Reading a Scholarly Article

October 15, 2025

Posted by STLCC in Tutoring Resources 

Scholarly articles, particularly those that report research, are generally structured in a similar format. That format is outlined here in a worksheet that helps you create notes as you read that research to determine if the article will be relevant to your project. This resource covers each section of scholarly articles. Start first by recording the citation on the lines below in the correct format such as APA or MLA.

Citation

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Abstract

The abstract is a brief summary of the article’s findings and results. There are times when this section is referred to as a “Summary.” Please read the abstract and make notes on the lines below.

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Summary of Related Research

Research articles often begin with a summary of similar and related research that has been previously published. Authors will cite and summarize the work of others. This section of a scholarly article is also referred to as a “literature review.” Please read the abstract and summarize what you have read on the lines below.

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Methodology

In this section, the author(s) will describe their research. This section will describe the purpose, population studied, procedures, and sample sizes used. Please read the Methodology section and make notes on the lines below.

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Results

Results and findings of the research are presented in this section. Please read this section and make notes on the lines below.

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Implications, Discussion, and Conclusions

(What did you learn from this section, why is it relevant and what are their next steps? Create a concise summary here of the conclusions.)

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Use in My Paper

I will include this article in my paper because…

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OR — I can NOT use this article in my paper because…

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