Purpose: The student is to write a two-page (approximately 500 word) critique of an article written in a current scientific periodical pertaining to the subject of biology.

Objective: The objective of this assignment is to demonstrate the student's ability to think critically and to communicate your thoughts effectively.

Guidelines:

A. Analysis of the article:

1. Read the article completely. Highlight any unfamiliar words. Try to

identify the author's main point.

2. Look up any unfamiliar words in the dictionary. Reread the article,

looking for the main idea of each major section.

3. Write down the main ideas as you perceive them. This is an initial

summary of the article.

4. Identify the author and try to determine the author's relationship to the

subject. What are the author's credentials? Can he/she be considered

an authority on the subject?

5. Read the article a third time to analyze how the author supports his/her

ideas (with examples, facts, opinions). Has the author convinced you of

the main ideas of the article? Why and how?

B. Organize your findings in the form of an essay. Any spelling should be clarified and corrected. The essay should contain these main sections.

1. INTRODUCTION: Identify the article and the author and briefly

summarize the article in this section. Tell the reader whether you agree

or disagree with the main point (this is your thesis statement). This

section should be no longer than one paragraph.

2. BODY: State what you think about the author's points in this section,

explaining the reasons for your opinions in detail. Use examples from

the article to illustrate your comments. Use your knowledge of biology

concepts to write this section. Consider using the following questions in

this section.

a. Is your reaction to the article based on your own experiences or

other reading that you have done? Explain.

b. Were you persuaded by the type of evidence the author used?

Explain.

c. Do you feel that the author ignored certain evidence? Explain.

d. Were you persuaded by the author's reasoning or do you think

he/she made mistakes in logic? Explain.

3. CONCLUSION: Summarize your main points, restating your thesis in the

ending of the paper. Another alternative is to point out the significance of

the idea that the article is based on.

C. Format: Citation, then the critical essay.

1. Citation format should follow the American Psychological Association

format. Refer to the Learning Resource Center for examples.

The following are two examples of references to periodicals which may

be of use:

Paivio, A. (1975). Perceptual comparisons through the mind's eye.

Memory & Cognition, 3, 635-647.

Becker, L. J., & Seligman, C. (1981). Welcome to the energy crisis.

Journal of Social Issues, 37 (2), 1-7.

2. Critical essay format: The essay should be type written and double

spaced.