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ICE:WE
How to Read a Scholarly Article - Part I:
A. Reading Strategy Overview
This handout introduces a strategy for reading scholarly articles in any discipline. There
are four steps involved:
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2.
3.
4.
Read abstract
Skim key sections of the article
Read / annotate / make notes
Synthesize main and supporting ideas
B. Situation:
Imagine you follow up on your reading of Erin Anderson’s feature article “Dreamchild”
with a sociology research essay on the following question: “Are visible minority
immigrant youth in fact more motivated to succeed in higher education than their more
established white Canadian peers, and if so, why?”
This complex question requires some research. You need to use credible and
authoritative sources of information (not just Wikipedia). Your search in the Dawson
library databases leads you to an article in the journal Canadian Social Trends, published
by Statistics Canada.
C. Resource
Here is the full bibliographical information for the articles, plus the abstract (a concise
paragraph that indicates the topic and perspective of a scholarly article):
“Aiming high: Educational aspirations of visible minority immigrant youth”
Authors: Taylor, Alison
Kran, Harvey
University of Alberta
Canadian Social Trends: Winter 2005, no. 79, 8-12.
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Abstract:
Studies of the postsecondary attainment of young adults are informative, but it is also
useful to examine the educational aspirations of teenagers. Such studies profile the
value placed on different types of formal education by youth as well as perceived
opportunities for upward occupational mobility. This article explores the educational
aspirations of 15-year-old visible minority immigrant students and compares them
with those of Canadian-born youth who are not part of a visible minority group. It
then identifies the most important factors that explain the large ethnocultural
differences in university aspirations.
D. Reading Guide Questions for “Aiming high’
Now, follow the reading guide Qs to learn effective strategies for reading a scholarly
article. These strategies will help you to decide if the article is useful for your topic; to
understand both the structure and content of the article; and to summarize its arguemtn
and support supporting ideas so you can use it effectively in your own writing.
1. First, read the abstract for the article carefully. An abstract briefly summarizes
the topic and results of the article. You should use the abstract to determine if the
content is relevant for your question or not. Review your question and read the
abstract below.
Q1a: Based on the abstract, do you think this article is relevant to your research
question? Why / why not?
2. Next, quickly skim the introductory paragraphs of the article (in this case there
are three). Then, skim the headings for the four main sections of the article.
Finally, skim the last two concluding paragraphs of the article under the heading
“Summary.” You are doing this to i) verify your first impression that the content
is going to be relevant for your topic, and ii) to get a sense of the flow and
organization of the article.
Q2a: What information in the third intro paragraph confirms that the information
in the article will be credible and reliable?
Q2b: What key phrases in the section headings confirm that the content of the
article is directly relevant to your topic?
Q2c: Skimming the two “Summary” paragraphs, do you notice at least one
specific claim that could be crucial to your work on the assigned question? Write
it down in your own words.
3. Now, settle down and do a close reading of the whole article, underlining and
annotating in the margins of the article as you go. If possible, reserve enough
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time to read it from start to finish in one sitting. Don’t forget to examine the
tables that accompany the text. Make brief notes in response to each of the
following questions. Keep track also of any questions you have about the article’s
evidence and central argument.
Q3a: In the second paragraph of the intro, one hypothesis is introduced – and
then a second contrary hypothesis is presented, which is the hypothesis that the
article will attempt to verify. Express both of these in your own words. What
single transitional sentence clearly expresses the relation between these two
hypotheses? What statistic is used to support the second hypothesis?
Q3b: According to the first paragraph in “A snapshot of educational aspirations,”
what specific factors might “undermine” aspirations of visible minority
teenagers? (Be sure you understand the meaning of “undermine”)
Q3c: In the third paragraph in “Visible minority immigrant students have…” do
the authors find that having a first language other than English or French reduces
aspirations among visible minority teens?
Q3d: According to the box on page 9, what was the sample size for the survey on
which the article is based – 2000, 1000, 26,000 or 348,000?
Q3e: According to the second paragraph in “Nearly 4 in 10…” what impact does
either the absence of a parent with a university degree or a low family income
reduce have on the aspirations of visible minority teens?
Q3f: In the first paragraph of “Parents’ hopes…” what three word phrase strikes
you as part of the technical jargon of social science methodology? If this phrase
is indeed clarified by the rest of the paragraph, put that explanation in your own
words. If it’s still not clear, Google it, and take note of what you find.
Q3g: According to the third paragraph in “Parents’ hopes…” what three factors
correlate very closely with high aspirations to attend university among all teens?
With what percentage of probability? Now – examine the first table and then the
third table in the box on page 11. Reading a table accurately, and drawing the
appropriate conclusion from a table are important elements of reading a scholarly
article. What factor does the first table express? The second? In each case, what
is the conclusion you draw about the relative aspirations of visible minority teens
compared with their Canadian peers?
Qh: The “Summary” section begins by presenting its conclusions in an
“A…Further,…B” sentence structure. What is A? B? (be careful to understand
the word “dampening”). Paraphrase (express in your own words) the authors’
concluding statement in the final sentence of the article.
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4. Finish by writing a synthesis of what you’ve understood. A synthesis paragraph
will help you to summarize the article’s main argument and support, for use in
your own writing. Use the following Qs to structure your synthesis:
a. The author of the article assumes I thought X_________ about the topic
before reading the article.
b. The author wants me to believe Y________ after reading the article.
c. The main supporting points for Y are _________________.
d. After reviewing the article again I have questions about__________.
Phew! Now you are ready to write a killer paragraph in your own essay that
responds to and integrates support from Taylor and Krahn’s “Aiming high.”