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• How to Write a Literature Review | Guide, Examples, & Templates

How to Write a Literature Review | Guide, Examples, & Templates

Published on January 2, 2023 by Shona McCombes . Revised on September 11, 2023.

What is a literature review? 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 that you can later apply to your paper, thesis, or dissertation topic .

There are five key steps to writing a literature review:

• Search for relevant literature
• Evaluate sources
• Identify themes, debates, and gaps
• Outline the structure
• Write your literature review

A good literature review doesn’t just summarize sources—it analyzes, synthesizes , and critically evaluates to give a clear picture of the state of knowledge on the subject.

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Table of contents

What is the purpose of a literature review, examples of literature reviews, step 1 – search for relevant literature, step 2 – evaluate and select sources, step 3 – identify themes, debates, and gaps, step 4 – outline your literature review’s structure, step 5 – write your literature review, free lecture slides, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions, introduction.

• Quick Run-through
• Step 1 & 2

When you write a thesis , dissertation , or research paper , you will likely have to conduct a literature review to situate your research within existing knowledge. The literature review gives you a chance to:

• Demonstrate your familiarity with the topic and its scholarly context
• Develop a theoretical framework and methodology for your research
• Position your work in relation to other researchers and theorists
• Show how your research addresses a gap or contributes to a debate
• Evaluate the current state of research and demonstrate your knowledge of the scholarly debates around your topic.

Writing literature reviews is a particularly important skill if you want to apply for graduate school or pursue a career in research. We’ve written a step-by-step guide that you can follow below.

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Writing literature reviews can be quite challenging! A good starting point could be to look at some examples, depending on what kind of literature review you’d like to write.

• Example literature review #1: “Why Do People Migrate? A Review of the Theoretical Literature” ( Theoretical literature review about the development of economic migration theory from the 1950s to today.)
• Example literature review #2: “Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines” ( Methodological literature review about interdisciplinary knowledge acquisition and production.)
• Example literature review #3: “The Use of Technology in English Language Learning: A Literature Review” ( Thematic literature review about the effects of technology on language acquisition.)
• Example literature review #4: “Learners’ Listening Comprehension Difficulties in English Language Learning: A Literature Review” ( Chronological literature review about how the concept of listening skills has changed over time.)

You can also check out our templates with literature review examples and sample outlines at the links below.

Download Word doc Download Google doc

Before you begin searching for literature, you need a clearly defined topic .

If you are writing the literature review section of a dissertation or research paper, you will search for literature related to your research problem and questions .

Make a list of keywords

Start by creating a list of keywords related to your research question. Include each of the key concepts or variables you’re interested in, and list any synonyms and related terms. You can add to this list as you discover new keywords in the process of your literature search.

• Social media, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok
• Body image, self-perception, self-esteem, mental health
• Generation Z, teenagers, adolescents, youth

Search for relevant sources

Use your keywords to begin searching for sources. Some useful databases to search for journals and articles include:

• Your university’s library catalogue
• Google Scholar
• Project Muse (humanities and social sciences)
• Medline (life sciences and biomedicine)
• EconLit (economics)
• Inspec (physics, engineering and computer science)

You can also use boolean operators to help narrow down your search.

Make sure to read the abstract to find out whether an article is relevant to your question. When you find a useful book or article, you can check the bibliography to find other relevant sources.

You likely won’t be able to read absolutely everything that has been written on your topic, so it will be necessary to evaluate which sources are most relevant to your research question.

For each publication, ask yourself:

• What question or problem is the author addressing?
• What are the key concepts and how are they defined?
• What are the key theories, models, and methods?
• Does the research use established frameworks or take an innovative approach?
• What are the results and conclusions of the study?
• How does the publication relate to other literature in the field? Does it confirm, add to, or challenge established knowledge?
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of the research?

Make sure the sources you use are credible , and make sure you read any landmark studies and major theories in your field of research.

You can use our template to summarize and evaluate sources you’re thinking about using. Click on either button below to download.

Take notes and cite your sources

As you read, you should also begin the writing process. Take notes that you can later incorporate into the text of your literature review.

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.

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To begin organizing your literature review’s argument and structure, be sure you understand the connections and relationships between the sources you’ve read. Based on your reading and notes, you can look for:

• Trends and patterns (in theory, method or results): do certain approaches become more or less popular over time?
• Themes: what questions or concepts recur across the literature?
• Debates, conflicts and contradictions: where do sources disagree?
• Pivotal publications: are there any influential theories or studies that changed the direction of the field?
• Gaps: what is missing from the literature? Are there weaknesses that need to be addressed?

This step will help you work out the structure of your literature review and (if applicable) show how your own research will contribute to existing knowledge.

• Most research has focused on young women.
• There is an increasing interest in the visual aspects of social media.
• But there is still a lack of robust research on highly visual platforms like Instagram and Snapchat—this is a gap that you could address in your own research.

There are various approaches to organizing the body of a literature review. Depending on the length of your literature review, you can combine several of these strategies (for example, your overall structure might be thematic, but each theme is discussed chronologically).

Chronological

The simplest approach is to trace the development of the topic over time. However, if you choose this strategy, be careful to avoid simply listing and summarizing sources in order.

Try to analyze patterns, turning points and key debates that have shaped the direction of the field. Give your interpretation of how and why certain developments occurred.

If you have found some recurring central themes, you can organize your literature review into subsections that address different aspects of the topic.

For example, if you are reviewing literature about inequalities in migrant health outcomes, key themes might include healthcare policy, language barriers, cultural attitudes, legal status, and economic access.

Methodological

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:

• Look at what results have emerged in qualitative versus quantitative research
• Discuss how the topic has been approached by empirical versus theoretical scholarship
• Divide the literature into sociological, historical, and cultural sources

Theoretical

A literature review is often the foundation for a theoretical framework . You can use it to discuss various theories, models, and definitions of key concepts.

You might argue for the relevance of a specific theoretical approach, or combine various theoretical concepts to create a framework for your research.

Like any other academic text , your literature review should have an introduction , a main body, and a conclusion . What you include in each depends on the objective of your literature review.

The introduction should clearly establish the focus and purpose of the literature review.

Depending on the length of your literature review, you might want to divide the body into subsections. You can use a subheading for each theme, time period, or methodological approach.

As you write, you can follow these tips:

• Summarize and synthesize: give an overview of the main points of each source and combine them into a coherent whole
• Analyze and interpret: don’t just paraphrase other researchers — add your own interpretations where possible, discussing the significance of findings in relation to the literature as a whole
• Critically evaluate: mention the strengths and weaknesses of your sources
• Write in well-structured paragraphs: use transition words and topic sentences to draw connections, comparisons and contrasts

In the conclusion, you should summarize the key findings you have taken from the literature and emphasize their significance.

When you’ve finished writing and revising your literature review, don’t forget to proofread thoroughly before submitting. Not a language expert? Check out Scribbr’s professional proofreading services !

This article has been adapted into lecture slides that you can use to teach your students about writing a literature review.

