How to Write a Literature Review

• How many sources should you include?
• What type of sources should you use: current, historical, scholarly, peer-reviewed, popular, etc.?

• Focus your question in relation to the assignment.
• If a search generates thousands of sources, refine the search terms or key words, but if you get if too few broaden them.

• For every source, create a reference entry in the assigned format.
• Read each source chosen for the lit review more than once.
• Summarize what each source has to say on your topic.

It should be a general summation of what your sources are saying about the topic.

Examples:

The current trend in treatment for congestive heart failure combines surgery and medication.

Historically, scholars of government policy in the twentieth century agree that there was little agreement in relation to its role in private affairs.

This will help you to get a sense of how they are organized. Note the compare/contrast style used in this sample paragraph from a literature review about sexism and language.

Example:

The research by Lin (2011) is not conclusive; indeed, other studies have shown different results. For example, Hamilton (2009) asked students to complete sentences that contained gender-neutral words such as “writer” and “pedestrian.” When asked to describe any image they had when writing the sentence, Hamilton found that people imagined 3.3 men to each woman. (University of Wisconsin-Madison Writing Center)

Chronological: the oldest research to the most current

Methodological: what kind of studies or type of research the scholars performed

Thematic: key ideas or questions for the topic:
What is currently known? Are there any gaps? Where is there consensus or disagreement? Who are the significant researchers, historical and modern? What areas of future research have they identified as promising?

Type of source: articles, websites, books, etc.

Get the reader’s attention. Clearly explain the topic and why it is interesting and important. One way to do this is to briefly state your reasons for reviewing the literature.

In STEM fields, this section will often define a problem and demonstrate its significance.

For humanities subjects, this section will often define the genres, events, or concepts as well as schools of thought or criticism that will be applied.

Explain why certain sources have been included while other research has not. Identify the organization of the literature review and include the main point at the end.

Share summaries and your interpretation of the sources as they relate to the topic. Use specific examples from them as evidence to show that what you are saying is valid but use direct quotes sparingly. Select only the most important points from sources; cite any quotes or paraphrases in the style appropriate to your field.

Use topic sentences at the beginning of each paragraph to remind the reader of the organizational plan. Use transition sentences at the beginning or end of each paragraph to connect points.

Sentence examples:

This is related to what another researcher noted just one year later about the frequency of gender-coded language.

Policy researchers in this century note the high level of disagreement around government’s role in children’s diets.

Briefly summarize what you have learned from the research and restate the main point. Explain what points mean in relation to other discussions in the field. Indicate how what you have learned will help if you are writing your own research paper or why this literature review matters for the future.

The conclusion should provide a synthesis of two things: an overview of the state of knowledge represented by the literature presented and an explanation of how you will use it in your work or how research can be furthered by others.