LITERATURE REVIEW
Introduction:
A literature review is completed by a person engaged in formal academic research as an intermediate step to completing their research project. This assignment requires you to perform extensive research so as to provide context for the study you will later conduct (in your case, the final research paper). The literature review should summarize, evaluate, and synthesize existing scholarship related to your research question. In doing so, the Literature Review will provide a theoretical base for your research and help you further determine the direction of your own study.
Prior to completing the literature review, students have created an annotated bibliography. The annotations used to create the bibliography can serve as the basis for the summary and evaluation for the literature review; however, the new component is the synthesis of this existing scholarship. In addition to the work you have already done, you will be asked to make connections, conduct causal analysis, identify trends, establish patterns, and compare and contrast ideas presented in the scholarship you’ve been reading.
Purpose:
Literature reviews are a common intermediate step in longer projects that require research. The purpose of the literature review is to provide a foundation for your future study. By completing this work, you will further define your research interest and question, deepen research skills, consider the writing conventions associated with the topic(s)/field(s) in which you are writing, conduct analysis of journal articles, and synthesize scholarly sources into subtopics.
Genre:
Literature Reviews require writers to explore the existing scholarship that has been completed relative to their research question/topic. Rather than using the literature as support for an argument you are making (like a traditional “research” paper, which will come later in this semester), you will instead work to summarize and synthesize the arguments of other writers without adding your opinion. While some of the conclusions you draw will likely align to your current stance/bias on the issue, you are encouraged to be as diplomatic as possible while synthesizing the information you gather and the conclusions you draw. Synthesizing sources requires you to intertwine academic texts by themes. In short, synthesis is an act of finding links and articulating connections or deviations between various academic sources to make a point.
At the same time, Literature Reviews do follow some of the conventions of traditional academic papers, such as the inclusion of an introduction (provides topic of the review and organizational pattern of the body), a body (provides your discussion of sources and is organized thematically), and a conclusion (discusses what you have learned from completing this review about your research question.)
Writing in the first-person style (use of “I”) is NOT appropriate for this essay.
Requirements:
• Determine 4-5 themes, subtopics, or main ideas related to your research question that appear in the scholarship you have been reading;
• Draft a complete essay that includes an introduction (1-3 paragraphs), body (4-7 pages) and conclusion (1-2 paragraphs);
• Organize the body of your paper by themes or subtopics. The themes should relate to your research topic and give you a deeper understanding of the material you have read;
• For each theme or subtopic, draft 1-2 pages of writing that:
o Introduce and explain the theme you identified in the research;
o Explore and describe the relevance of this theme to your research question;
o Include citations from at least three sources that address the theme identified (you may cite each source more than once, but should aim to use between 5-10 sources);
o Draw conclusions, make connections, identify causes/effects and/or compare and contrast the citations included to elaborate on the theme;
o Include any other information related to this idea or theme that you think is relevant to your research.
o Note: Some themes may feel more developed than others. This is fine. There will be some areas that you decide to research further, and other areas that are naturally “thinner.” What’s important is that you think about how to organize information by theme/subtopic and negotiate multiple sources in order to do so.
• Articulate (model) the conventions, style, writing, and communication found in the articles you have read (ie: write in a scholastic form and use appropriate citations);
• Draft clear topic sentences for each paragraph and transitions between themes (ie: avoid subheadings and use transitional vocabulary);
• Consider the order in which you sequence sources within each paragraph;
• MLA Format (double-spaced, 12-point font, 1” margins, and standard serif font like Times New Roman, Works Cited page);
• Be 5-8 pages (approximately 1,200 – 2,000 words) in length
In addition to the above criteria, consideration will be given to the way the student responds to feedback from their peers in their workshop group and the improvements made between the first and final drafts of the writing. A demonstrated improvement should be noticeable between drafts.
Please follow the directions provided. I have attached the annotated bibliography and the research proposal that should help you with the literature review. Please let me know if you need anything else from me.
