Journal Article Evaluation

I. Please read one of the following articles.

Ruth Mazo Karras. The Regulation of Brothels in Later Medieval England, Signs, Vol 14, No.
2 (Winter 1989) 399-433.
Jack L. Dull. Anti-Qin Rebels: No Peasant Leaders Here, Modern China, Vol. 9, No. 3. (Jul.,
1983) 285-318.
Ivana Elbl. The Horse in Fifteenth-Century Senegambia, The International Journal of African
Historical Studies, Vol. 24, No. 1 (1991) 85-110.
William M. Denevan. The Pristine Myth: The Landscape of the Americas in 1492, Annals of
the Association of American Geographers, (Sep. 1992) 369-385.
To find the articles you will need to find the article on JSTOR, an article database you access
through our library website. See the youtube video here for help with navigating to JSTOR.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_-8zkh85Hg
II. Answer the following questions in complete sentences. Each answer will require at least
two sentences but should be no more than one paragraph.
1. Research the author of your article. Who are they? What reason do you have to trust or not
trust their arguments?
2. What is the thesis of your article? A thesis should be a clear argument, such as This paper
will demonstrate that. . . If there is no clear thesis, what do you think the implied thesis of the
article is? The thesis is the most important part of any article.
3. How is the article organized? For example, does it have titled sections or move from general
to specific or possibly have each paragraph devoted to a different supporting argument? Put
another way, if you had to outline this article, what would the outline look like?
4. What types of sources are included in the footnotes? For example, are the sources mostly
letters, or poems, or financial documents? Are the primary sources in the original language?
5. Do you find the authors thesis convincing, partially convincing, or unconvincing? Give at
least two examples of why you find the authors thesis as you do.
6. What is the most challenging part of reading this professional history article?
7. What new fact did you find most noteworthy in reading this article?

Formatting requirements
-12 point font, Arial, Times New Roman or Calibri
-One inch margins
-Single spaces between sentences. Double space between answers.
-Name, and date in the upper right hand corner of the first page, single-spaced.
Rubric
Your assignment will be graded based on the rubric below. Your rubric will be attached to the
dropbox file you submit. Each grading criteria has a number of points assigned to it from 5
(Mastery) to 1 (Lacking).
Mastery Above Average Competent Below Average Lacking

1. Your evaluation accurately and articulately identifies the authors thesis.
2. Your evaluation answers all of the questions.
3. Your evaluation demonstrates a strong knowledge of the article reviewed.
4. Your assignment effectively uses appropriate language with a formal and clear style.
5. Your assignment contains no spelling, punctuation, grammatical errors.
6. Your evaluation demonstrates critical analysis of the article reviewed.
7. Your paper demonstrates understanding about the period studied in your article.