How does the author introduce the article (for example, do they tell a story to situate the topic, or do
they discuss other research, a media report, an event)? How does the introduction frame the coming
discussion and argument?
III. Argument
What argument(s) does the author make in the paper (for example, are they saying that some topic
hasn’t been studied (enough); or, are they saying that if we study some particular issue/case it will
change (or reaffirm) how we think about some conception; or, are they saying that if we bring in a
different conception it will change the way we think about a particular issue/case)?
IV. Structure of the Paper
How does the author go about making the argument in the paper? What order do they present the
information? How do they layout the article? What sections are in the article, and what points do they
make in each one? How do the sections build up to the overall argument?
V. Literatures
In what literatures (both theoretical and topical) does the author situate their work? What works do
they cite, and how do they conceive what they are citing? Note: Not every paper will have a specific
section dedicated to literature review – they may be embedded in various sections of the paper.
VI. Methodology
How did the author go about collecting that information (data) used to support their argument? Did
they use interviews (who, with and how many), participant observation (where and how long),
document analysis (historical documents, newspaper accounts, policy papers, etc.), or statistical data
(gather by the author or some other entity) to name a few? How is the data presented: is it woven into
the text of the article, or is it presented in some graphic form (maps, charts, graphs, photos)? How
well does the data support the argument that the author is making?
VII. Conclusion
How does the author summarize their argument(s) one last time? Do they hint at broader implications
of their work beyond the focus of this article? Do they make a call for more research in a certain area?
VIII. Bibliography
How many sources does the article cite and what types of sources are cited? How many of the sources
are books? How many are research articles? How many are other types of documents (popular media
reports – newspaper or magazine articles, government documents, planning documents, etc.)? How
many are internet sources? Does the author cite Wikipedia?
