Learn How to Write an Article Review and Get an A

Working on article reviews can feel a bit tricky at first. But once you break them down, you’ll see it’s not so bad. Here’s how to tackle this task step by step:

Start by giving the article a good read, maybe even twice.
As you go through the article, write down your thoughts and questions.
Create a short summary of the article without inserting your opinions just yet.
Look for the strengths and weaknesses of the article.
Share your perspective
Finish by summarizing your main points.

At the end of this guide, you'll also find an example of an article review for a better understanding of the topic. However, if you’re still feeling uncertain about writing article reviews, PaperWriter is here to help you out. Whether you need advice on structure, content, or any other aspect of your assignment, our research paper writer has got your back!

What Is an Article Review?

Basically, your review article is a constructive, critical assessment of someone else’s work. It explores the strong and weak points of the given piece, gaps, inconsistencies, and other issues, and gives the whole piece an objective evaluation based on all these points.

Fully grasping how to review the article requires excellent analytical and critical thinking skills, as well as the ability to present ideas and arguments in a well-structured way. Therefore, handling this task can be rather difficult.

To help you get on the right track, here are the basic features of article review writing:

It always includes summarization, classification, in-depth analysis, comparison, and critiques.
The evaluation and analysis should use research, ideas, and theories relevant to the subject matter.
Important: A review of an article should not provide new information. Instead, it should explore and evaluate the work of another writer.

Types of Review

Let's quickly look through the main types of article reviews you'll come across. Each one plays by its own rules, so you need to know which is which to write with precision.

Journal Article Review – academic-focused and often about a specific field or publication
Research Article Review – built around evaluating the research process and findings
Science Article Review – typically aimed at simplifying technical content

Journal Article Review

A journal article review discusses a published scholarly article to help the reader understand how well the author can present their ideas. Such pieces analyze how specific research contributes to the field. When you're writing a journal article review, you're taking a close look at the author's arguments and the quality of supporting evidence. Instead of simply summarizing what the original article says, this type of review shows how well the author's reasoning holds up and where it might fall short.

College students are often assigned these reviews because they build critical thinking skills. If the original article sets out to make a meaningful contribution, the review’s role is to assess whether it actually does.

Research Article Review

A research article review takes a close look at the original findings of a study. Instead of looking at the big picture, it focuses on how the research itself was done. Was the experiment designed well? Are the results reliable? Does the data actually support the conclusion? These are the questions that a typical research article review answers.

The purpose here is to figure out how credible the research really is. That means reading between the lines when reviewing sample size, data interpretation, or just a possible bias in the reporting. This type of review helps call out those studies that aren't that airtight.

Science Article Review

A science article review examines papers about scientific subjects and "translates" them for a general or semi-specialized audience. They're the articles that break down the latest discoveries in the scientific field in everyday language. The goal of this type of review is simply to make sure everything's explained clearly.

This review checks how well the author can make a complex idea understandable for the general audience. Science spreads quickly, especially online, and not always accurately. So, science article reviews check for oversimplications and exaggerations that might confuse the reader.

Article Review Format

APA Format Article Review

APA style is popular in the social sciences, and it’s known for being a bit...particular. If you're working on an article review in APA, you’ll want to be sure every part from your title page to your references is clear and correctly placed. Take a look at an article review APA format example:

Section	What It Should Look Like
Title Page	This includes the title, your name, your school, the course, your instructor, and the date.
Abstract	A short summary that gives readers a quick look at your review’s most important points.
Introduction	The first part of the review that names the article and gives a bit of context on the topic.
Summary of Article	Talks about the article's main idea and the supporting evidence of the arguments.
Critical Analysis	Here, you share your thoughts on how strong the article is. What works? What doesn’t?
Conclusion	The final section where you wrap everything up with your overall take on the article.
References	Listing of any sources you used for your review in full APA format.

