Mountain Lake Biological Station

1. Provides comprehensive discussion of the scholarly research that has already been done on a topic.
2. Includes some summary of important articles on a topic.
3. Includes comparison: between how different authors discuss the same topic and how the topic has been handled over time.
4. Synthesizes previous ideas on a topic, but also looks for gaps in the literature: what needs to be investigated further?

What Should a Lit Review Do

1. Relate directly and clearly to your thesis or research question.
2. Synthesize and contextualize results, not just report them.
3. Identify areas of controversy in the literature.
4. Formulate questions that need further research.

University of Wisconsin-Madison
A chapter from The Writer’s Handbook
Strength: Identifies 4 criteria for deciding whether to include an
article you find in your literature review.

University of North Carolina
The Writing Center

Strength: Outlines steps
Stage 1. Annotate the articles you read
Stage 2. Thematic organization
Stage 3. More reading
Stage 4. Write individual sections
Stage 5. Integrate individual sections

Strength: Short, concise definition of a literature review and includes examples of different types of reviews.