Assignment 3: Review of a Scholarly Source
Due after Unit 3 – Weighting 20%
Helpful Links
Choosing an article: Consult the “Searching for Information” tab of AU Library’s “Guide to the Research Process.”
Writing the review: Consult the “Critical Reading” tab of AU Library’s “Writing a Literature Review.”
This exercise will help you develop critical analysis skills.
Review the scholarly article you indicated you would review in Assignment 2. It should be useful for your Long Research Essay (Assignment 5). Scholarly articles incorporate citations, whether in-text, as endnotes, or as footnotes.
Note: Your Academic Expert must approve your choice of article or book chapter before you write your review. Your Academic Expert will do this through their feedback on the bibliography in Assignment 2. If you want to review a different article, please contact your Academic Expert by clicking the “Make a request” button on the course home page.
Do not review your textbook, a newspaper article, or sources that contain no citations. However, you may use these for context, if necessary, and include them in a bibliography at the end of the review.
Concentrate on identifying the main points and conclusions of the article, and synthesize the information that will be useful for your own Long Research Essay (Assignment 5).
Format
Your review should comprise six clear paragraphs within the limits of three double-spaced, typed pages in 12-point Times New Roman font and standard 1-inch margins. Summarize—rather than include—chunks of quoted text.
If the article you have chosen will not work within this plan, find a better fit or consult your Academic Expert.
Content
Heading:
State, “Review of a Scholarly Source submitted by [your full name] to [Academic Expert’s name] on [date].”
Provide the full and correctly formatted (APA style) source information for the article or chapter. Since this is a review of a single source, there is no need to put it in a bibliography at the end.
Body
In paragraph one, briefly and clearly explain the thesis or research question of the article, the architectural phenomenon that is being examined, as well as the structure and parts of the argument. In this paragraph or a later one, consider where the article or chapter appears (if this information is relevant). Is it unusual in some way? Also explain who the article’s intended audience is.
In paragraph two, explain the context of the article by providing basic background on the essay. For example, if one of the essay case studies deals with Viking tombs, the context section should explain briefly who the Vikings were, when they lived and where, what the tombs were, and how they were used.
In paragraph three, explain the sources that the author uses to argue their thesis or investigate their research question. The author may state this information directly, or you may have to inspect the footnotes. In the case of a book chapter, sources are often explained in the book’s introduction. Do not simply present the obvious. This paragraph should be analytical; consider the effect of the author’s choices on your understanding of their argument. Feel free to mention problems or patterns you observe about these sources. Here are some questions to help you determine the types of sources used:
Do they comprise original or field research?
Are they books or articles?
Were they written recently or a long time ago?
What language were they originally written in?
In paragraph four, explain the author’s methodology, that is, how the author develops the argument and how the author uses the sources to support their argument, whether textual or visual. Sometimes an author may state this directly, but other times it may not be so clear. Here are some questions that may help you to determine the methodology:
Does the author employ a particular theory or interpretation?
Does the author use certain categories of questions to analyze the text/sources/visual evidence?
Does the author have to overcome certain problems or limitations with the sources?
Does the author use different sources in a particular combination?
Does the author use sources or parts of sources with which they both agree AND disagree?
In paragraph five, summarize the results of the research by describing clearly the author’s findings/conclusion(s). These might be given throughout the essay or summarized in its conclusion.
In paragraph six, identify and evaluate the significance or the major implications of the research findings and how they relate to your own research and interests in this course. This paragraph might include some critical engagement with features you have identified in earlier paragraphs. If you do not know much about the topic, you will not be able to evaluate the larger implication of the article, but you can, at least, explain how the article contributes to your own project.
Avoid using direct quotations from the article in this assignment: your goal is to summarize information rather than extract specific phrases. An exception might be when you explain a key phrase or term that the author uses. Remember to write your essay in an academic style that explains your article clearly in your own words.
Evaluation
Your review will be evaluated on how relevant the article is to your Long Research Essay (Assignment 5), how well you address the requirements in each of the six paragraphs, and how clearly it is written. The comments your Academic Expert adds when marking your paper will justify your grade and provide advice on how to improve your writing. Re-read your assignments and these comments.
You will continue to develop your notes and sources in your Course Work Journal (see Assignment 6) as you work through the course units.
Submit Assignment 3 using the assignment drop box. Note that your five (5) study questions for Unit 3 must also be submitted with this assignment. Different study questions require different types of answers; these are the guidelines for responding to study questions according to what each question asks for:
submit a 200-word (minimum) written answer; or
submit a sketch and a 100-word (minimum) written answer; or
submit your own sketch with labels (no minimum word count).
NOTE: If your file size is too large to submit as a single attachment in the drop box, compress or compile it into a .pdf or .zip file of your assignment items. There are many free, online tools that allow you to create PDF files out of other formats, to merge multiple PDF files into one document, and to “zip” multiple files into a single attachment. If you are still unable to submit your files using the drop box, contact your Academic Expert to make alternative arrangements. To contact your Academic Expert, click the “Make a request” button on the course home page.
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And it must come with a title block and APA format as well as come in microsoft word too and you must refer to the Global History of Architecture Third edition too
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