MLA Format Article Review

You’re probably writing for a humanities class if your professor asks you to use the MLA format. It's a bit more relaxed than APA, although its structure still needs to be clean. MLA doesn't require a title page or an abstract, but expects your citations to be spot-on. Here’s what a typical MLA article review includes:

Section	What It Should Look Like
Header	In the top left corner: your name, your instructor’s name, the course, and the date.
Title	Centered on the page. No bold or underline.
Introduction	Say what article you're reviewing and why
Summary of Article	Go over the article's main points and how the author backs them up.
Evaluation	Offer your take on the article. Was the writing clear? Did the article make its case?
Conclusion	Finish with your thoughts and a final say.
Works Cited	List your sources in MLA style.

Article Review Template & Outline

It's important to have a game plan before you jump into writing. A clear outline gives your review structure, so your thoughts don't scatter all over the place. Without one, it's easy to forget something important. Regardless of what you’re reviewing - pieces about history, ethics, or relevant religion essay topics - the layout remains the same. Here’s a simple structure you can adjust to fit your article:

Section	What to Focus On
Introduction	Mention the article’s title and author. Share the main topic and what you plan to say about it.
Summary	Explain the article’s main points in your own words. Keep it factual and clear.
Analysis	Discuss the article’s strengths and flaws. Use examples to show what worked and what didn’t.
Conclusion	End with your overall opinion. What did the article add? Is it worth reading?
References/Works Cited	Format this part based on APA or MLA, depending on your assignment's requirements.

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Example of an Article Review

Seeing a real journal article review example can make the structure and tone of an article review much easier to understand. Below, you can also find a helpful reference if you're looking for an APA format article review example.

The Impact of Exercise and Opponents on Perceived Time

The Influence of Repetition on Climate-Related Beliefs

The Pre-Writing Process

Of course, writing a review itself is the biggest part of the task. However, as we all know, no task can be completed well without some basic planning and preparation. The pre-writing process is necessary to get you ready for the writing stage and that’s why it is so important.

So, what do you need to prepare?

‍First and foremost, you need to understand the essence of this task. It is vital that you know what an article review is, what purpose it has, and what is expected of you. Once you know this, there are a few more pre-writing steps to take.

Figure Out How to Organize Your Paper

Before you can get to reading and evaluating the given article, you should have a clear idea of the organization of your future review. Knowing how your paper will be structured will give you an idea of what you should focus on when reading the article.

To help you get started, here is how your review should be set up:

Summary of the article. Begin your review by summarizing the article, its key ideas, statements, and information.

Discussion of the strong points. Next, focus on the positive things. Tell the readers what the author does well, what good ideas he or she brings up, and share some insightful observations.

Discussion of drawbacks, gaps, contradictions, and inconsistencies of the article. To complete your review, tell the readers about the negative aspects you’ve noticed. Discuss if there is an information gap, lack of research, or unanswered questions.

Review the Article by Going Over the Text

Start by quickly skimming the article. During your first reading, don’t cling to any details. Instead, go over the article’s title and abstract, study the headings, opening sentences of the paragraphs, etc. Then only read the first several paragraphs and jump to the concluding paragraph. These tricks will help you quickly grasp the overall idea of the article and the main points the author makes.

Next, read the entire article to get a complete picture. Here are a few tips to help you make the first reading as effective as possible:

Look for the general idea and key points.
Note down any terms, concepts, or words that are not familiar to you.
Write down all questions you get while reading the article.
Before you move to the next step, be sure to look up the definitions of the unfamiliar words.

Read the Text Attentively

After you give it the first round of superficial reading and note down everything that seems unclear, you can finally read the article closely.

Follow these tips to make the most of this stage:

Read the article multiple times to ensure that you got the main idea right.
Make notes on everything that sounds important or unclear.
Highlight the most important points and helpful quotes that you can refer to later.
Connect the content of the article with your own knowledge of the topic. Define if the article agrees or disagrees with what you already know.

Interpret the Article In Your Own Words

Putting the article into your own words is a great trick that will help you define how well you understood the main points. Also, this is a good practice for your writing stage.

After writing down your own interpretation of the article, highlight the main parts that you’d like to discuss in your review.

Based on your interpretation and highlighted points, make a preliminary outline. Then review your outline to cross out everything unnecessary or unimportant.

Create a Detailed Outline

The last stage of preparation is making an outline. Get back to your notes, summary, and preliminary outline to define what to include in your review. Based on this, create a clear, well-organized, and detailed outline. In the next section of our guide, we will give you more tips for making an effective outline.

