Directions

Length: ~3-4 typed, double-spaced pages (approx. 750-1000 words)

Content: The reviews will follow a summary/response organization.  The following questions should help guide your review:

Summary:  

· General comments: The goal of this part of your review is to demonstrate your comprehension of the study.  As such, assume your target audience is non-experts in SLA research.  Avoid highly technical details and jargon, opting instead for more accessible language and descriptions, i.e., “your own words.”  There should be no need for any quotes in this summary.

· Content: Your summary should address the following questions:

· What were the goals of the study? What were the researchers hoping to find out as a result of the study?  What were the gaps/limitations in our understanding that they were hoping to address? (Note: You do not need to summarize their entire literature review, but should provide some basic background to contextualize the study.)

· How did they attempt to address the research questions? Summarize the methodology employed.  Who were the participants?  What data-collection methods/instruments were used?  What was analyzed, compared…?

· What were the key findings? (Note: No need to discuss detailed statistical findings. Simply summarize the important findings).  How did the researcher(s) interpret these findings in relation to their research questions and previous research discussed in their literature review?

Response:

· General Comments: The goal of this part of your review is to demonstrate your intellectual interaction with the research you have read.

· Content: Your response should address the following questions:

· What new terms or concepts have you learned from this article? (Don’t just list terms/concepts, but briefly explain them.)

· How do the findings relate to your own experience with and/or ideas about language acquisition? Any surprises? Confirmations? Anything about which you remain skeptical? (If relevant, how do findings relate to other course readings or discussions?)  

· What questions has this study—the methodology, the findings, etc.—raised for you? What do you suspect might be the answer to your questions?