the mind of the author when he/she wrote the article]
3.
The most important information in this article is/concerns . . . [Identify the facts, data,
or resources the author uses to support his/her argument. To expand on this statement you will have to
look at the foot or endnotes]
4.
The main conclusion[s]/inference[s] in this article is/are . . . [Identify the key
conclusions the author comes to and presents in the article]
5.
The main assumptions underlying the author’s thinking are . . . [Think about what the author
is assuming to be true and what might be questioned. To expand on this statement you will need to
think about the historic context of the topic]
6.
If we accept the author’s line of reasoning, the implications are . . . [What consequence does the
author’s argument have on our understanding of the past and the present?]
7.
If we reject the author’s line of reasoning, the implications are . . . [What consequence does
rejecting the author’s argument have on our
understanding of the past and the present?]
8.
When writing this article, the author’s point of view may have been
influenced by . . . [It is important to remember that historians are influenced by events
that occurred during the time when they wrote.
For example, historians writing in the 1950s tended to be very proud of
*The statements are an
adaptation from The Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking Concepts and Tools
by Richard Paul and Linda Elder.
The most important pages in
a scholarly article are usually the first 2-3 pages and the last 2-3
pages. In fact the answers to many of these questions will be found at the beginning
and/or end of the article. Thus before
you delve into the article, spend a few minutes reading the first couple of
pages and the last couple of pages (don’t worry about spoiling the ending,
unlike literary writers, scholars seldom finish their works with a big
surprise). The important thing is that
you understand what the author is trying to say; you can then read the full
article and determine for yourself whether he or she has done an adequate job
of arguing the point.
Each of the statements above
will be the first sentence of an expanded paragraph on that particular
point. Thus you will be writing an
eight-paragraph critique. The completed critique must be 2-3 pages in
length. It must be typewritten (use a
standard 12-point font) and double-spaced with one-inch margins. Do not include a cover page or a vinyl cover. Your name, the course number and date should
appear (single-spaced) at the top of the report against the left-hand
margin. The bibliographic citation will
be single-spaced and located four spaces below the date (use the same
bibliographic format as the sample above).
Responses to the questions will be double-spaced and will begin two
spaces below the citation. Staple all
pages together in the upper left-hand corner.
The following journals are
available online through JSTOR, and
you must use this online collection. You
can access the articles from any computer on campus. You may also be able to access JSTOR from
your home computer by entering through the VC Library website (when
you get to this site scroll down to find the JSTOR link). You must select your article from one of the
journals listed below.
American Historical Review
Economic History Review
American Quarterly
Journal of American History
(
Journal of Economic History
Journal of Military History
(Military Affairs)
Journal of Negro History
Journal of Southern History
William and Mary Quarterly
Content – 70 Points
Statement/Paragraph 1 (10 Points)
Statement/Paragraph 2 (10
Points)
Statement/Paragraph 3 (10 Points)
Statement/Paragraph 4 (10
Points)
Statement/Paragraph 5 (10 Points)
Statement/Paragraph 6 (5
Points)
Statement/Paragraph 7 (5
Points)
Statement/Paragraph 8 (10
Points)
Writing – 20 Points
Logic/Meaning (10 Points)
Grammar (10 Points)
Mechanics
– 10 Points
Format
(length, margins, space, font) (5 Points)
Punctuation & Spelling (5Points)