Your professor has given you an assignment, but you don't know how to write a reflection paper? Our authors have created a great guide that is sure to help you.

Article Review Template & Outline

Writing an outline is the best way to organize all your thoughts and create a solid base for your future paper. It will help you follow the right structure and focus on the right points in your review. Also, an outline will help you see if anything is missing or, on the contrary, if there is anything else you should exclude from your paper.

How to create a good outline? First of all, ensure you are well aware of your teacher’s requirements. There are two sections of the review that are optional - a personal critique and a summary section. You should define if your professor wants you to include these sections or not. If yes, you will also have to add them to your outline. If not, you can follow a standard template.

What parts are included in an outline? The review itself, like any other academic paper, should consist of an introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. However, additionally, you may need to include some other sections to your review, such as:

Pre-title page that shares full information about the article that is being reviewed (i.e. the type of the article, author(s), the title of the publication, etc.)
Optional author’s contact details (e.g. email, address, phone number, etc.)
Running head (this element only applies to papers in the APA format)
Summary page (used to communicate the background, define why the work was done, sum up results and discuss methods)
Title page
Works Cited or References
Suggested Reading Page (optional)
Tables and Figure Legends (if required)

Need more help with making an article review outline? Here is a basic sample outline that can serve as a template for your future review:

Introduction

Background information
Article classification
A brief summary

Body

Paragraph 1: A strong point or insightful observation + analysis and critique + supporting evidence
Paragraph 2: A strong point or insightful observation + analysis and critique + supporting evidence
Paragraph 3: A drawback, gap, inconsistency, or another weak point + analysis and critique + supporting evidence
Paragraph 4…

Conclusion

Summary of all discussed points
Critical evaluation of the author’s work
Comparison

Steps for Writing an Article Review

You need quite a bit of planning to write a solid article review. You can simply follow these steps that will help guide you through the process:

Come up with a clear and relevant title
Reference the article properly
Mention the article’s key details (author, title, etc.)
Start with a strong introduction
Summarize the article in your own words
Offer a thoughtful critique
Wrap it up with a clear conclusion

Let’s break these down.

Come Up With a Strong Title

If you’re still not sure how to start an article review, this part is where it all begins. The title is the very first impression your reader will have of your article, so you need to make it count. Choose a title that tells people what the review is about right away and gives them a reason to keep reading. Keep it concise but specific.

Example: Review of “Cognitive Bias and Decision Making” by Dr. L. Jameson

Reference the Article

You need to reference the original article right after the title or at the end, depending on which format you're using. This includes publication info: the author's name, article title, journal name, volume, issue, page numbers, and year. Make sure it follows the style guide you're using (APA, MLA, etc.).

Example (APA style): Jameson, L. (2023). Cognitive bias and decision making. Journal of Behavioral Psychology, 18(3), 112–124.

Identify the Article

Beyond immediate information about the article, you also need to state a sentence or two about what it covers before you start the analysis. This part will be the foundation of your review.

Example: In the article Cognitive Bias and Decision Making, Dr. L. Jameson explores how unconscious thought patterns influence everyday choices in high-stress environments.

Start With a Strong Introduction

A good introduction should make your reader need to know more. If you're confused about how to start your article review template, this is where the writing really begins. Give your reader an idea about why the article matters and why it's worth talking about.

Example: We make hundreds of decisions every day, often without realizing just how much our brains are working. But what if many of those choices aren’t as rational as we think? In her article Cognitive Bias and Decision Making, Dr. L. Jameson discusses the invisible forces that shape how we choose, act, and react, especially under pressure. This review takes a closer look at her findings, weighing the strengths of her research and pointing out where the argument could use a little more depth.

Summarize in Your Own Words

Show you really understand the article instead of just quoting it. Do the points the author covers make sense? Is the supporting evidence relevant and credible? This part urges you to stay objective and avoid sharing your opinions for a bit more. You just have to report what the article says, not evaluate it just yet.

