What is a critical review literature review?
When you are asked to write a critical review of a book or article, you will need to identify, summarize, and evaluate the ideas and information the author has presented. In other words, you will be examining another person’s thoughts on a topic from your point of view. Show
Your stand must go beyond your “gut reaction” to the work and be based on your knowledge (readings, lecture, experience) of the topic as well as on factors such as criteria stated in your assignment or discussed by you and your instructor. Make your stand clear at the beginning of your review, in your evaluations of specific parts, and in your concluding commentary. Remember that your goal should be to make a few key points about the book or article, not to discuss everything the author writes. Understanding the AssignmentTo write a good critical review, you will have to engage in the mental processes of analyzing (taking apart) the work–deciding what its major components are and determining how these parts (i.e., paragraphs, sections, or chapters) contribute to the work as a whole. Analyzing the work will help you focus on how and why the author makes certain points and prevent you from merely summarizing what the author says. Assuming the role of an analytical reader will also help you to determine whether or not the author fulfills the stated purpose of the book or article and enhances your understanding or knowledge of a particular topic. Be sure to read your assignment thoroughly before you read the article or book. Your instructor may have included specific guidelines for you to follow. Keeping these guidelines in mind as you read the article or book can really help you write your paper! Also, note where the work connects with what you’ve studied in the course. You can make the most efficient use of your reading and notetaking time if you are an active reader; that is, keep relevant questions in mind and jot down page numbers as well as your responses to ideas that appear to be significant as you read. Please note: The length of your introduction and overview, the number of points you choose to review, and the length of your conclusion should be proportionate to the page limit stated in your assignment and should reflect the complexity of the material being reviewed as well as the expectations of your reader. Write the introductionBelow are a few guidelines to help you write the introduction to your critical review. Introduce your review appropriatelyBegin your review with an introduction appropriate to your assignment. If your assignment asks you to review only one book and not to use outside sources, your introduction will focus on identifying the author, the title, the main topic or issue presented in the book, and the author’s purpose in writing the book. If your assignment asks you to review the book as it relates to issues or themes discussed in the course, or to review two or more books on the same topic, your introduction must also encompass those expectations. Explain relationshipsFor example, before you can review two books on a topic, you must explain to your reader in your introduction how they are related to one another. Within this shared context (or under this “umbrella”) you can then review comparable aspects of both books, pointing out where the authors agree and differ. In other words, the more complicated your assignment is, the more your introduction must accomplish. Finally, the introduction to a book review is always the place for you to establish your position as the reviewer (your thesis about the author’s thesis). As you write, consider the following questions:
Provide an overviewIn your introduction, you will also want to provide an overview. An overview supplies your reader with certain general information not appropriate for including in the introduction but necessary to understanding the body of the review. Generally, an overview describes your book’s division into chapters, sections, or points of discussion. An overview may also include background information about the topic, about your stand, or about the criteria you will use for evaluation. The overview and the introduction work together to provide a comprehensive beginning for (a “springboard” into) your review. As you write, consider the following questions:
Write the bodyThe body is the center of your paper, where you draw out your main arguments. Below are some guidelines to help you write it. Organize using a logical planOrganize the body of your review according to a logical plan. Here are two options:
Questions to keep in mind as you writeWith either organizational pattern, consider the following questions:
Keep your opinions distinct and cite your sourcesRemember, as you discuss the author’s major points, be sure to distinguish consistently between the author’s opinions and your own. Keep the summary portions of your discussion concise, remembering that your task as a reviewer is to re-see the author’s work, not to re-tell it. And, importantly, if you refer to ideas from other books and articles or from lecture and course materials, always document your sources, or else you might wander into the realm of plagiarism. Include only that material which has relevance for your review and use direct quotations sparingly. The Writing Center has other handouts to help you paraphrase text and introduce quotations. Write the conclusionYou will want to use the conclusion to state your overall critical evaluation. You have already discussed the major points the author makes, examined how the author supports arguments, and evaluated the quality or effectiveness of specific aspects of the book or article. Now you must make an evaluation of the work as a whole, determining such things as whether or not the author achieves the stated or implied purpose and if the work makes a significant contribution to an existing body of knowledge. What is the difference between a critical analysis and a literature review?However, the key feature that distinguishes a critical review from a literature review is that the former is more than just a summary of different topics or methodologies.
What are the main purposes of a critical literature review?The purpose of a literature review is to gain an understanding of the existing research and debates relevant to a particular topic or area of study, and to present that knowledge in the form of a written report. Conducting a literature review helps you build your knowledge in your field.
What is meant by critically review?A critical review (sometimes called a critique, critical commentary, critical appraisal, critical analysis) is a detailed commentary on and critical evaluation of a text. You might carry out a critical review as a stand-alone exercise, or as part of your research and preparation for writing a literature review.
What is a critical review in research?A critical review describes an author's hypothesis or conceptual model based on key literature in their field of study. One of the aims of the critical review is to demonstrate that the reviewer has a commanding understanding of the literature to the point where they can extrapolate hypotheses on the topic of review.
|