Help with writing literature review

Week 8: Writing a Literature Review
For this assignment you will write a 5-7 page literature review, double spaced. This assignment is
intended to be an introduction for you on writing literature reviews, something you may be
requested to do for future classes (including your senior thesis project) and/or professional
projects. You are going to write a small-scale or what is also called a selective literature review.
Start this early in the week to give yourself plenty of time to create a well-written and
polished literature review. This assignment is worth 250 points and is due Sunday at
midnight.
To prepare for this assignment, do the following prewriting and planning:
Review the 6 sources cited in your annotated bibliography (NOTE: You are welcome to cite
more sources, if you wish).
Refer to this sample literature review from the Purdue OWL website as an example.
Follow this outline for your review:
I. Introduction
In the introduction you should:
A. define or identify the general topic, issue, or area of concern
B. point out overall trends in what has already been published
C. establish your point of view for reviewing the literature [Include your
research question!]
D. indicate the organization of the review
II. Body
In the body you should:
2
A. group research studies and other relevant literature according to a common
theme [for example, you may find prevailing theories and/or practices
involved with your research; you can use these as thematic sections for the
body of your literature review]
B. summarize each item of the literature appropriately according to its
significance
C. compare and evaluate each item of the literature
D. provide topic sentences at the beginning of paragraphs and summary
sentences at the end of sections to help the reader understand what the main
issues are
III. Conclusion
In the conclusion you should:
A. summarize the literature maintaining the focus presented in the introduction
B. evaluate the current “state of the art” [or state of the topic that represents your
research question] [by] pointing out gaps in the literature, inconsistencies and
issues that are important for future study
C. conclude by giving some insight into the relationship between your topic and
a larger area of study or area of professional practice
The following elements are required for your literature review:
• Your literature review must be 5-7 pages in length, double spaced (not including
your references or works cited list), using a 12-point, Times New Roman font
• Include a References list (APA format) at the end of your literature review
• The References list should be on a separate page following the literature review