Telling a Research Story: Writing a Literature Review

Christine B. Feak and John M. Swales

http://www.press.umich.edu/titleDetailDesc.do?id=309338
Michigan ELT, 2009

Contents

General Introduction to the Volumes ix

Introduction to the Literature Review Volume xiii
Orientations 1
Why Review the Literature? 1
Types and Characteristics of Literature Reviews 2
Check Your Literature Review Knowledge 5
Scholars before Researchers 8
Typical Advisor Critiques of Literature Reviews 9
How Can Order Be Imposed on the Literature? 12
Choosing Areas to Include in the Review 21
Getting Started on the Literature Review 23
Describing the Selection Criteria for Literature in the Review 25
Metadiscourse 38
Citation Patterns 43
Integral and Non-Integral Citations 45
Citation Verb Tense and Aspect 47
Reporting Verbs 54
Ambiguity in Citations 56
Drafting, Redrafting, and Redrafting Again 60
Taking a Stance toward the Literature 71
Constructing an Original Discussion of Previous Work:
Using Your Own Words 77
Some Strategies for Paraphrasing 82
Careful Use of Synonyms 85
Summarizing 86
Criteria for Evaluating Literature Reviews 93
Some Final Thoughts to Consider 95
References 97

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