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If you want to know more about the research process , methodology , research bias , or statistics , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

• Sampling methods
• Simple random sampling
• Stratified sampling
• Cluster sampling
• Likert scales
• Reproducibility

 Statistics

• Null hypothesis
• Statistical power
• Probability distribution
• Effect size
• Poisson distribution

Research bias

• Optimism bias
• Cognitive bias
• Implicit bias
• Hawthorne effect
• Anchoring bias
• Explicit bias

A literature review is a survey of scholarly sources (such as books, journal articles, and theses) related to a specific topic or research question .

It is often written as part of a thesis, dissertation , or research paper , in order to situate your work in relation to existing knowledge.

There are several reasons to conduct a literature review at the beginning of a research project:

• To familiarize yourself with the current state of knowledge on your topic
• To ensure that you’re not just repeating what others have already done
• To identify gaps in knowledge and unresolved problems that your research can address
• To develop your theoretical framework and methodology
• To provide an overview of the key findings and debates on the topic

Writing the literature review shows your reader how your work relates to existing research and what new insights it will contribute.

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 .

A literature review is a survey of credible sources on a topic, often used in dissertations , theses, and research papers . Literature reviews give an overview of knowledge on a subject, helping you identify relevant theories and methods, as well as gaps in existing research. Literature reviews are set up similarly to other  academic texts , with an introduction , a main body, and a conclusion .

An  annotated bibliography is a list of  source references that has a short description (called an annotation ) for each of the sources. It is often assigned as part of the research process for a  paper .  

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Approaching literature review for academic purposes: The Literature Review Checklist

Debora f.b. leite.

I Departamento de Ginecologia e Obstetricia, Faculdade de Ciencias Medicas, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, SP, BR

II Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Pernambuco, PE, BR

III Hospital das Clinicas, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Pernambuco, PE, BR

Maria Auxiliadora Soares Padilha

Jose g. cecatti.

A sophisticated literature review (LR) can result in a robust dissertation/thesis by scrutinizing the main problem examined by the academic study; anticipating research hypotheses, methods and results; and maintaining the interest of the audience in how the dissertation/thesis will provide solutions for the current gaps in a particular field. Unfortunately, little guidance is available on elaborating LRs, and writing an LR chapter is not a linear process. An LR translates students’ abilities in information literacy, the language domain, and critical writing. Students in postgraduate programs should be systematically trained in these skills. Therefore, this paper discusses the purposes of LRs in dissertations and theses. Second, the paper considers five steps for developing a review: defining the main topic, searching the literature, analyzing the results, writing the review and reflecting on the writing. Ultimately, this study proposes a twelve-item LR checklist. By clearly stating the desired achievements, this checklist allows Masters and Ph.D. students to continuously assess their own progress in elaborating an LR. Institutions aiming to strengthen students’ necessary skills in critical academic writing should also use this tool.

INTRODUCTION

Writing the literature review (LR) is often viewed as a difficult task that can be a point of writer’s block and procrastination ( 1 ) in postgraduate life. Disagreements on the definitions or classifications of LRs ( 2 ) may confuse students about their purpose and scope, as well as how to perform an LR. Interestingly, at many universities, the LR is still an important element in any academic work, despite the more recent trend of producing scientific articles rather than classical theses.

The LR is not an isolated section of the thesis/dissertation or a copy of the background section of a research proposal. It identifies the state-of-the-art knowledge in a particular field, clarifies information that is already known, elucidates implications of the problem being analyzed, links theory and practice ( 3 - 5 ), highlights gaps in the current literature, and places the dissertation/thesis within the research agenda of that field. Additionally, by writing the LR, postgraduate students will comprehend the structure of the subject and elaborate on their cognitive connections ( 3 ) while analyzing and synthesizing data with increasing maturity.

At the same time, the LR transforms the student and hints at the contents of other chapters for the reader. First, the LR explains the research question; second, it supports the hypothesis, objectives, and methods of the research project; and finally, it facilitates a description of the student’s interpretation of the results and his/her conclusions. For scholars, the LR is an introductory chapter ( 6 ). If it is well written, it demonstrates the student’s understanding of and maturity in a particular topic. A sound and sophisticated LR can indicate a robust dissertation/thesis.

A consensus on the best method to elaborate a dissertation/thesis has not been achieved. The LR can be a distinct chapter or included in different sections; it can be part of the introduction chapter, part of each research topic, or part of each published paper ( 7 ). However, scholars view the LR as an integral part of the main body of an academic work because it is intrinsically connected to other sections ( Figure 1 ) and is frequently present. The structure of the LR depends on the conventions of a particular discipline, the rules of the department, and the student’s and supervisor’s areas of expertise, needs and interests.

Interestingly, many postgraduate students choose to submit their LR to peer-reviewed journals. As LRs are critical evaluations of current knowledge, they are indeed publishable material, even in the form of narrative or systematic reviews. However, systematic reviews have specific patterns 1 ( 8 ) that may not entirely fit with the questions posed in the dissertation/thesis. Additionally, the scope of a systematic review may be too narrow, and the strict criteria for study inclusion may omit important information from the dissertation/thesis. Therefore, this essay discusses the definition of an LR is and methods to develop an LR in the context of an academic dissertation/thesis. Finally, we suggest a checklist to evaluate an LR.

WHAT IS A LITERATURE REVIEW IN A THESIS?

Conducting research and writing a dissertation/thesis translates rational thinking and enthusiasm ( 9 ). While a strong body of literature that instructs students on research methodology, data analysis and writing scientific papers exists, little guidance on performing LRs is available. The LR is a unique opportunity to assess and contrast various arguments and theories, not just summarize them. The research results should not be discussed within the LR, but the postgraduate student tends to write a comprehensive LR while reflecting on his or her own findings ( 10 ).

Many people believe that writing an LR is a lonely and linear process. Supervisors or the institutions assume that the Ph.D. student has mastered the relevant techniques and vocabulary associated with his/her subject and conducts a self-reflection about previously published findings. Indeed, while elaborating the LR, the student should aggregate diverse skills, which mainly rely on his/her own commitment to mastering them. Thus, less supervision should be required ( 11 ). However, the parameters described above might not currently be the case for many students ( 11 , 12 ), and the lack of formal and systematic training on writing LRs is an important concern ( 11 ).

An institutional environment devoted to active learning will provide students the opportunity to continuously reflect on LRs, which will form a dialogue between the postgraduate student and the current literature in a particular field ( 13 ). Postgraduate students will be interpreting studies by other researchers, and, according to Hart (1998) ( 3 ), the outcomes of the LR in a dissertation/thesis include the following:

• To identify what research has been performed and what topics require further investigation in a particular field of knowledge;
• To determine the context of the problem;
• To recognize the main methodologies and techniques that have been used in the past;
• To place the current research project within the historical, methodological and theoretical context of a particular field;
• To identify significant aspects of the topic;
• To elucidate the implications of the topic;
• To offer an alternative perspective;
• To discern how the studied subject is structured;
• To improve the student’s subject vocabulary in a particular field; and
• To characterize the links between theory and practice.

