What is the literature review? As The University of North Carolina says, “A literature review discusses published information in a particular subject area, and sometimes information in a particular subject area within a certain time period.”[1] They go on to say that it is important to mix the literature with a summary and a new interpretation. Or the literature review may give a evaluation of new sources and it will help the reader in understanding the most important sources in the paper. The differences in the lit review compared to research paper is in a research paper the writer is supporting their topic and in the lit review the author gives information by condensing it for the reader. The reason a author writes a lit review is to provide them with a guide to their particular topic. UNC says, “If you have limited time to conduct research, literature reviews can give you an overview or act as a stepping stone.”[2]
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
What should be done before writing the lit review?
- Clarify your paper
- Find models- find other lit reviews to help organize your own. This will help YOU as an author organize your final paper.
- Narrow the topic-when choosing the topic the author should find one specific area to research.
- Find current sources-old sources could be outdated.
Game plan for writing the lit review
- Find a focus-this is not like the anno bib! When doing the lit review the author does not need to tell about what each source is about but they must draw connections between their sources. What kind of conclusions does each draw, how does it show their research, are their arguments alike or different are all questions the author should be answering.
ORGANIZATION!
- The author must cover the basics- they must have the necessities as in all papers: the intro, background info, discussion of sources, and the conclusion.
How to organize the body
- Organize the discussion of sources in a good way
- They can be organized in: chronological order, by publication, by trend, thematic, or methodologically.
Now can I write?
What should be included when I do write?
- Use evidence-refer to several sources that pertain to your topic
- Be selective- use only the most important of information
- USE QUOTES SPARINGLY- use paraphrasing to get YOUR point across
- Keep YOUR own voice-start and end your paragraphs with your end words
- Look before jumping- when you paraphrase be sure and accurate with all facts and opinions originally from the author
- REVISION- keep working on the paper…just because you think you’re done…doesn’t mean you really are
UC Santa Cruz-University Library
At UC Santa Cruz’s online University Library they get right into the business of how to write a lit review. Just like they do I will to…
They say that, “The purpose [of a lit review] is to offer an overview of significant literature published on a topic.”[3] This is important because the lit review is not the same as a book review or a research paper.
Components of a lit review
- What topics in the field you are writing for?
- Find the materials that are relevant to the subject you are researching
- Find the best literature that will give the most to your understanding of the topic
- Analyze and interpret the material with other material that has been found (draw conclusions)
The reader should be use provenance, objectivity, and the value of each article.
- Provenance- is the author valid? Do they make claims to support their arguments?
- Objectivity- does the author look at other views or do they focus on their subject only?
- Value- does the author make a convincing arugment for their topic?
Bibliography
“The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill .” 1998.http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/literature_review.html.
“The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill .” 1998.http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/literature_review.html.
[1] “The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill .” 1998.http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/literature_review.html.
[2] “The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill .” 1998.http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/literature_review.html.
[3] “The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill .” 1998.http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/literature_review.html.
