HOW TO WRITE A LITERATURE REVIEW?

Flexible Learning #3

A literature review is not an annotated bibliography in which you summarize briefly each article
that you have reviewed. While a summary of the what you have read is contained within the
literature review, it goes well beyond merely summarizing professional literature. It focuses on a
specific topic of interest to you and includes a critical analysis of the relationship among
different works, and relating this research to your work. It may be written as a stand-alone paper
or to provide a theoretical framework and rationale for a research study like thesis or
dissertation.

The best way to ensure a good literature review is to compose a throughout outline
before writing. The literature review should conclude by describing the general ideas
presented by the body of literature discussed in the study and pointing to any
conclusions the research as a whole makes about the topic at hand. It should then
suggest areas of research in the particular topic that have yet to be investigated.

A literature review offers an summary like what has already been said on the topic, who
the key writers are, what questions are being asked, and what strategies are acceptable
and helpful. A literature review shows how prevailing ideas match into your own thesis,
and the way your thesis agrees or differs from them.