A sound LR translates the postgraduate student’s expertise in academic and scientific writing: it expresses his/her level of comfort with synthesizing ideas ( 11 ). The LR reveals how well the postgraduate student has proceeded in three domains: an effective literature search, the language domain, and critical writing.

Effective literature search

All students should be trained in gathering appropriate data for specific purposes, and information literacy skills are a cornerstone. These skills are defined as “an individual’s ability to know when they need information, to identify information that can help them address the issue or problem at hand, and to locate, evaluate, and use that information effectively” ( 14 ). Librarian support is of vital importance in coaching the appropriate use of Boolean logic (AND, OR, NOT) and other tools for highly efficient literature searches (e.g., quotation marks and truncation), as is the appropriate management of electronic databases.

Language domain

Academic writing must be concise and precise: unnecessary words distract the reader from the essential content ( 15 ). In this context, reading about issues distant from the research topic ( 16 ) may increase students’ general vocabulary and familiarity with grammar. Ultimately, reading diverse materials facilitates and encourages the writing process itself.

Critical writing

Critical judgment includes critical reading, thinking and writing. It supposes a student’s analytical reflection about what he/she has read. The student should delineate the basic elements of the topic, characterize the most relevant claims, identify relationships, and finally contrast those relationships ( 17 ). Each scientific document highlights the perspective of the author, and students will become more confident in judging the supporting evidence and underlying premises of a study and constructing their own counterargument as they read more articles. A paucity of integration or contradictory perspectives indicates lower levels of cognitive complexity ( 12 ).

Thus, while elaborating an LR, the postgraduate student should achieve the highest category of Bloom’s cognitive skills: evaluation ( 12 ). The writer should not only summarize data and understand each topic but also be able to make judgments based on objective criteria, compare resources and findings, identify discrepancies due to methodology, and construct his/her own argument ( 12 ). As a result, the student will be sufficiently confident to show his/her own voice .

Writing a consistent LR is an intense and complex activity that reveals the training and long-lasting academic skills of a writer. It is not a lonely or linear process. However, students are unlikely to be prepared to write an LR if they have not mastered the aforementioned domains ( 10 ). An institutional environment that supports student learning is crucial.

Different institutions employ distinct methods to promote students’ learning processes. First, many universities propose modules to develop behind the scenes activities that enhance self-reflection about general skills (e.g., the skills we have mastered and the skills we need to develop further), behaviors that should be incorporated (e.g., self-criticism about one’s own thoughts), and each student’s role in the advancement of his/her field. Lectures or workshops about LRs themselves are useful because they describe the purposes of the LR and how it fits into the whole picture of a student’s work. These activities may explain what type of discussion an LR must involve, the importance of defining the correct scope, the reasons to include a particular resource, and the main role of critical reading.

Some pedagogic services that promote a continuous improvement in study and academic skills are equally important. Examples include workshops about time management, the accomplishment of personal objectives, active learning, and foreign languages for nonnative speakers. Additionally, opportunities to converse with other students promotes an awareness of others’ experiences and difficulties. Ultimately, the supervisor’s role in providing feedback and setting deadlines is crucial in developing students’ abilities and in strengthening students’ writing quality ( 12 ).

HOW SHOULD A LITERATURE REVIEW BE DEVELOPED?

A consensus on the appropriate method for elaborating an LR is not available, but four main steps are generally accepted: defining the main topic, searching the literature, analyzing the results, and writing ( 6 ). We suggest a fifth step: reflecting on the information that has been written in previous publications ( Figure 2 ).

First step: Defining the main topic

Planning an LR is directly linked to the research main question of the thesis and occurs in parallel to students’ training in the three domains discussed above. The planning stage helps organize ideas, delimit the scope of the LR ( 11 ), and avoid the wasting of time in the process. Planning includes the following steps:

• Reflecting on the scope of the LR: postgraduate students will have assumptions about what material must be addressed and what information is not essential to an LR ( 13 , 18 ). Cooper’s Taxonomy of Literature Reviews 2 systematizes the writing process through six characteristics and nonmutually exclusive categories. The focus refers to the reviewer’s most important points of interest, while the goals concern what students want to achieve with the LR. The perspective assumes answers to the student’s own view of the LR and how he/she presents a particular issue. The coverage defines how comprehensive the student is in presenting the literature, and the organization determines the sequence of arguments. The audience is defined as the group for whom the LR is written.
• Designating sections and subsections: Headings and subheadings should be specific, explanatory and have a coherent sequence throughout the text ( 4 ). They simulate an inverted pyramid, with an increasing level of reflection and depth of argument.
• Identifying keywords: The relevant keywords for each LR section should be listed to guide the literature search. This list should mirror what Hart (1998) ( 3 ) advocates as subject vocabulary . The keywords will also be useful when the student is writing the LR since they guide the reader through the text.
• Delineating the time interval and language of documents to be retrieved in the second step. The most recently published documents should be considered, but relevant texts published before a predefined cutoff year can be included if they are classic documents in that field. Extra care should be employed when translating documents.

Second step: Searching the literature

The ability to gather adequate information from the literature must be addressed in postgraduate programs. Librarian support is important, particularly for accessing difficult texts. This step comprises the following components:

• Searching the literature itself: This process consists of defining which databases (electronic or dissertation/thesis repositories), official documents, and books will be searched and then actively conducting the search. Information literacy skills have a central role in this stage. While searching electronic databases, controlled vocabulary (e.g., Medical Subject Headings, or MeSH, for the PubMed database) or specific standardized syntax rules may need to be applied.

In addition, two other approaches are suggested. First, a review of the reference list of each document might be useful for identifying relevant publications to be included and important opinions to be assessed. This step is also relevant for referencing the original studies and leading authors in that field. Moreover, students can directly contact the experts on a particular topic to consult with them regarding their experience or use them as a source of additional unpublished documents.

Before submitting a dissertation/thesis, the electronic search strategy should be repeated. This process will ensure that the most recently published papers will be considered in the LR.

• Selecting documents for inclusion: Generally, the most recent literature will be included in the form of published peer-reviewed papers. Assess books and unpublished material, such as conference abstracts, academic texts and government reports, are also important to assess since the gray literature also offers valuable information. However, since these materials are not peer-reviewed, we recommend that they are carefully added to the LR.

This task is an important exercise in time management. First, students should read the title and abstract to understand whether that document suits their purposes, addresses the research question, and helps develop the topic of interest. Then, they should scan the full text, determine how it is structured, group it with similar documents, and verify whether other arguments might be considered ( 5 ).

Third step: Analyzing the results

Critical reading and thinking skills are important in this step. This step consists of the following components:

• Reading documents: The student may read various texts in depth according to LR sections and subsections ( defining the main topic ), which is not a passive activity ( 1 ). Some questions should be asked to practice critical analysis skills, as listed below. Is the research question evident and articulated with previous knowledge? What are the authors’ research goals and theoretical orientations, and how do they interact? Are the authors’ claims related to other scholars’ research? Do the authors consider different perspectives? Was the research project designed and conducted properly? Are the results and discussion plausible, and are they consistent with the research objectives and methodology? What are the strengths and limitations of this work? How do the authors support their findings? How does this work contribute to the current research topic? ( 1 , 19 )
• Taking notes: Students who systematically take notes on each document are more readily able to establish similarities or differences with other documents and to highlight personal observations. This approach reinforces the student’s ideas about the next step and helps develop his/her own academic voice ( 1 , 13 ). Voice recognition software ( 16 ), mind maps ( 5 ), flowcharts, tables, spreadsheets, personal comments on the referenced texts, and note-taking apps are all available tools for managing these observations, and the student him/herself should use the tool that best improves his/her learning. Additionally, when a student is considering submitting an LR to a peer-reviewed journal, notes should be taken on the activities performed in all five steps to ensure that they are able to be replicated.

