1.

Summary language

This article / book is divided into two / three parts. First...

While the title might suggest...

The tone is deliberately...

Title is the first / second volume in the series Title, edited by...The books / articles in this series address...

The second / third claim is based on...

The author challenges the notion that...

The author tries to find a more middle ground / make more modest claims...

The article / book begins with a short historical overview of...

Numerous authors have recently suggested that...(see Author, Year; Author, Year). Author would also be
once such author. With his / her argument that...

To refer to title as a...is not to say that it is...

This book / article is aimed at... This intended readership...

The author’s book / article examines the...To do this, the author first...

The author develops / suggests a theoretical / pedagogical model to…

This book / article positions itself firmly within the field of...

The author in a series of subtle arguments, indicates that he / she...

The argument is therefore...

The author asks "..."

With a purely critical / postmodern take on...

Topic, as the author points out, can be viewed as...

In this recent contribution to the field of...this British author...

As a leading author in the field of...

This book / article nicely contributes to the field of...and complements other work by this author...

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The second / third part of...provides / questions / asks the reader...

Title is intended to encourage students / researchers to...

The approach taken by the author provides the opportunity to examine...in a qualitative / quantitative
research framework that nicely complements...

The author notes / claims that state support / a focus on pedagogy / the adoption of...remains vital if...

According to Author (Year) teaching towards examinations is not as effective as it is in other areas of the
curriculum. This is because, as Author (Year) claims that examinations have undue status within the
curriculum.

According to Author (Year)…is not as effective in some areas of the curriculum / syllabus as others.
Therefore the author believes that this is a reason for some school’s…

2. Evaluation language

This article / book is not without disappointment from those who would view...as...

Over the last five / ten years the view of...has increasingly been viewed as ‘complicated’ (see Author,
Year; Author, Year).

However, through trying to integrate...with...the author...

There are difficulties with such a position.

Inevitably, several crucial questions are left unanswered / glossed over by this insightful / timely /
interesting / stimulating book / article. Why should...

It might have been better for the author to have written this book / article as...

This chosen framework enlightens / clouds...

This analysis intends to be...but falls a little short as...

The authors rightly conclude that if...

A detailed, well-written and rigorous account of...

As a Korean student I feel that this article / book very clearly illustrates...

The beginning of...provides an informative overview into...

The tables / figures do little to help / greatly help the reader...

The reaction by scholars who take a...approach might not be so favourable (e.g. Author, Year).
2
This explanation has a few weaknesses that other researchers have pointed out (see Author, Year; Author,
Year). The first is...

On the other hand, the author wisely suggests / proposes that...By combining these two dimensions...

The author’s quick introduction to...may leave the intended reader confused as it fails to properly...

Despite my inability to...I was greatly interested in...

Even where this reader / I disagree(s), the author’s effort to...

The author thus combines...with...to argue...which seems quite improbable for a number of reasons.
First...

Perhaps this aversion to...would explain the author’s reluctance to...

As a second language student from ...I find it slightly ironic that such an anglo-centric view is...

The reader is rewarded with...

Less convincing is the broad-sweeping generalisation that...

There is no denying the author’s subject knowledge nor his / her...

The author’s prose is dense and littered with unnecessary jargon...

The author’s critique of...might seem harsh but is well supported within the literature (see Author, Year;
Author, Year; Author, Year). Aligning herself with the author, Author (Year) states that...

As it stands, the central focus of Title is well / poorly supported by its empirical findings...

Given the hesitation to generalise to...the limitation of...does not seem problematic...

For instance, the term...is never properly defined and the reader left to guess as to whether...

In addition, this research proves to be timely / especially significant to... as recent government policy /
proposals has / have been enacted to...

On this well researched / documented basis the author emphasises / proposes that...

Nonetheless, other research / scholarship / data tend to counter / contradict this possible trend /
assumption...(see Author, Year; Author, Year).

Without entering into detail of the..., it should be stated that Title should be read by...others will see little
value in...

As experimental conditions were not used in the study the word ‘significant’ misleads the reader.
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The article / book becomes repetitious in its assertion that...

The thread of the author’s argument becomes lost in an overuse of empirical data...

She / he does not seem to take into consideration; however, that there are fundamental differences in the
conditions of…

As Author (Year) points out, however, it seems to be necessary to look at…

This suggest that having low…does not necessarily indicate that…is ineffective.

Therefore, the suggestion made by Author (Year)…is difficult to support.

When considering all the data presented…it is not clear that the low scores of some students, indeed,
reflects…

3. Conclusion language

Overall this article / book is an analytical look at...which within the field of...is often overlooked.

Despite its problems, Title, offers valuable theoretical insights / interesting examples / a contribution to
pedagogy and a starting point for students / researchers of...with an interest in...

This detailed and rigorously argued...

This first / second volume / book / article by...with an interest in...is highly informative...

This book is a must read for mature students / researchers of...and those involved with...

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 4. Sample of critical response

The following review is from a student who reviewed the chapter Voicing Names and Naming Voices:
Pedagogy and Persistence in an Asian American Studies Classroom by Peter Nien-chu Kiang in the
book Crossing the Curriculum: Multilingual Learners in College Classrooms.
While you read think about how she has used summary and evaluation e.g. is her evaluation implicit or
explicit. You might also think about how she has adapted what professional authors ‘say’ into her critical
review.

