Contemporary Moral Problems, Mehl

Critical Article review     

Guidelines for Writing the Critical Article Review

(3 - 4 pages, computer-generated and double spaced)

  1) State and clarify the main claim or claims of the article.  In other words, what is the author’s thesis or conclusion?  Are there any unstated assumptions?  Are key terms defined clearly?

  2) State and clarify the main arguments that support the author’s claims.  Are they empirical arguments, or moral/normative arguments that use basic moral considerations or appeals (principles and theories), or a combination of the two?   Do you see any faulty reasoning in the author’s arguments?  If so, what?

  3) State and clarify any counter-arguments to the author’s claim that the author has considered.  Do you think the author has accurately presented them?  Can you think of any additional counter-arguments from other relevant readings?

  4) State and clarify the author’s replies to the counter-arguments.  Do you think the replies meet the counter-arguments?  Again, do you see any faulty reasoning?

  5) What is your assessment of the author’s overall views?  In other words, what is your considered opinion on the matter under discussion?

(When you quote from the article, indicate page number.)