Fourth step: Writing

The recognition of when a student is able and ready to write after a sufficient period of reading and thinking is likely a difficult task. Some students can produce a review in a single long work session. However, as discussed above, writing is not a linear process, and students do not need to write LRs according to a specific sequence of sections. Writing an LR is a time-consuming task, and some scholars believe that a period of at least six months is sufficient ( 6 ). An LR, and academic writing in general, expresses the writer’s proper thoughts, conclusions about others’ work ( 6 , 10 , 13 , 16 ), and decisions about methods to progress in the chosen field of knowledge. Thus, each student is expected to present a different learning and writing trajectory.

In this step, writing methods should be considered; then, editing, citing and correct referencing should complete this stage, at least temporarily. Freewriting techniques may be a good starting point for brainstorming ideas and improving the understanding of the information that has been read ( 1 ). Students should consider the following parameters when creating an agenda for writing the LR: two-hour writing blocks (at minimum), with prespecified tasks that are possible to complete in one section; short (minutes) and long breaks (days or weeks) to allow sufficient time for mental rest and reflection; and short- and long-term goals to motivate the writing itself ( 20 ). With increasing experience, this scheme can vary widely, and it is not a straightforward rule. Importantly, each discipline has a different way of writing ( 1 ), and each department has its own preferred styles for citations and references.

Fifth step: Reflecting on the writing

In this step, the postgraduate student should ask him/herself the same questions as in the analyzing the results step, which can take more time than anticipated. Ambiguities, repeated ideas, and a lack of coherence may not be noted when the student is immersed in the writing task for long periods. The whole effort will likely be a work in progress, and continuous refinements in the written material will occur once the writing process has begun.

LITERATURE REVIEW CHECKLIST

In contrast to review papers, the LR of a dissertation/thesis should not be a standalone piece or work. Instead, it should present the student as a scholar and should maintain the interest of the audience in how that dissertation/thesis will provide solutions for the current gaps in a particular field.

A checklist for evaluating an LR is convenient for students’ continuous academic development and research transparency: it clearly states the desired achievements for the LR of a dissertation/thesis. Here, we present an LR checklist developed from an LR scoring rubric ( 11 ). For a critical analysis of an LR, we maintain the five categories but offer twelve criteria that are not scaled ( Figure 3 ). The criteria all have the same importance and are not mutually exclusive.

First category: Coverage

1. justified criteria exist for the inclusion and exclusion of literature in the review.

This criterion builds on the main topic and areas covered by the LR ( 18 ). While experts may be confident in retrieving and selecting literature, postgraduate students must convince their audience about the adequacy of their search strategy and their reasons for intentionally selecting what material to cover ( 11 ). References from different fields of knowledge provide distinct perspective, but narrowing the scope of coverage may be important in areas with a large body of existing knowledge.

Second category: Synthesis

2. a critical examination of the state of the field exists.

A critical examination is an assessment of distinct aspects in the field ( 1 ) along with a constructive argument. It is not a negative critique but an expression of the student’s understanding of how other scholars have added to the topic ( 1 ), and the student should analyze and contextualize contradictory statements. A writer’s personal bias (beliefs or political involvement) have been shown to influence the structure and writing of a document; therefore, the cultural and paradigmatic background guide how the theories are revised and presented ( 13 ). However, an honest judgment is important when considering different perspectives.

3. The topic or problem is clearly placed in the context of the broader scholarly literature

The broader scholarly literature should be related to the chosen main topic for the LR ( how to develop the literature review section). The LR can cover the literature from one or more disciplines, depending on its scope, but it should always offer a new perspective. In addition, students should be careful in citing and referencing previous publications. As a rule, original studies and primary references should generally be included. Systematic and narrative reviews present summarized data, and it may be important to cite them, particularly for issues that should be understood but do not require a detailed description. Similarly, quotations highlight the exact statement from another publication. However, excessive referencing may disclose lower levels of analysis and synthesis by the student.

4. The LR is critically placed in the historical context of the field

Situating the LR in its historical context shows the level of comfort of the student in addressing a particular topic. Instead of only presenting statements and theories in a temporal approach, which occasionally follows a linear timeline, the LR should authentically characterize the student’s academic work in the state-of-art techniques in their particular field of knowledge. Thus, the LR should reinforce why the dissertation/thesis represents original work in the chosen research field.

5. Ambiguities in definitions are considered and resolved

Distinct theories on the same topic may exist in different disciplines, and one discipline may consider multiple concepts to explain one topic. These misunderstandings should be addressed and contemplated. The LR should not synthesize all theories or concepts at the same time. Although this approach might demonstrate in-depth reading on a particular topic, it can reveal a student’s inability to comprehend and synthesize his/her research problem.

6. Important variables and phenomena relevant to the topic are articulated

The LR is a unique opportunity to articulate ideas and arguments and to purpose new relationships between them ( 10 , 11 ). More importantly, a sound LR will outline to the audience how these important variables and phenomena will be addressed in the current academic work. Indeed, the LR should build a bidirectional link with the remaining sections and ground the connections between all of the sections ( Figure 1 ).

7. A synthesized new perspective on the literature has been established

The LR is a ‘creative inquiry’ ( 13 ) in which the student elaborates his/her own discourse, builds on previous knowledge in the field, and describes his/her own perspective while interpreting others’ work ( 13 , 17 ). Thus, students should articulate the current knowledge, not accept the results at face value ( 11 , 13 , 17 ), and improve their own cognitive abilities ( 12 ).

Third category: Methodology

8. the main methodologies and research techniques that have been used in the field are identified and their advantages and disadvantages are discussed.

The LR is expected to distinguish the research that has been completed from investigations that remain to be performed, address the benefits and limitations of the main methods applied to date, and consider the strategies for addressing the expected limitations described above. While placing his/her research within the methodological context of a particular topic, the LR will justify the methodology of the study and substantiate the student’s interpretations.

9. Ideas and theories in the field are related to research methodologies

The audience expects the writer to analyze and synthesize methodological approaches in the field. The findings should be explained according to the strengths and limitations of previous research methods, and students must avoid interpretations that are not supported by the analyzed literature. This criterion translates to the student’s comprehension of the applicability and types of answers provided by different research methodologies, even those using a quantitative or qualitative research approach.

Fourth category: Significance

10. the scholarly significance of the research problem is rationalized.

