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Article Critique
General Directions
Using all library databases available, locate a journal article related to school leadership. Read it
carefully and reflect on it, then follow the attached guidelines and rubric to help craft your
critique. Articles should not be older than two years old.
Reading and Thinking:
• Read the article SLOWLY. Don’t criticize anything just yet. Try to really understand the
author’s logic rather than questioning it.
• Mark key points and transitions as you read. Try to isolate at least one central point in
each paragraph.
• Review introductory and closing sections closely. Think about how the author moves
from opening statements to conclusions via the body of the article.
Writing:
• Begin your written analysis with a blanket statement summarizing what the author does
in the article. Sometimes the author explicitly gives you his or her agenda in the
introduction and/or in the conclusion. You should be able to relay this in one or (maybe)
two sentences.
• Summarize the key ideas used by the author in achieving his or her agenda. Look at the
parts of the article you have marked. Try to indicate how the author progresses from
idea to idea in the article.
• List important evidence used to support key ideas in the article. Indicate why the author
finds this evidence convincing.
Critiquing:
• Carefully describe any biased, illogical, or inappropriate use of evidence in the
article. Take into account the author’s purpose and perspective, as any apparent misuse
of evidence may be attributable to these factors.
• Note any avoidable lack of evidence in the article.
• Note the strong points of the article.
Finalizing:
• Proofread your writing. Read it aloud. Try to use active verbs and concise modifiers.
• Verify that your analysis would be helpful to someone who hadn’t read the article. Don’t
assume that your reader can intuit what you mean by anything.
Grading Rubric
Component Unacceptable Acceptable Target
At the top of the page,
write your article
Reference has more
than 1 APA error.
(0 points)
Reference follows APA
format, with 1 error.
(1 point)
Reference carefully
follows APA format,
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Component Unacceptable Acceptable Target
reference in APA
format.
with no errors.
(2 points)
Summary
Key points and
evidence to support
those points is clearly
presented
Summary of article is
inadequate or too
brief; does not identify
main points; fails to
include appropriate
evidence to support
points. (0 points)
Acceptable summary
of information that
describes the article’s
premise; evidence is
included. (2 points)
Excellent summary of
relevant information
that clearly describe
the article’s premise;
evidence is included.
(4 points)
Critique Incomplete critique;
lacks reflection and
sound analysis of the
chosen article; no
clear connections are
made to evidence
gather from the article.
(0 points)
Complete critique;
shows an adequate
level of reflection and
analysis; may lack
connections to
evidence gathered
from the article.
(2 points)
Complete, well-formed
critique; shows a
thoughtful, reflective,
in-depth analysis of
chosen article.
(4 points)
Professional
Presentation
Writing involves many
grammatical errors
(more than 3).
(0 points)
Writing involves few
grammatical errors (no
more than 2). (1 point)
Writing is free of all
writing errors.
(2 points)
