( Latest revision: October 17, 2008 )

REVIEWING A MAGAZINE ARTICLE


In this course the student needs to develop an understanding of the personal computing environment. What kind of software and hardware is available, and what is the potential of these tools? To foster your inquiry into these topics, you are assigned to do reviews of magazine articles on various aspects of personal computing.

WHERE TO LOOK FOR ARTICLES

Appropriate magazines for the reviews can be found in our Vasche library, other libraries, bookstores, newsstands, supermarkets and drugstores. Consider magazines such as the ones in my list of Magazines Relevant to Personal Computing. Some examples are Consumer Reports, Macworld, PC, Technology Review, and Wired. You can also browse for magazine titles in the Yahoo directory of computer and Internet magazines.

Frequently it's a good idea to examine journals and/or scholarly magazines related to your major because it is likely that they will contain articles about computer applications of specific interest to you.

If you consider yourself very much a novice, then for your first review it might be good to choose a computer-related article from Consumer Reports.

ARTICLE SELECTION CRITERIA

Here are some examples of the kinds of article that could be appropriate: The items above are just examples. Other possibilities exist, of course. The main idea is to select an objective, high-quality article that relates to personal computing and is likely to teach you something valuable.

Substantial credit will be withheld if the choice of article is inappropriate for this assignment.

Examples of inappropriate articles: ARTICLE LENGTH

The length of an article you read for your review must be no less than 2000 words. That is approximately the amount of text it would take to fill up two full pages in a typical magazine. Therefore you will almost certainly need to choose an article that spans at least three pages. Substantial credit will be withheld if your article is too short. (If you like, ask me how I estimate the length of an article.)

THE FORMAT OF YOUR REVIEWS

Adhering to the formatting rules below is very important. It is an aid to clear communication and it demonstrates your mastery of the use of your word processor.
  1. Write a review using a word processor on a computer.
  2. Print the review on standard 8-1/2 inch by 11 inch paper.
  3. For the main part of the document, use a font size from 10 to 12 point.

  4. In a header that appears on all the pages, enter
    I will demonstrate in class how to create headers and footers. Space the content of your header so that, on every page of your review, there is at least 3/8 inch of vertical space between the bottom of the last line of the header text and the top of the first line of text on the rest of the page.

    Make the font style (e.g. courier or helvetica) of the header the same as that of the main text.

    Make the font size of the header two sizes smaller than the size of the main text.

  5. Double-space the main text and single-space the header.
  6. Center the title of your review at the top of the first page but below your header.

    The title of the review must be different than the title of the article, but must reflect the content of the article.

    There must be at least 3/8 inch of vertical space between the bottom of the last line of the header and the top of the title.

    There must be at least 3/8 inch of vertical space between the bottom of the last line of the title and the top of the first line of text beneath the title.

    Make the font style (e.g. courier or helvetica) of the title the same as that of the rest of the main text.

    Make the font size of the title two sizes larger than the size of the rest of the main text.

  7. Justify the left margin (only).

  8. Indent the first line of each paragraph by 1/2 inch and skip a line between the last line of a paragraph and the first line of the next paragraph. (Remember it looks like you skip two lines when you double-space and skip a line.)

  9. Set the
  10. Number all the pages.

    Put the page numbers in a footer that appears on all pages.

    Space the content of your footer so that there is at least 3/8 inch between the bottom of the last line of text in the main document and the top of the first line of text in the footer.

    Make the font style and font size of the footer the same as that of the header.

  11. Start each review on a new page, even if you will be turning in more than one review at the same time.
THE CONTENT OF YOUR REVIEWS

In your reviews:
  1. Cite the name of the author of the article, the date of publication of the article, the title of the article, the title of the publication, the volume and issue numbers, and the page numbers. For example:

    Gibbs, W. Wayt (2006, August). A great leap in graphics. Scientific American, 295(2), 80-83.

    If author name, volume number, or issue number are missing from the in-print (paper) copy of the magazine, it is OK to leave them out of the citation. Otherwise credit may be withheld for missing items. (Look carefully - the information is usually there.)

  2. Include a short summary of the article. (200 to 400 words),
  3. Explain why you chose the article (e.g. what did you hope to learn?),
  4. Discuss what you gained and learned from the article,
  5. State what further questions you now have concerning the subject of the article,
  6. Explain any new concepts or terminology that you discovered, and
  7. Report any other interesting outcomes.
The length of a review must be more than one page and less than four pages. (For example, it could be 1-1/2, 2-1/2, or 3-1/2 pages long.) You must turn in a high-quality copy or photocopy of each article along with its corresponding review. Attach the article copy in back of of the review. Do not staple together multiple reviews.

THE DUE DATES OF YOUR REVIEWS

Check the class schedule for due dates.

HOW TO TURN IN AN ASSIGNMENT

Turn in the assignment in class on the due date or on any class day before the due date. Put your paper on the counter in front of me before class starts.