Writing An Opening Paragraph Of The Article Review

An article review is a piece of academic scholarship in which a student or academic reviews a piece of writing, often a journal article or written piece of literary criticism. In the article review paper, the writer summarizes and explains the main arguments and philosophical claims of the article’s original author, and points out any flaws in his or her logic. The writer of the paper also engages in some literary criticism of his or her own, and responds in a high minded way to the primary text being discussed.

Because an article review paper requires several levels of analyses and critique, it can be highly challenging to write well. Most students get lost at the very start, and have trouble writing a convincing and prescient intro paragraph. However, it is imperative that you avoid this mistake when drafting your own article review paper. A strong introduction section can provide your readers with a schema, or a roadmap for how the rest of the paper will proceed. Here are some suggestions for writing a winning intro paragraph in your article review.

  1. Find a provocative quote from the author of the article. Consider making this your primary sentence, to kick off the paper.
  2. Related to number 1, find a quote that helps illustrate the author’s entire approach in their article. It should be emblematic of their position as a whole.
  3. After you have laid down a quote in the text of your paper, cite it and explain what it demonstrates about the article author’s attitude and overall conclusions.
  4. From there, make a more broad statement about what the article author set out to do in their piece, and how they went about doing it.
  5. Briefly summarize the author’s overall position with regard to the topic or piece of writing they wrote about. Do not go into excessive detail, simply provide the reader with the most basic and essential facts.
  6. Make a statement, near the end of your introduction paragraph, that belies your own position regarding the original author and their article. Slyly indicate whether you agree or disagree with their position; point out a flaw or limitation, for example, or a piece of supporting evidence.
  7. Following this example, indicate in a more explicit way what the central thesis of your paper will be. Was the author on the mark? Or was he or she mistaken or limited in their scope? Perhaps they were correct in some aspects but incorrect in others.
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