Critical review of Voicing Names and Naming Voices: Pedagogy and Persistence in an Asian
American Studies Classroom

Peter Nien-chu Kiang in his chapter Voicing Names and Naming Voices: Pedagogy and Persistence in an
Asian American Studies Classroom gives us an idea of what can be hidden behind people’s names and
how our names can affect us and our everyday lives and builds on previous similar studies from this
author (see Kiang, 1992; 1994; 1995; 2000). This chapter is a part of the book Crossing the Curriculum:
Multilingual Learners in College Classrooms (2004). I believe that Kiang’s interesting chapter is a
significant study that demonstrates that a story or an important meaning can be hidden behind people’s
names and may reflect the culture and identity of each person. He reveals that name stories are strongly
connected with family expectations and educational achievement. Additionally he outlines the fact that
names are affected by family legacies and discrimination issues.

Looking at the content of this chapter, the reader observes that Professor Kiang expresses his ideas and
suggestions clearly to a wider audience (evidenced by a lack of disciplinary language), and as an
academic who is devoted to Asian-American studies. In order to emphasise what can be hidden behind
someone’s name, Kiang (2004) uses the real voices of people who faced problematic issues in their social
and academic environments because of their names. These situations demonstrate discriminatory
situations that usually exist towards immigrants in their everyday life because of their strange, unusual
and hard to pronounce names. The use of these voices in his text make his article more persuasive and
more real and gives the readers the chance to understand how these people feel and what ways they find
in order to adjust to different communities (see Smith, 2003). Reading the people’s highly emotive
experiences from this article makes the reader feel as if he or she is sitting next to an immigrant listening
to his or her difficulties or dilemmas and that they also have to deal with them in order to survive in an
academic or working environment.

As the writer unfolds his point of view through the people’s experiences he emphasises what solutions
may be adopted in order to avoid this kind of behaviour towards refugees and simultaneously to create a
respectful environment between the mentioned foreigners and locals. Kiang (2004) with his ‘voice’
rightly encourages educators to put students from all cultural groups into all classrooms so as to create
opportunities for everyone to learn about their similarities and differences in language, culture, family
and society. According to Kiang (2004: 209) the exchange of name stories in the classroom has
pedagogical importance as they “provide significant insights for all students about issues of language,
culture, identity and power”. In addition, recalling name histories and sharing them with others can make
academic and social integration easier to be achieved.

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I believe that Kiang (2004) succeeds in achieving his goal in this chapter by giving us many examples
through the voices of immigrants and simultaneously by proposing how we can take advantage of the
names stories in the classroom. His study nicely follows on from his previous research with Asian–
American students. Through his article he shows us that the processes of discrimination that appear in the
small society of a classroom can subsequently emerge in a ‘real’ society, beyond the classroom.

Taking a more holistic approach to this article, I think that Kiang (2004) could also add other voices
apart from the refugees voices that come from different cultural environments so as to express how other
people, for example the educators or local students, feel and behave towards the immigrants. Others
people’s voices might have helped us to understand some of the reasons for this behaviour. Refugees do
not always change their names in order to feel more acceptable by others but sometimes they change
them for practical reasons or even because they do not like their name. Changing their names does not
necessarily mean that they deny their culture or their roots. I believe that the result of changing one’s
name can be positive as it may increase their self-confidence and make them feel that they are a part of a
new society.

As far as the language that the author uses is concerned, it appears to be suitable and easy to understand
for a multilingual and ‘student’ audience. The writer through his well crafted work achieves to convey the
importance of names and to make the reader think about the issues related to multiculturalism.
Furthermore, Kiang writes in a very accessible way which attracts the reader and makes him or her
increasingly interested to read the rest of the article. The title that the author uses - Voicing Names and
Naming Voices: Pedagogy and Persistence in an Asian American Studies Classroom – is very clever as it
captures the reader’s attention with a reversed phrase that stimulates his or her curiosity. The title’s
meaning is mostly implicit and it is not easy to explain and understand it before you read the chapter.
The subtitles that he uses prepare the reader for what is going to follow and make her think and more
eager to read forward.

I believe that Kiang’s (2004) article presents an interesting approach to pedagogy that can provide
valuable advice not only to educators and students but to a more ‘general’ public. It also illustrates a
‘hidden’ background behind everyone’s name that is usually ignored. Furthermore, it emphasises the
significance of immigrants keeping their names and how this helps to strengthen the bonds with their
culture. The author’s conclusions are undoubtedly valid and contemporary. Kiang’s (2004) survey is both
interesting to read and a great contribution to the fields of both education and sociology and I believe
vital reading for second language students and teacher to reflect on the importance of persistence.

References
Kiang, P.N. (1992) "Issues of Curriculum and Community for First-Generation Asian Americans in
College," in Howard B. London and L. Stephen Zwerling (eds.), First-Generation Students Confronting
the Cultural Issues, New Directions for Community Colleges, No. 80, Jossey-Bass, 97-112.
Kiang, P.N. (1995) "From Different Shores Again," in Wendy L. Ng, Gary Y. Okihiro, Soo-Young Chin,
James S. Moy (eds.), Revisioning Asian America: Locating Diversity, Pullman, WA: Washington State
University Press, 207-211.
Kiang, P.N. (2000) "Long-Term Effects of Diversity in the Curriculum: Analyzing the Impact of Asian
American Studies in the Lives of Alumni from an Urban Commuter University," in Diversity on Campus:
Reports from the Field, NASPA: Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, 23-25.

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Smith, M. K. (2003) “Communities of practice”, The encyclopedia of informal education, Accessed on
10/10/06 at www.infed.org/biblio/communities_of_practice.htm.