Total Points: 25
Article Evaluation Paper Guidelines
Objective: Read and assess research articles on a variety of topics that fall into the study of the American criminal court system and to build critical thinking and writing skills
Assignment Outline: Course members will select 1 of the articles listed for the specific assignment (Article Evaluation Paper 1, Article Evaluation Paper 2, etc.) and then provide a summary and analysis of that article as well as their opinion of the pieces they’ve selected
Components to this Assignment: For this assignment, course members will choose a research article from the list of acceptable options (those options are listed with the Assignments link for each respective Article Evaluation Paper) and will then provide up to 1 page of summary of the arguments made, the evidence and methods used, and the conclusions of the selected research article. Following the summary, course members should incorporate an analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, and questions stemming from the research article. This section should also not exceed 1 page for a total of 2 pages for the entire analysis paper along with a page 3 including the reference information for the article or reading you’ve selected.
For the Summary Section (no more than 1 page)
1. What is/are the central arguments of the article? What theories are used by the author/s and what is the research question (or questions) they have put forth in this piece?
2. What methods are used by the author/s? What data are they using to investigate their research question?
3. What are the main findings of this article? And what conclusions do the author/s offer as a result of their work in this piece?
For the Critique Section (no more than 1 page)
1. What are the strengths of this article? Provide an analysis here that focuses on the substance of this piece (either on the arguments made by the author/s, the methods they use, or the findings/conclusions offered). Critiques should focus less on elements like the layout of an article or components like graphs and more on the larger assertions, claims, or theories put forth in the article.
2. What are the weaknesses of the article/reading? Again, focus on the substance of the article as directed above with discussion of the strengths.
3. Stemming from this article, what are the follow-up questions that arise? In your opinion, is there anything missing (as in do the arguments offered only fit if you look at the topic in a certain way or does the analysis exclude important data points that should be incorporated, etc.)? What would the addition of this type of information do as far as improving the article as it is currently written?
4. Finally, what is the key takeaway from this article or reading? This portion should be no longer than 1 paragraph and should narrow in on the main lessons to be drawn from the reading in relation to the field of criminal courts.
