The Literature Review (aka the big one)

Points: 250 (25% of your final grade)

Due Date: August 12

Description: You will write an 8-10-page research analysis called a literature review. In this
document, you will discuss a research question and the available studies seeking to answer that
question. You may or may not come to a clear conclusion, but you will show the current
conversation on that topic. The core of a literature review is synthesis: you will take ideas and
findings from many different sources and combine them to find new perspectives or understandings
of your topic. Thus, you will show the current conversation on a topic through synthesizing many
different articles (at least 20).

The literature review assignment is intended to help you learn how to conduct secondary research
and write about many different sources at once. Literature reviews are common genres in technical
fields. Literature reviews are often used as standalone documents in technical fields as well as
background information sections before research articles. You will be writing a longer standalone
piece. You will look at several genre examples of literature reviews to get a good sense of what they
look like, what information they include, and how to write one.

PAGE information:
Purpose: to inform audiences of all the available knowledge on a research topic
Audience: fellow researchers (student or otherwise)
Genre: standalone literature review
Expectations: Learning Outcomes Met by this Assignment:
1. Sources
2. Style
3. Process
4. Rhetorical Purpose
5. Genre

Getting There:
Unlike some writing assignments in your past, literature reviews are simply impossible to write the
night before they are due. Thus, to best help you avoid the procrastination black hole, this class is
scaffolded to help you work on research and writing well before the review is due. Here are just
some of the classes and assignments that are meant to help you with your literature review:

Classes Assignments
 Annotated Bibliography  Genre Analysis
 Selecting a Topic  Library Memo
 Documentation and Plagiarism  Library Session
 Writing the Introduction  Annotated Bibliography
 Synthesis vs Summary  Reader Response
 Organization  Literature Review
 Paragraphing
 Graphics
Literature Review Grading Rubric
1. Content and Organization (80 pts.)
a. To what extent does the introduction fulfill the required moves (subject, question,
answer, importance, background, forecast)?
b. To what extent is there enough background to aid reader understanding in the
introduction?
c. To what extent does the conclusion collect the key findings and gaps?
d. To what extent is the answer to the research question clearly stated and positioned?
e. To what extent does the paper follow the forecasted organization?
2. Synthesis and Analysis (40 pts.)
a. To what extent does the paper synthesize (summarize, analyze, compare, contrast)
the sources thoroughly?
b. To what extent does the paper provide evidence for its assertions?
3. Breadth and Depth of Research and Documentation (75 pts.)
a. Are the sources mostly primary sources?
b. How effective does the author summarize the sources?
c. Are the in-text citations formatted correctly?
d. To what extent is the references page formatted correctly (APA citations, hanging
indent, alphabetic order)?
4. Graphics and Format (20 pts.)
a. IF there are appendices, do they have a caption that explains the evidence provided?
b. IF there are appendices, are they mentioned in the text?
c. IF there are appendices borrowed from a source, is there a citation in the caption?
d. How well does the visual abstract represent the research question and key findings?
e. Does the summary visual provide a quick reference for a review of the literature?
f. Is the paper in proper APA format?
i. Does the title page have all necessary information?
ii. Does each page have a running head and a page number?
iii. Are headings formatted with the correct level of formatting?
iv. Are headings concise but clear?
5. Style (20 pts.)
a. To what extent does the author use consistent terminology or abbreviations
throughout?
b. To what extent does each paragraph and section transition with a
sentence/transitional phrase?
c. To what extent does the author avoid using “to be” verbs as much as possible?
d. To what extent does the author avoid words like “very,” “really,” or “extremely”?
e. To what extent does the author avoid vague pronouns like “this”?
f. To what extent does the author define special terminology (jargon)?
6. Mechanics (15 pts.)
a. Are punctuation marks used correctly? (Question every comma!)
i. Commas after introductory words, phrases, and clauses
ii. Periods after in-text citations
iii. Colons after a complete sentence
iv. Semicolons between two complete sentences OR acting as Super Comma
b. Are words spelled correctly?
c. Is grammar used correctly?