Example: Dr. Jameson makes the case that cognitive bias has a powerful influence on how people make decisions, especially in high-stress jobs like emergency response and law enforcement. To back it up, she pulls in real-world case studies and psychological research that shows just how often instinct and bias can override logic.

Share Your Thoughts

Here comes the main part of your article: analysis. In this section, you start sharing your thoughts: were the arguments convincing? Did the evidence back them up? Point out the article's strengths and weaknesses, and don't forget to use specific examples. Be honest but fair.

Example: Jameson’s use of real-life examples really helps readers connect with the material. It’s clear she knows her audience and aims for science to feel practical. Still, there’s a noticeable gap when it comes to cultural context. She doesn’t discuss how different backgrounds might influence bias, which leaves the argument feeling a little too focused on one perspective.

Wrap Up With a Clear Conclusion

The conclusion is where you wrap things up without adding anything new. Bring your main points back into focus without being repetitive and share your final thought on the article. Tell the reader whether it was insightful and worth reading. The concluding paragraph must be clear and to the point, so the reader has no question about where you stand.

Example: Dr. Jameson’s article does a great job of highlighting a part of decision-making that often gets overlooked. While there are a few spots where she could’ve gone a little deeper, her points are well-researched and genuinely thought-provoking. It’s a solid read, especially for anyone working in high-pressure environments.

The Last Stage: Proofreading and Editing

If you take a look at a truly well-written article review, you will not find any typos or grammar mistakes there. Although the content of your review plays a big role in your success, the quality of the text is also vital.

Although many students still prefer to skip the post-writing process, they make a huge mistake here. If you don’t bother to proofread and edit your review, you risk getting a low grade just because you didn’t fix the errors. That would be a pity, right? That’s true, so here you have all the reasons to devote some more time and energy to revise your draft.

But how to proofread and edit your review effectively? Here are some key tips that should help:

First of all, be sure to give yourself a few days to rest after you are done with writing. Often, when you start proofreading the text right after you finished it, you are too tired to notice all the mistakes that might be there. So, it is always a good idea to let it rest for a few days.

One more tip is to read your review several times. As a rule, reading it only once is not enough to notice all the drawbacks.

Focus on one type of mistake at a time. When revising your work for all types of mistakes at once, you will most likely miss something. But, if you focus on one specific type of mistake during each round of revision, you will be able to identify and eliminate all the errors.

Use available tools. Finally, we encourage you to make use of the tools you have to simplify and speed up the process. There are many great tools for proofreading and editing that can come in handy. Don’t rely on them completely, but let them save you some time.

Checklist for Revision

Now that you have all the tips for effective proofreading, here is a checklist that will help you define whether you checked everything:

Content
Formatting
Text structure
Paragraphs
Tone of voice
Sentence structure
Vocabulary
Presentation
Grammar
Spelling
Punctuation
Referencing and citations
Uniqueness

Article Review: 14 Dos and Don’ts

We already told you about the main steps in writing and shared some handy article review examples to help you get started. But, we have even more tips in store and we are willing to share them with you.

In the list below, we’ve gathered some of the main tips on what you should and should not do when writing.

Dos:

Read the article several times to define its main idea and understand it fully.
Take notes while you are reading.
Focus on the impression the article makes.
If there are any unknown terms, be sure to look them up before writing.
Base your work on an analysis with insightful observations.
Check at least one example to know what it should look like.
Write in the third person and stick to the formal style.
Make an emphasis on your introduction to engage the readers and make a strong thesis statement.

Don’ts:

Don’t think it is enough to read the article only once.
Don’t neglect the importance of creating an outline.
Don’t go with just any title, brainstorm ideas to find a title that is both concise and attention-grabbing.
Don’t focus only on the positive or, on the contrary, only the negative sides of the article. Instead, make an all-rounded review that highlights both strong points and drawbacks.
Don’t skip the proofreading and editing stage.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help if you really need it.

The Bottom Line

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PaperWriter is a professional article review writing service with a huge pool of top-rated writers. Here, students of all academic levels can get any kind of help they need. Whether you need to do my math homework or any other assistance - PaperWriter has got you covered. Trust us to take care of your article review and we will make sure that you get the highest grade with literally no effort.