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How to write a literature review: How to write a literature review

What is a literature review? How to write one? Check this guide to know more.

Planning your review

  1. Define and narrow a topic. Try to answer these questions: what is being examined? What issues will be covered with this review? What thesis, problem or question the literature review helps to clarify? What are your objectives with this literature review?

  2. Find sources about the topic: identify sources that relate to your thesis, problem, or question.

  3. Evaluate the sources: which ones make a significant contribution to your topic area and the investigation in progress? Why?

Writing a review

  1. Start by giving a brief description of your central theme, its main issues, and your objectives with this review. This is your introduction.

  2. Organize the body of your review into categories. For example, begin by analyzing the sources that share similar ideas, and then write a separate section about the sources that oppose or offer alternative interpretations. Depending on your topic, this organization can also be by date of publication of each source (chronological) or according to the methods used by each author (methodological).

  3. Summarize and synthetize your sources. Keep your own voice by explaining the ideas presented by the authors, how those ideas were developed, their strengths and weaknesses, and how they relate to other sources.

  4. Write a conclusion: what have you drawn from the literature review? What would you recommend for further research?