The LR is an introductory section of a dissertation/thesis and will present the postgraduate student as a scholar in a particular field ( 11 ). Therefore, the LR should discuss how the research problem is currently addressed in the discipline being investigated or in different disciplines, depending on the scope of the LR. The LR explains the academic paradigms in the topic of interest ( 13 ) and methods to advance the field from these starting points. However, an excess number of personal citations—whether referencing the student’s research or studies by his/her research team—may reflect a narrow literature search and a lack of comprehensive synthesis of ideas and arguments.

11. The practical significance of the research problem is rationalized

The practical significance indicates a student’s comprehensive understanding of research terminology (e.g., risk versus associated factor), methodology (e.g., efficacy versus effectiveness) and plausible interpretations in the context of the field. Notably, the academic argument about a topic may not always reflect the debate in real life terms. For example, using a quantitative approach in epidemiology, statistically significant differences between groups do not explain all of the factors involved in a particular problem ( 21 ). Therefore, excessive faith in p -values may reflect lower levels of critical evaluation of the context and implications of a research problem by the student.

Fifth category: Rhetoric

12. the lr was written with a coherent, clear structure that supported the review.

This category strictly relates to the language domain: the text should be coherent and presented in a logical sequence, regardless of which organizational ( 18 ) approach is chosen. The beginning of each section/subsection should state what themes will be addressed, paragraphs should be carefully linked to each other ( 10 ), and the first sentence of each paragraph should generally summarize the content. Additionally, the student’s statements are clear, sound, and linked to other scholars’ works, and precise and concise language that follows standardized writing conventions (e.g., in terms of active/passive voice and verb tenses) is used. Attention to grammar, such as orthography and punctuation, indicates prudence and supports a robust dissertation/thesis. Ultimately, all of these strategies provide fluency and consistency for the text.

Although the scoring rubric was initially proposed for postgraduate programs in education research, we are convinced that this checklist is a valuable tool for all academic areas. It enables the monitoring of students’ learning curves and a concentrated effort on any criteria that are not yet achieved. For institutions, the checklist is a guide to support supervisors’ feedback, improve students’ writing skills, and highlight the learning goals of each program. These criteria do not form a linear sequence, but ideally, all twelve achievements should be perceived in the LR.

CONCLUSIONS

A single correct method to classify, evaluate and guide the elaboration of an LR has not been established. In this essay, we have suggested directions for planning, structuring and critically evaluating an LR. The planning of the scope of an LR and approaches to complete it is a valuable effort, and the five steps represent a rational starting point. An institutional environment devoted to active learning will support students in continuously reflecting on LRs, which will form a dialogue between the writer and the current literature in a particular field ( 13 ).

The completion of an LR is a challenging and necessary process for understanding one’s own field of expertise. Knowledge is always transitory, but our responsibility as scholars is to provide a critical contribution to our field, allowing others to think through our work. Good researchers are grounded in sophisticated LRs, which reveal a writer’s training and long-lasting academic skills. We recommend using the LR checklist as a tool for strengthening the skills necessary for critical academic writing.

AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS

Leite DFB has initially conceived the idea and has written the first draft of this review. Padilha MAS and Cecatti JG have supervised data interpretation and critically reviewed the manuscript. All authors have read the draft and agreed with this submission. Authors are responsible for all aspects of this academic piece.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We are grateful to all of the professors of the ‘Getting Started with Graduate Research and Generic Skills’ module at University College Cork, Cork, Ireland, for suggesting and supporting this article. Funding: DFBL has granted scholarship from Brazilian Federal Agency for Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education (CAPES) to take part of her Ph.D. studies in Ireland (process number 88881.134512/2016-01). There is no participation from sponsors on authors’ decision to write or to submit this manuscript.

No potential conflict of interest was reported.

1 The questions posed in systematic reviews usually follow the ‘PICOS’ acronym: Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcomes, Study design.

2 In 1988, Cooper proposed a taxonomy that aims to facilitate students’ and institutions’ understanding of literature reviews. Six characteristics with specific categories are briefly described: Focus: research outcomes, research methodologies, theories, or practices and applications; Goals: integration (generalization, conflict resolution, and linguistic bridge-building), criticism, or identification of central issues; Perspective: neutral representation or espousal of a position; Coverage: exhaustive, exhaustive with selective citations, representative, central or pivotal; Organization: historical, conceptual, or methodological; and Audience: specialized scholars, general scholars, practitioners or policymakers, or the general public.

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What is a literature review?

A literature review is an integrated analysis -- not just a summary-- of scholarly writings and other relevant evidence related directly to your research question.  That is, it represents a synthesis of the evidence that provides background information on your topic and shows a association between the evidence and your research question.

A literature review may be a stand alone work or the introduction to a larger research paper, depending on the assignment.  Rely heavily on the guidelines your instructor has given you.

Why is it important?

A literature review is important because it:

• Explains the background of research on a topic.
• Demonstrates why a topic is significant to a subject area.
• Discovers relationships between research studies/ideas.
• Identifies major themes, concepts, and researchers on a topic.
• Identifies critical gaps and points of disagreement.
• Discusses further research questions that logically come out of the previous studies.

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1. Choose a topic. Define your research question.

Your literature review should be guided by your central research question.  The literature represents background and research developments related to a specific research question, interpreted and analyzed by you in a synthesized way.

• Make sure your research question is not too broad or too narrow.  Is it manageable?
• Begin writing down terms that are related to your question. These will be useful for searches later.
• If you have the opportunity, discuss your topic with your professor and your class mates.

2. Decide on the scope of your review

How many studies do you need to look at? How comprehensive should it be? How many years should it cover? 

• This may depend on your assignment.  How many sources does the assignment require?

3. Select the databases you will use to conduct your searches.

Make a list of the databases you will search. 

Where to find databases:

• use the tabs on this guide
• Find other databases in the Nursing Information Resources web page
• More on the Medical Library web page
• ... and more on the Yale University Library web page

4. Conduct your searches to find the evidence. Keep track of your searches.

• Use the key words in your question, as well as synonyms for those words, as terms in your search. Use the database tutorials for help.
• Save the searches in the databases. This saves time when you want to redo, or modify, the searches. It is also helpful to use as a guide is the searches are not finding any useful results.
• Review the abstracts of research studies carefully. This will save you time.
• Use the bibliographies and references of research studies you find to locate others.
• Check with your professor, or a subject expert in the field, if you are missing any key works in the field.
• Ask your librarian for help at any time.
• Use a citation manager, such as EndNote as the repository for your citations. See the EndNote tutorials for help.

Review the literature

Some questions to help you analyze the research:

• What was the research question of the study you are reviewing? What were the authors trying to discover?
• Was the research funded by a source that could influence the findings?
• What were the research methodologies? Analyze its literature review, the samples and variables used, the results, and the conclusions.
• Does the research seem to be complete? Could it have been conducted more soundly? What further questions does it raise?
• If there are conflicting studies, why do you think that is?
• How are the authors viewed in the field? Has this study been cited? If so, how has it been analyzed?

