HIST 276: U.S. Women's History to 1877: Project #2

When reading and evaluating a scholarly, history journal article, asking the following questions can help guide your reading and understanding.

• Who is the author? A historian? Why is the author an expert on this topic? Look for a few sentences at the beginning or end of the article that tell of the author's background or do an internet search for the author.
• Why did the author write this article? This information will usually be found at the beginning of an article.
• How is the article organized? Are there headings and sub-headings?
• What evidence does the author cite to back up his argument? In the case of history articles, this evidence will likely include primary sources.
• What is the author's thesis or main argument?
• Do you agree with the author's argument? Why or why not?
• What did you learn by reading this article?

Use the link below to explore the main parts of a journal article through

an interactive tool from the North Carolina State University Libraries.

• Read the abstract. The abstract will give you an overview of what the article is about.
• Takes notes, underline, write thoughts in the margins of the article as you read.
• Keep your research topic in mind as you read.
• It's ok if you may need to reread parts of the article or the entire article to fully understand the author's argument.
• Check the author's references. Those sources might also be helpful to your research.