Book Review and Article Critique

Literature Review

• Surveys scholarly work such as academic books, computerized databases, conference proceedings, dissertations/theses, empirical studies, government reports, historical records, journal articles, monographs, and statistical handbooks
• Critically analyzes the relationship among different scholarly works and the current work combining both summary and synthesis
• Functions:
  • Justifies a research question, method, or theoretical and conceptual framework
  • Establishes the relevance of the topic
  • Provides necessary information to better understand a specific topic or study
  • Shows reviewer's familiarity and mastery of the topic
  • Establishes the niche of the study
  • Resolves conflict among contradictory studies

Structure of a Literature Review

• Introduction:
  • Purpose for writing the literature review and the importance of the topic being reviewed
  • Scope of the review
  • Criteria used for selecting the literature
  • Organization pattern of the review
• Body:
  • Historical background
  • Relevant theories
  • Relationship between and among studies, and how each study advanced a theory
  • Strengths and weaknesses of each paper
• Conclusion:
  • Restatement of the main argument or thesis
  • Main agreements and disagreements in the literature
  • If stand-alone paper: conclusions, implications, and direction for future studies
  • If part of a thesis or research paper: linking of the literature review to the research questions
  • Overall perspective on the topic

Book Review/Article Critique

• A specialized form of academic writing that evaluates the contribution to knowledge of scholarly works such as academic books and journal articles
• Ranges from 250-700 words
• Critique is a critical assessment, analysis, or evaluation of work which requires skills in critical thinking and argument recognition
• Structure:
  • Introduction (around 5% of the paper)
  • Summary (around 10% of the paper)
  • Review/Critique (around 75% of the paper)
  • Conclusion (around 10% of the paper)

Research Report

• Defined as an expanded paper that presents interpretations and analyses of a phenomenon based on experiments and previous information
• Parts:
  • Title Page
  • Abstract
  • Introduction
  • Literature review
  • Body
  • Conclusion

Academic Writing

• Done by students in an academic setting to inform and persuade
• Most common types:
  • Academic essays
  • Book reviews
  • Book/article critiques
  • Literature reviews
  • Research reports
  • Project proposals
  • Position papers
  • Reaction papers

Choosing an Issue

• Issue should be debatable
• Issue should be current and relevant
• Issue should be in question form and answerable by yes or no
• Issue should be specific and manageable

Project Proposal

• Defined as a highly persuasive and informative document that aims to address a particular problem or issue
• Ranges from 1,000-2,500 words depending on the complexity
• Specifies:
  • Goals and objectives the project wants to accomplish
  • Project plan that details how the set goals and objectives will be accomplished
  • Financial, human (experts, consultants), and technical (equipment and facilities) resources useful in implementing the project
  • Budget that specifies how much money is needed and for what purpose it is spent
• Types:
  • Solicited internal
  • Unsolicited internal
  • Solicited external
  • Unsolicited external