Tips: 

• Review the abstracts carefully.  
• Keep careful notes so that you may track your thought processes during the research process.
• Create a matrix of the studies for easy analysis, and synthesis, across all of the studies.
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What is a Literature Review? How to Write It (with Examples)

A literature review is a critical analysis and synthesis of existing research on a particular topic. It provides an overview of the current state of knowledge, identifies gaps, and highlights key findings in the literature. 1 The purpose of a literature review is to situate your own research within the context of existing scholarship, demonstrating your understanding of the topic and showing how your work contributes to the ongoing conversation in the field. Learning how to write a literature review is a critical tool for successful research. Your ability to summarize and synthesize prior research pertaining to a certain topic demonstrates your grasp on the topic of study, and assists in the learning process. 

Table of Contents

• What is the purpose of literature review? 
• a. Habitat Loss and Species Extinction: 
• b. Range Shifts and Phenological Changes: 
• c. Ocean Acidification and Coral Reefs: 
• d. Adaptive Strategies and Conservation Efforts: 

How to write a good literature review 

• Choose a Topic and Define the Research Question: 
• Decide on the Scope of Your Review: 
• Select Databases for Searches: 
• Conduct Searches and Keep Track: 
• Review the Literature: 
• Organize and Write Your Literature Review: 
• How to write a literature review faster with Paperpal? 
• Frequently asked questions 

What is a literature review?

A well-conducted literature review demonstrates the researcher’s familiarity with the existing literature, establishes the context for their own research, and contributes to scholarly conversations on the topic. One of the purposes of a literature review is also to help researchers avoid duplicating previous work and ensure that their research is informed by and builds upon the existing body of knowledge.

What is the purpose of literature review?

A literature review serves several important purposes within academic and research contexts. Here are some key objectives and functions of a literature review: 2  

1. Contextualizing the Research Problem: The literature review provides a background and context for the research problem under investigation. It helps to situate the study within the existing body of knowledge. 

2. Identifying Gaps in Knowledge: By identifying gaps, contradictions, or areas requiring further research, the researcher can shape the research question and justify the significance of the study. This is crucial for ensuring that the new research contributes something novel to the field. 

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3. Understanding Theoretical and Conceptual Frameworks: Literature reviews help researchers gain an understanding of the theoretical and conceptual frameworks used in previous studies. This aids in the development of a theoretical framework for the current research. 

4. Providing Methodological Insights: Another purpose of literature reviews is that it allows researchers to learn about the methodologies employed in previous studies. This can help in choosing appropriate research methods for the current study and avoiding pitfalls that others may have encountered. 

5. Establishing Credibility: A well-conducted literature review demonstrates the researcher’s familiarity with existing scholarship, establishing their credibility and expertise in the field. It also helps in building a solid foundation for the new research. 

6. Informing Hypotheses or Research Questions: The literature review guides the formulation of hypotheses or research questions by highlighting relevant findings and areas of uncertainty in existing literature. 

Literature review example

Let’s delve deeper with a literature review example: Let’s say your literature review is about the impact of climate change on biodiversity. You might format your literature review into sections such as the effects of climate change on habitat loss and species extinction, phenological changes, and marine biodiversity. Each section would then summarize and analyze relevant studies in those areas, highlighting key findings and identifying gaps in the research. The review would conclude by emphasizing the need for further research on specific aspects of the relationship between climate change and biodiversity. The following literature review template provides a glimpse into the recommended literature review structure and content, demonstrating how research findings are organized around specific themes within a broader topic. 

Literature Review on Climate Change Impacts on Biodiversity:

Climate change is a global phenomenon with far-reaching consequences, including significant impacts on biodiversity. This literature review synthesizes key findings from various studies: 

a. Habitat Loss and Species Extinction:

Climate change-induced alterations in temperature and precipitation patterns contribute to habitat loss, affecting numerous species (Thomas et al., 2004). The review discusses how these changes increase the risk of extinction, particularly for species with specific habitat requirements. 

b. Range Shifts and Phenological Changes:

Observations of range shifts and changes in the timing of biological events (phenology) are documented in response to changing climatic conditions (Parmesan & Yohe, 2003). These shifts affect ecosystems and may lead to mismatches between species and their resources. 

c. Ocean Acidification and Coral Reefs:

The review explores the impact of climate change on marine biodiversity, emphasizing ocean acidification’s threat to coral reefs (Hoegh-Guldberg et al., 2007). Changes in pH levels negatively affect coral calcification, disrupting the delicate balance of marine ecosystems. 

d. Adaptive Strategies and Conservation Efforts:

Recognizing the urgency of the situation, the literature review discusses various adaptive strategies adopted by species and conservation efforts aimed at mitigating the impacts of climate change on biodiversity (Hannah et al., 2007). It emphasizes the importance of interdisciplinary approaches for effective conservation planning. 

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Writing a literature review involves summarizing and synthesizing existing research on a particular topic. A good literature review format should include the following elements. 

Introduction: The introduction sets the stage for your literature review, providing context and introducing the main focus of your review. 

• Opening Statement: Begin with a general statement about the broader topic and its significance in the field. 
• Scope and Purpose: Clearly define the scope of your literature review. Explain the specific research question or objective you aim to address. 
• Organizational Framework: Briefly outline the structure of your literature review, indicating how you will categorize and discuss the existing research. 
• Significance of the Study: Highlight why your literature review is important and how it contributes to the understanding of the chosen topic. 
• Thesis Statement: Conclude the introduction with a concise thesis statement that outlines the main argument or perspective you will develop in the body of the literature review. 

Body: The body of the literature review is where you provide a comprehensive analysis of existing literature, grouping studies based on themes, methodologies, or other relevant criteria. 

• Organize by Theme or Concept: Group studies that share common themes, concepts, or methodologies. Discuss each theme or concept in detail, summarizing key findings and identifying gaps or areas of disagreement. 
• Critical Analysis: Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each study. Discuss the methodologies used, the quality of evidence, and the overall contribution of each work to the understanding of the topic. 
• Synthesis of Findings: Synthesize the information from different studies to highlight trends, patterns, or areas of consensus in the literature. 
• Identification of Gaps: Discuss any gaps or limitations in the existing research and explain how your review contributes to filling these gaps. 
• Transition between Sections: Provide smooth transitions between different themes or concepts to maintain the flow of your literature review. 

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Conclusion: The conclusion of your literature review should summarize the main findings, highlight the contributions of the review, and suggest avenues for future research. 

• Summary of Key Findings: Recap the main findings from the literature and restate how they contribute to your research question or objective. 
• Contributions to the Field: Discuss the overall contribution of your literature review to the existing knowledge in the field. 
• Implications and Applications: Explore the practical implications of the findings and suggest how they might impact future research or practice. 
• Recommendations for Future Research: Identify areas that require further investigation and propose potential directions for future research in the field. 
• Final Thoughts: Conclude with a final reflection on the importance of your literature review and its relevance to the broader academic community. 

Conducting a literature review

Conducting a literature review is an essential step in research that involves reviewing and analyzing existing literature on a specific topic. It’s important to know how to do a literature review effectively, so here are the steps to follow: 1  

Choose a Topic and Define the Research Question:

• Select a topic that is relevant to your field of study. 
• Clearly define your research question or objective. Determine what specific aspect of the topic do you want to explore? 

