EN111 - Writing and Inquiry in Academic Contexts

Click the image below to open an interactive graphic illustrating the main elements of a scholarly article.

A scholarly paper can be difficult to read. Instead of reading straight through, try focusing on the different sections and asking specific questions at each point.

What is your research question? 

When you select an article to read, focus on your topic. Look for information in the article that is relevant to your research question. 

Read the abstract first as it covers the basics of the article. Questions to consider: 

• What is this article about? What is the working hypothesis or thesis?
• Is this related to my question or area of research?

Second: Read the introduction and discussion/conclusion. These sections offer the main argument and hypothesis of the article. Questions to consider for the introduction: 

• What do we already know about this topic and what is left to discover?
• What have other people done in regards to this topic?
• How is this research unique?
• Will this tell me anything new related to my research question?

Questions for the discussion and conclusion: 

• What does the study mean and why is it important?
• What are the weaknesses in their argument?
• Is the conclusion valid?

Next: Read about the Methods/Methodology. If what you've read addresses your research question, this should be your next section. Questions to consider:

• How did the author do the research? Is it a qualitative or quantitative project?
• What data are the study based on?
• Could I repeat their work? Is all the information present in order to repeat it?

Finally: Read the Results and Analysis. Now read the details of this research. What did the researchers learn? If graphs and statistics are confusing, focus on the explanations around them. Questions to consider: 

• What did the author find and how did they find it?
• Are the results presented in a factual and unbiased way?
• Does their analysis agree with the data presented?
• Is all the data present?
• What conclusions do you formulate from this data? (And does it match with the Author's conclusions?)

Review the References (anytime): These give credit to other scientists and researchers and show you the basis the authors used to develop their research.  The list of references, or works cited, should include all of the materials the authors used in the article. The references list can be a good way to identify additional sources of information on the topic. Questions to ask:

• What other articles should I read?
• What other authors are respected in this field?
• What other research should I explore?

When you read scholarly articles, remember that you will be writing based on what you read.

While you are reading:

• Keep in mind your research question
• Focus on the information in the article relevant to your question (feel free to skim over other parts)
• Question everything you read - not everything is 100% true or performed effectively
• Think critically about what you read and seek to build your own arguments
• Read out of order! This isn't a mystery novel or movie, you want to start with the spoiler
• Use any keywords printed by the journals as further clues about the article
• Look up words you don't know

Take notes!

Try different ways, but use the one that fits you best. Below are some suggestions:

• Print the article and highlight, circle and otherwise mark while you read (for a PDF, you can use the highlight text feature in Adobe Reader)
• Take notes on the sections, for example in the margins (Adobe Reader offers pop-up sticky notes)
• Highlight only very important quotes or terms - or highlight potential quotes in a different color
• Summarize the main or key points

Reflect on what you have read and draw your own conclusions. As you read jot down questions that come to mind. These may be answered later on in the article or you may have found something that the authors did not consider. Here are a few questions that might be helpful:

• Have I taken time to understand all the terminology?
• Am I spending too much time on the less important parts of this article?
• Do I have any reason to question the credibility of this research?
• What specific problem does the research address and why is it important?
• How do these results relate to my research interests or to other works which I have read?