Step 5: Write your literature review
When youve finished writing and revising your literature review, dont forget to proofread thoroughly before submitting. Not a language expert? Check out Scribbrs professional Proofreading & Editing service! A journal article review is written for a reader who is knowledgeable in the discipline and is interested not just in the coverage and content of the article being reviewed, but also in your critical assessment of the ideas and argument that are being presented by the author. The scope of your review will depend on your topic and discipline: in the sciences you usually only review recent literature, but in the humanities you might take a long historical perspective (for example, to trace how a concept has changed in meaning over time).
What is your plagiarism score?
To begin organizing your literature reviews argument and structure, you need to understand the connections and relationships between the sources youve read. Based on your reading and notes, you can look for: A literature review is a survey of scholarly sources on a specific topic. It provides an overview of current knowledge, allowing you to identify relevant theories, methods, and gaps in the existing research. There are several reasons this statement is too broad to argue. First, what is included in the category "drugs"? Is the author talking about illegal drug use, recreational drug use (which might include alcohol and cigarettes), or all uses of medication in general? Second, in what ways are drugs detrimental? Is drug use causing deaths (and is the author equating deaths from overdoses and deaths from drug related violence)? Is drug use changing the moral climate or causing the economy to decline? Finally, what does the author mean by "society"? Is the author referring only to America or to the global population? Does the author make any distinction between the effects on children and adults? There are just too many questions that the claim leaves open. The author could not cover all of the topics listed above, yet the generality of the claim leaves all of these possibilities open to debate.
It is important to keep track of your sources with citations to avoid plagiarism. It can be helpful to make an annotated bibliography, where you compile full citation information and write a paragraph of summary and analysis for each source. This helps you remember what you read and saves time later in the process. Even if your assignment doesnt ask a specific question, your thesis statement still needs to answer a question about the issue youd like to explore. In this situation, your job is to figure out what question youd like to write about. Readers need to be able to see that your paper has one main point. If your thesis statement expresses more than one idea, then you might confuse your readers about the subject of your paper. For example: This lesson / worksheet presents the key sections to an academic introduction. It then focuses on highlighting those key sections in three model introductions with particular attention to the thesis (question / topics / stance) and finally finishes with writing an introduction using a range of titles.
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responsible for the accuracy of their content. Brainstorm the
topic.
Lets say that your class focuses upon the problems posed by
changes in the dietary habits of Americans. You find that you are
interested in the amount of sugar Americans consume. Use your
notes to complete a review document according to the requirements
set forth by your instructor. In the conclusion, discuss whether
the article is successful in advancing the field of study it is
examining. If required, include a personal assessment of whether
the article supports what the instructor teaches in class. When
you write a thesis, dissertation, or research paper, you will
have to conduct a literature review to situate your research
within existing knowledge. The literature review gives you a
chance to: Thesis statement (Although): Although it may not
always be possible for every business to focus on CSR due to
financial limitations, it should be a top priority for SMEs
andlarge corporations if they want to improve their reputation,
attract investment and maximise profitability.
Why write a literature review? - If you draw your sources from different disciplines or fields that use a variety of research methods, you might want to compare the results and conclusions that emerge from different approaches. For example:
Start by creating a list of keywords related to your research question. Include each of the key concepts or variables youre interested in, and list any synonyms and related terms. You can add to this list if you discover new keywords in the process of your literature search. You might also have to write a literature review as a stand-alone assignment. In this case, the purpose is to evaluate the current state of research and demonstrate your knowledge of scholarly debates around a topic. This is a strong thesis because it shows how your experience contradicts a widely-accepted view. A good strategy for creating a strong thesis is to show that the topic is controversial. Readers will be interested in reading the rest of the essay to see how you support your point. Almost all of useven if we dont do it consciouslylook early in an essay for a one- or two-sentence condensation of the argument or analysis that is to follow. We refer to that condensation as a thesis statement. Claims typically fall into one of four categories. Thinking about how you want to approach your topic, or, in other words, what type of claim you want to make, is one way to focus your thesis on one particular aspect of your broader topic.
Frequently asked questions about literature reviews
How do you write an article review - The literature review usually comes near the beginning of your thesis or dissertation. After the introduction, it grounds your research in a scholarly field and leads directly to your theoretical framework or methodology.
This is a strong thesis because it shows that the two ideas are
related. Hint: a great many clear and engaging thesis statements
contain words like because, since, so, although, unless, and
however. Weak "reaction" topic sentence: I felt that Lily should
have known that Bertha Dorset was her enemy.
Stronger "topic-based" topic sentence: Bertha Dorset is first
established as Lily's antagonist in the train scene, when she
interrupts Lily's conversation with Percy Gryce and reveals that
Lily smokes. Notice how the thesis answers the question, What
should be done to reduce sugar consumption by children, and who
should do it? When you started thinking about the paper, you may
not have had a specific question in mind, but as you became more
involved in the topic, your ideas became more specific. Your
thesis changed to reflect your new insights.