Decide on the Scope of Your Review:

• Determine the timeframe for your literature review. Are you focusing on recent developments, or do you want a historical overview? 
• Consider the geographical scope. Is your review global, or are you focusing on a specific region? 
• Define the inclusion and exclusion criteria. What types of sources will you include? Are there specific types of studies or publications you will exclude? 

Select Databases for Searches:

• Identify relevant databases for your field. Examples include PubMed, IEEE Xplore, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. 
• Consider searching in library catalogs, institutional repositories, and specialized databases related to your topic. 

Conduct Searches and Keep Track:

• Develop a systematic search strategy using keywords, Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT), and other search techniques. 
• Record and document your search strategy for transparency and replicability. 
• Keep track of the articles, including publication details, abstracts, and links. Use citation management tools like EndNote, Zotero, or Mendeley to organize your references. 

Review the Literature:

• Evaluate the relevance and quality of each source. Consider the methodology, sample size, and results of studies. 
• Organize the literature by themes or key concepts. Identify patterns, trends, and gaps in the existing research. 
• Summarize key findings and arguments from each source. Compare and contrast different perspectives. 
• Identify areas where there is a consensus in the literature and where there are conflicting opinions. 
• Provide critical analysis and synthesis of the literature. What are the strengths and weaknesses of existing research? 

Organize and Write Your Literature Review:

• Literature review outline should be based on themes, chronological order, or methodological approaches. 
• Write a clear and coherent narrative that synthesizes the information gathered. 
• Use proper citations for each source and ensure consistency in your citation style (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.). 
• Conclude your literature review by summarizing key findings, identifying gaps, and suggesting areas for future research. 

Whether you’re exploring a new research field or finding new angles to develop an existing topic, sifting through hundreds of papers can take more time than you have to spare. But what if you could find science-backed insights with verified citations in seconds? That’s the power of Paperpal’s new Research feature!  

How to write a literature review faster with Paperpal?

Paperpal, an AI writing assistant, integrates powerful academic search capabilities within its writing platform. With the Research feature, you get 100% factual insights, with citations backed by 250M+ verified research articles, directly within your writing interface with the option to save relevant references in your Citation Library. By eliminating the need to switch tabs to find answers to all your research questions, Paperpal saves time and helps you stay focused on your writing.   

Here’s how to use the Research feature:  

• Ask a question: Get started with a new document on paperpal.com. Click on the “Research” feature and type your question in plain English. Paperpal will scour over 250 million research articles, including conference papers and preprints, to provide you with accurate insights and citations. 
• Review and Save: Paperpal summarizes the information, while citing sources and listing relevant reads. You can quickly scan the results to identify relevant references and save these directly to your built-in citations library for later access. 
• Cite with Confidence: Paperpal makes it easy to incorporate relevant citations and references into your writing, ensuring your arguments are well-supported by credible sources. This translates to a polished, well-researched literature review. 

The literature review sample and detailed advice on writing and conducting a review will help you produce a well-structured report. But remember that a good literature review is an ongoing process, and it may be necessary to revisit and update it as your research progresses. By combining effortless research with an easy citation process, Paperpal Research streamlines the literature review process and empowers you to write faster and with more confidence. Try Paperpal Research now and see for yourself.  

Frequently asked questions

A literature review is a critical and comprehensive analysis of existing literature (published and unpublished works) on a specific topic or research question and provides a synthesis of the current state of knowledge in a particular field. A well-conducted literature review is crucial for researchers to build upon existing knowledge, avoid duplication of efforts, and contribute to the advancement of their field. It also helps researchers situate their work within a broader context and facilitates the development of a sound theoretical and conceptual framework for their studies.

Literature review is a crucial component of research writing, providing a solid background for a research paper’s investigation. The aim is to keep professionals up to date by providing an understanding of ongoing developments within a specific field, including research methods, and experimental techniques used in that field, and present that knowledge in the form of a written report. Also, the depth and breadth of the literature review emphasizes the credibility of the scholar in his or her field.  

Before writing a literature review, it’s essential to undertake several preparatory steps to ensure that your review is well-researched, organized, and focused. This includes choosing a topic of general interest to you and doing exploratory research on that topic, writing an annotated bibliography, and noting major points, especially those that relate to the position you have taken on the topic. 

Literature reviews and academic research papers are essential components of scholarly work but serve different purposes within the academic realm. 3 A literature review aims to provide a foundation for understanding the current state of research on a particular topic, identify gaps or controversies, and lay the groundwork for future research. Therefore, it draws heavily from existing academic sources, including books, journal articles, and other scholarly publications. In contrast, an academic research paper aims to present new knowledge, contribute to the academic discourse, and advance the understanding of a specific research question. Therefore, it involves a mix of existing literature (in the introduction and literature review sections) and original data or findings obtained through research methods. 

Literature reviews are essential components of academic and research papers, and various strategies can be employed to conduct them effectively. If you want to know how to write a literature review for a research paper, here are four common approaches that are often used by researchers.  Chronological Review: This strategy involves organizing the literature based on the chronological order of publication. It helps to trace the development of a topic over time, showing how ideas, theories, and research have evolved.  Thematic Review: Thematic reviews focus on identifying and analyzing themes or topics that cut across different studies. Instead of organizing the literature chronologically, it is grouped by key themes or concepts, allowing for a comprehensive exploration of various aspects of the topic.  Methodological Review: This strategy involves organizing the literature based on the research methods employed in different studies. It helps to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of various methodologies and allows the reader to evaluate the reliability and validity of the research findings.  Theoretical Review: A theoretical review examines the literature based on the theoretical frameworks used in different studies. This approach helps to identify the key theories that have been applied to the topic and assess their contributions to the understanding of the subject.  It’s important to note that these strategies are not mutually exclusive, and a literature review may combine elements of more than one approach. The choice of strategy depends on the research question, the nature of the literature available, and the goals of the review. Additionally, other strategies, such as integrative reviews or systematic reviews, may be employed depending on the specific requirements of the research.

The literature review format can vary depending on the specific publication guidelines. However, there are some common elements and structures that are often followed. Here is a general guideline for the format of a literature review:  Introduction:   Provide an overview of the topic.  Define the scope and purpose of the literature review.  State the research question or objective.  Body:   Organize the literature by themes, concepts, or chronology.  Critically analyze and evaluate each source.  Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the studies.  Highlight any methodological limitations or biases.  Identify patterns, connections, or contradictions in the existing research.  Conclusion:   Summarize the key points discussed in the literature review.  Highlight the research gap.  Address the research question or objective stated in the introduction.  Highlight the contributions of the review and suggest directions for future research.

Both annotated bibliographies and literature reviews involve the examination of scholarly sources. While annotated bibliographies focus on individual sources with brief annotations, literature reviews provide a more in-depth, integrated, and comprehensive analysis of existing literature on a specific topic. The key differences are as follows: 

References 

• Denney, A. S., & Tewksbury, R. (2013). How to write a literature review.  Journal of criminal justice education ,  24 (2), 218-234. 
• Pan, M. L. (2016).  Preparing literature reviews: Qualitative and quantitative approaches . Taylor & Francis. 
• Cantero, C. (2019). How to write a literature review.  San José State University Writing Center . 

