Writing an Effective Critical Review

What is a Critical Review?

A critical review is substantially different to a simple summary of an article. It is an analysis and
evaluation of an article, book, or other medium. Writing a good critical review requires that you
understand the material, and that you analyse and evaluate it using appropriate criteria.

Three Steps

1. Reading
▪ Scan through the whole text to identify the overall thesis, structure and methodology
This will help you understand how the different elements connect.
▪ Read critically
It is not enough to simply understand what the author is saying; it is crucial to challenge it.
While reading, take notes that reflect what the text means to you. You should focus on the
following criteria in order to ensure that all important aspects of the article are considered.

▪ What type of text is it? (For example: Is it a primary source or

secondary source? Is it original research or a comment on original
Structure
research?)
▪ What are the different sections and how do they connect? Are any
of the sections particularly effective/ ineffective?
▪ Is the research quantitative or qualitative? Does the methodology
have any weaknesses?
Methodology
▪ How does the design of the study address the hypothesis?

▪ What sources does the author use (interviews, peer-reviewed

journals, government reports, journal entries, newspapers, etc.)?
Reasons/Evidence
▪ What types of reasoning are employed (inductive, deductive,
abductive)?
▪ What type of evidence is provided (empirical, statistical, logical,
etc.)?
▪ Are there any gaps in the evidence or argument?

▪ Does the data adequately support the conclusion drawn by the

researcher(s)?
Conclusions
▪ Are other interpretations possible?
▪ Are the conclusions dependent on a particular theoretical
formulation?
▪ How does the paper contribute to the field?