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ESL 014: Intermediate English Writing (Fiaux-Lehane)

Comparing Popular and Scholarly Articles

Features
Popular
Scholarly

Audience​

 General Public Researchers, scholars, professionals, and students

Credentials​

 Journalists, writers, or anonymous Experts, researchers

Review​

 No standard review process Peer-reviewed

Purpose​

 Written to inform or entertain or persuade and influence Written to share research with other experts

References​ list

 Rarely cited or varies Extensive citations

Credibility​

 Varies – might include bias Rigorous, highly based on evidence

Observable features

 Colorful images, short paragraphs, simple language, little to no references Long text, technical language, charts or graphs, references

Examples ​

News articles or posts, blogs, magazine articles, websites​

Articles published in academic journals found in library databases ​

 

Why should I look for academic articles?

Why should you do research in academic journals?

  • Academic journal articles are often authored by scholars active in a particular field
  • Academic journal articles provide a close look at a particular topic
  • Academic journal articles often provide data to support their findings
  • Academic journal articles can lead readers to other sources through their bibliographies

If you find one good article that supports your research, you can use the bibliography at the end of the paper to locate further research.