ASSIGNMENT | Scholarly Article Review

PROJECT THREE: Scholarly Article Review – 25 points; due February 23.
CRITERIA FOR WRITING A REVIEW OF A SCHOLARLY ARTICLE
Instructions: Write at least a three page, double-spaced review. Add a bibliography page.
Create a Word Document. Label it: Last Name, SR Essay. Submit it to your assignment folder when completed. At the top of the page, place your name, date, and Review of Scholarly Article.
Select ONE scholarly secondary source journal article from the Required Reading List for Weeks Five through Eight. (Note: not encyclopedia articles.) The list of suggested topics appears in Week 6 with these instructions.
Read the article several times. Learn the topic by reading the other material in that week’s lessons. You will want to refer to those readings (primary and secondary sources, including a lecture if available).
Place the complete bibliographic reference for the scholarly journal article, including page numbers, as your title. Here is an example: deGraaf, Lawrence B. “Race, Sex, and Region: Black Women in the American West, 1850-
1920.” Pacific Historical Review, 49, 2 (May 1980): 285-313.
Questions to Ask and Answer When Reading a Journal Article:
Who is the author? What are his/her scholarly credentials and qualifications? What else has he/she written on the topic? If you need help, ask the UMGC librarian.
What is the purpose of the article? Be able to describe its purpose in two succinct
sentences. “This article explores the role of African American women in the TransMississippi West from 1850 to 1920. It examines the relationship among race, sex, and place in order to [answer this part of the question. . . ].
What is the author’s central argument? Does he/she set forth a particular theory? If so, be
able to explain it in three clear sentences.
2/17/2021 Scholarly Article Review – HIST 316L 6380 The American West (2212) – UMGC Learning Management System
https://learn.umgc.edu/d2l/lms/dropbox/user/folder_submit_files.d2l?db=1059646&grpid=0&isprv=0&bp=0&ou=544046 2/4
What evidence — the primary and secondary resources — does the author employ to develop his/her argument (or thesis)? Be able to describe them. Would it be wise to check one or two of the sources? Do the examples (statistics, charts, case notes) support the author’s argument?
From reading the other sources for the week, how does the author’s work fit into the
general scholarship? Analyze this. (In your written review, you may wish to reference
other reading on the topic you have completed.)
How well does the author advance our knowledge of the subject?
How clear is the author’s writing?
When writing the review:
Create an introductory statement about the article to set the direction for your paper. If you can develop a thesis, that will enhance your essay.
Identify the article and describe its purpose.
Identify the author and explain his/her credentials.
Write a summary of the argument and evidence (at least 1.5 full pages). If the author advances a new theory or a particular point of view, explain that here also. Remember to describe the author’s source material.
Select two or three key issues and write a critical analysis of them based upon your knowledge of the material.
Write a conclusion that summarizes your thesis and assesses the author’s contribution. Do not add any new information in the conclusion.
Include a separate bibliography of primary and secondary sources consulted.
Use footnotes placed at the bottom of each page.

Introduction
The article titled “The Migrant Experience” focuses on the complex set of interacting forces both at the ecological and economic level that led the documented migrant workers to the ethnographic collection in California. After World War I, the subsequent recession contributed to the declining market prices of the farm produce, which motivated the Great Plains farmers to enhance their productivity by cultivating more lands and adopting farm mechanizations (Fanslow, 1998). To sustain the increased…