Explore on Urban Sustainability

1. Make sure you know what a journal article is before you start. Consult your CSUN librarian if you have questions. Remember, CSUN subscribes to all kinds of academic databases, not to mention many hard copy journals that can be found upstairs in the Oviatt Library near the Course Reserve section. Explore what the university has access to as a first step. No newspaper articles, magazine articles, or other pieces plucked from the internet, that may not have been peer-reviewed, can be used as the source for this review.
2. Read the journal article and take careful notes. Identify the journal article’s title, the author or author’s names, and where exactly this piece was published. This information must be at the top of your completed review. I must know where this article is from and who wrote it.
3. Start your review with a one-page summary of your chosen journal article.
Want to know what I’m looking for in the summary portion of your review? Read below:
 Identify the main points of the article. In some paragraphs, the main idea is expressed in the topic sentence, yet in others, it may not be explicitly stated at all.
 A passage may contain one or more points that are vital to its meaning. These elements must be mentioned in your summary. Keep in mind that you may need to tease these points out of the reading. Close reading will be required. Organize and present these main points in a coherent way. Be careful NOT to use the author’s words or to follow the sentence structure of the original passage. THIS MEANS NO QUOTES FROM THE TEXT!!! I want to see your words, not the author’s.
 Make sure that you are faithful to the meaning of the piece you are summarizing and that you have accurately represented the main ideas.
 Again: ABSOLUTELY NO quotes, statistics, or numbers from the author. I only want your words!
 Be concise yet thorough. Cut out the fat and get down to the essentials.
4. As mentioned above, you will need to identify the particular issue or issues that this article focuses on. Again, you must clearly summarize AND explain this issue clearly and concisely. If you cannot understand your chosen article then please pick another one.
5. For the second part of your review, you must analyze the author’s strategy in dealing with this particular issue. How does the author address the topic and to what degree is it discussed? What does the author assume you know? What is the author’s discipline or area of expertise?
6. How does your article’s chosen issue connect to the focus of our class? Be specific. Don’t be vague.
7. Is your author’s treatment, analysis, and explanation of this particular issue done well? Explain why or why not.
8. For the final part of the review you’ll need to provide your own insights on the issue(s) in the journal article you have chosen. Keep in mind that I’m not interested in your opinion, only your informed and educated analysis.
9. Lastly, write a clear conclusion that re-states your evaluation of the issue and how it is presented and analyzed by journal article’s author. This conclusion should identify, in short summary form, the key points you’ve already made in the review.
10. I want no more than (FOUR) stapled pages. No cover page needed. 12 point font, please, and double- spaced. My advice: write a lot and then edit it down to the needed four pages. Editing will be key. Please have the staple in the upper-left hand corner, and your name, date, and class number/time in the upper- right.