How to Write a Journal Review APA Style?
- 1). Find the specified journal edition. Services like JSTOR offer comprehensive databases of most academic journals.
- 2). Read the entire contents of the journal before you begin your review. Highlight theses or opinions with which you disagree, or about which you have something interesting to say.
- 3). Format the review so that it is double-spaced and set to 1-inch margins, as per APA style requirements.
- 4). Abide by APA rules about how to cite an article in the text of your review and at the end of your review. When you are citing the journal in the text of your paper, you should cite the author as follows (Author 1 & Author 2, 1987). For example, "Digestive biscuits are called 'digestives' because nineteenth century Europeans believed they eased digestion (Author 1 & Author 2, 1987)." Notice that the citation's parentheses come before the period at the end of the sentence.
- 5). Cite sources at the end of the review as part of a "Bibliography," or list of books cited in the review. Sources should be cited as follows: "Author's Name (Year of Publication). Title of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher." For example, Springer, S. P. & Deutsch, G. (1985). Left brain, right brain. New York: W. H. Freeman.
- 6). Begin with a summary of the relevant articles you plan to discuss. Explain the main points of the article. Do not ignore parts of the essay that you think contradict your thesis.
- 7). Begin to evaluate the articles after you have summarized the main points. Quote the journal directly whenever you wish to criticize a particular point. It is important that your readers trust you are representing the original journal accurately.
- 8). Include a conclusion in which you re-summarize the main points of your review. Your goal is to leave the reader with a clear, concise understanding of your review.