College students, especially those engaged in research projects, are often assigned to write literature reviews. This is a critical skill that every student should obtain as a literature review summarizes existing knowledge, highlights gaps in the research, and provides a foundation for your thoughts and findings. Even if you have already written a literature review, you will still find this guide insightful and useful. However, those who are only starting to write an academic piece like that will surely appreciate the tips we have prepared for you.
What Is a Literature Review?
A literature review is an examination and analysis of sources related to a specific topic. While an annotated bibliography summarizes each source individually, a literature review connects dots, identifies patterns, and is based on the collective significance of different sources at once.
The purpose of a literature review is to:
- Provide context: to place your research within the broader academic field.
- Identify gaps: to highlight the areas that require further investigation and research.
- Establish credibility: to provide background and foundation that influence your study.
Types of Literature Reviews
Before you can start the writing process, it’s important to identify which type of literature review you are working on and what is required from you.
- Chronological – the one that focuses on the progression of ideas and their evolution through time.
- Thematic – the one that organizes sources by themes or topics.
- Methodological – the one that examines how research methods are working towards interpretations of the findings.
- Theoretical – analyses key theories and their application in the field
- Integrative – summarizes existing research to generate new perspectives.
A Step-by-Step Guide to Writing a Literature Review
Define your purpose
The most important question that you need to answer before you start writing is the purpose of your literature review and whether you are:
- Summarizing existing knowledge?
- Critiquing methodologies?
- Supporting a new hypothesis?
- Identifying research gaps?
Your goal will determine the depths of your review and the results.
Choose a focused topic
Your literature review should have a well-defined topic and post a research question. F or example:
- A broad topic: “Patriarchy in modern literature.”
- Focused topic: “How 20th-century literature critiques patriarchal structures in domestic life and its impact on feminist movements.”
While a topic like “Patriarchy in literature” can provide you with an overwhelming number of texts and perspectives, it can also make it challenging to form a cohesive argument. By focusing on a specific time and setting, like domestic life, you can provide a sharper and more detailed analysis. That’s why it’s important to refine your topic and ensure that your review is both compelling and achievable within your time and resources.
Conduct thorough research
Search for scholarly sources using reliable databases, such as Google Scholar, JSTOR, or your campus library. Start with a keyword and refine it as needed.
You can also use Boolean operators like AND, OR, and NOT to refine your searches and track sources with tools like Zotero, Endnote, or Mendeley.
Evaluate and select sources
Not all sources are equally suitable for a literature review. If you are hesitant about whether to include a particular source in your work, use the following criteria to evaluate its relevance:
- Authority. Is the author an expert in the field?
- Credibility. Was this source reviewed?
- Relevance. Does it directly relate to my research question?
- Objectivity. Is it a biased example?
Organize your literature review
A well-structured review has more chances to be successful. The following framework is common among literature reviews that the maturity of colleges and universities require:
A. Introduction. Introduce the topic and its significance, state the purpose, and provide an overview of the following paper.
B. Main body. Organize the main body paragraphs according to the theme, chronological order, or comparison. You can group studies into them or compare different schools to make the most out of the arguments you provide. Don’t forget to:
- Summarize key findings
- Analyze strengths and weaknesses
- Draw connections
C. Conclusion. Summarize major trends and gaps, discuss how your work addresses the existing questions and narratives and how it contributes to the field.
Write your literature review
Now, when you have an outlined structure, it’s time to write. Here are a few tips for your writing process:
- Start with a hook sentence to draw attention. You can use a surprising statistic or a provocative question.
- Narrow the focus of the introduction part from a broad context to a narrower specific research question
- Use clear topic sentences at the beginning of each paragraph. This will help your reader to understand what the following part will be about.
- Avoid excessive quoting, but paraphrase and analyze information instead.
- Critically evaluate each source
- Highlight implications for future research and show how your review lines with the existing work
Edit and proofread
It’s important to polish your review and not leave it as it is. Don’t forget to check for logical flow, verify citations using a consistent citation style, eliminate unnecessary words and repetitions, and proofread for grammar, spelling, and punctuation. You can also turn to a professional essay writing service team for help with polishing your essay or writing it from scratch.
Avoid Common Mistakes
There are a few mistakes that are commonly found throughout college literature reviews:
- Over summarizing. It’s better to focus on synthesis and analysis rather than simply summarize what you read.
- Lack of organization. Always plan a good and clear structure to avoid confusing your readers.
- Ignoring contradictory evidence. When you find contradictory evidence and conflicting findings, it’s tempting to avoid them, as it might be easier. However, a good literature review will address and acknowledge such evidence and discuss how this conflict makes the whole topic more interesting and deep.
- Neglecting updates. It’s important to use the most current and relevant research, especially in dynamically progressing fields.
Final Thoughts
A well-crafted literature review is an art that requires meticulous research and critical thinking. If you are not ready to write such a challenging assignment, you can order a literature review from one of our experts.
However, if you are crafting a review yourself, you need to pay attention to the structure of it and the depth of analysis you provide. Only by viewing the topic from different angles and providing necessary evidence can you make a literature review successful. Remember that your goal is to contribute to the ongoing scholarly conversation.
Karen Palmer
