JOURNAL REVIEW REQUIREMENTS:

First, the article to be reviewed MUST be from the journal Social Forces. No other journal or magazine or book qualifies. The journal can be found through the library website in the EBSCOhost database. You must be able to access and use the library to complete this assignment. Spend some time studying the library’s website and getting familiar with its resources.

NOTE: A warning about a not-so-common mistake. Do NOT review a book review. Look at the description of the article and make sure it is an original study. A review of a book review will be rejected.

The paper is minimally three pages and no more than five pages, double-spaced (actually 1.5 line spacing is best), 12 point, with a separate title page. (See instructions for title page.)

This is something like a book report but goes deeper than you may have gone in the past. I need to know what the topic is and why the author thinks it is important. Unlike typical academic writing you do not need to use citations other than something like “the author states…” Or, you may mention something like: “the author cites the publication JAMA for her data on premature birth rates.” Using a direct quote you need only cite the page number.

Mechanics: No grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors. Use the tutorial center if you need help on this. They will proof your material. Or simply get help from a friend who can read your paper and make suggestions for clarity.

Paragraph construction: All paragraphs include introductory sentence, explanations or details, and concluding sentence. Do your best writing. Again, get help from the tutorial center if needed.

LAYOUT:

1 Paper should have an Introductory Paragraph or two that states what the research is about. This is tantamount to a thesis statement.

2 Then it should discuss the Methodology used, such as ethnographic, survey, observation, participant observation, archive, use of existing surveys, etc. I need to know how this research was done and that you understand the process of gathering information for research.

3 Next is the Body of the paper. This is where you describe the actual research or study that was done. You should describe it fully so that I can understand it. This section could be over a page.

4 Conclusion: What was discovered? What did the research find? What was learned?

5 Your remarks on the study. Why did you choose it? Was it intelligible? Would you recommend it? (This should only be about two paragraphs.)