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What Is a Literature Review?

A literature review is an integrated analysis of scholarly writings that are related directly to your research question. Put simply, it's  a critical evaluation of what's already been written on a particular topic . It represents the literature that provides background information on your topic and shows a connection between those writings and your research question.

A literature review may be a stand-alone work or the introduction to a larger research paper, depending on the assignment. Rely heavily on the guidelines your instructor has given you.

What a Literature Review Is Not:

• A list or summary of sources
• An annotated bibliography
• A grouping of broad, unrelated sources
• A compilation of everything that has been written on a particular topic
• Literary criticism (think English) or a book review

Why Literature Reviews Are Important

• They explain the background of research on a topic
• They demonstrate why a topic is significant to a subject area
• They discover relationships between research studies/ideas
• They identify major themes, concepts, and researchers on a topic
• They identify critical gaps and points of disagreement
• They discuss further research questions that logically come out of the previous studies

To Learn More about Conducting and Writing a Lit Review . . .

Monash University (in Australia) has created several extremely helpful, interactive tutorials. 

• The Stand-Alone Literature Review, https://www.monash.edu/rlo/assignment-samples/science/stand-alone-literature-review
• Researching for Your Literature Review,  https://guides.lib.monash.edu/researching-for-your-literature-review/home
• Writing a Literature Review,  https://www.monash.edu/rlo/graduate-research-writing/write-the-thesis/writing-a-literature-review

Keep Track of Your Sources!

A citation manager can be helpful way to work with large numbers of citations. See UMSL Libraries' Citing Sources guide for more information. Personally, I highly recommend Zotero —it's free, easy to use, and versatile. If you need help getting started with Zotero or one of the other citation managers, please contact a librarian.

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A literature review surveys prior research published in books, scholarly articles, and any other sources relevant to a particular issue, area of research, or theory, and by so doing, provides a description, summary, and critical evaluation of these works in relation to the research problem being investigated. Literature reviews are designed to provide an overview of sources you have used in researching a particular topic and to demonstrate to your readers how your research fits within existing scholarship about the topic.

Fink, Arlene. Conducting Research Literature Reviews: From the Internet to Paper . Fourth edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 2014.

Importance of a Good Literature Review

A literature review may consist of simply a summary of key sources, but in the social sciences, a literature review usually has an organizational pattern and combines both summary and synthesis, often within specific conceptual categories . A summary is a recap of the important information of the source, but a synthesis is a re-organization, or a reshuffling, of that information in a way that informs how you are planning to investigate a research problem. The analytical features of a literature review might:

• Give a new interpretation of old material or combine new with old interpretations,
• Trace the intellectual progression of the field, including major debates,
• Depending on the situation, evaluate the sources and advise the reader on the most pertinent or relevant research, or
• Usually in the conclusion of a literature review, identify where gaps exist in how a problem has been researched to date.

Given this, the purpose of a literature review is to:

• Place each work in the context of its contribution to understanding the research problem being studied.
• Describe the relationship of each work to the others under consideration.
• Identify new ways to interpret prior research.
• Reveal any gaps that exist in the literature.
• Resolve conflicts amongst seemingly contradictory previous studies.
• Identify areas of prior scholarship to prevent duplication of effort.
• Point the way in fulfilling a need for additional research.
• Locate your own research within the context of existing literature [very important].

Fink, Arlene. Conducting Research Literature Reviews: From the Internet to Paper. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2005; Hart, Chris. Doing a Literature Review: Releasing the Social Science Research Imagination . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1998; Jesson, Jill. Doing Your Literature Review: Traditional and Systematic Techniques . Los Angeles, CA: SAGE, 2011; Knopf, Jeffrey W. "Doing a Literature Review." PS: Political Science and Politics 39 (January 2006): 127-132; Ridley, Diana. The Literature Review: A Step-by-Step Guide for Students . 2nd ed. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE, 2012.

Types of Literature Reviews

It is important to think of knowledge in a given field as consisting of three layers. First, there are the primary studies that researchers conduct and publish. Second are the reviews of those studies that summarize and offer new interpretations built from and often extending beyond the primary studies. Third, there are the perceptions, conclusions, opinion, and interpretations that are shared informally among scholars that become part of the body of epistemological traditions within the field.

In composing a literature review, it is important to note that it is often this third layer of knowledge that is cited as "true" even though it often has only a loose relationship to the primary studies and secondary literature reviews. Given this, while literature reviews are designed to provide an overview and synthesis of pertinent sources you have explored, there are a number of approaches you could adopt depending upon the type of analysis underpinning your study.

Argumentative Review This form examines literature selectively in order to support or refute an argument, deeply embedded assumption, or philosophical problem already established in the literature. The purpose is to develop a body of literature that establishes a contrarian viewpoint. Given the value-laden nature of some social science research [e.g., educational reform; immigration control], argumentative approaches to analyzing the literature can be a legitimate and important form of discourse. However, note that they can also introduce problems of bias when they are used to make summary claims of the sort found in systematic reviews [see below].

Integrative Review Considered a form of research that reviews, critiques, and synthesizes representative literature on a topic in an integrated way such that new frameworks and perspectives on the topic are generated. The body of literature includes all studies that address related or identical hypotheses or research problems. A well-done integrative review meets the same standards as primary research in regard to clarity, rigor, and replication. This is the most common form of review in the social sciences.

Historical Review Few things rest in isolation from historical precedent. Historical literature reviews focus on examining research throughout a period of time, often starting with the first time an issue, concept, theory, phenomena emerged in the literature, then tracing its evolution within the scholarship of a discipline. The purpose is to place research in a historical context to show familiarity with state-of-the-art developments and to identify the likely directions for future research.

Methodological Review A review does not always focus on what someone said [findings], but how they came about saying what they say [method of analysis]. Reviewing methods of analysis provides a framework of understanding at different levels [i.e. those of theory, substantive fields, research approaches, and data collection and analysis techniques], how researchers draw upon a wide variety of knowledge ranging from the conceptual level to practical documents for use in fieldwork in the areas of ontological and epistemological consideration, quantitative and qualitative integration, sampling, interviewing, data collection, and data analysis. This approach helps highlight ethical issues which you should be aware of and consider as you go through your own study.

Systematic Review This form consists of an overview of existing evidence pertinent to a clearly formulated research question, which uses pre-specified and standardized methods to identify and critically appraise relevant research, and to collect, report, and analyze data from the studies that are included in the review. The goal is to deliberately document, critically evaluate, and summarize scientifically all of the research about a clearly defined research problem . Typically it focuses on a very specific empirical question, often posed in a cause-and-effect form, such as "To what extent does A contribute to B?" This type of literature review is primarily applied to examining prior research studies in clinical medicine and allied health fields, but it is increasingly being used in the social sciences.

Theoretical Review The purpose of this form is to examine the corpus of theory that has accumulated in regard to an issue, concept, theory, phenomena. The theoretical literature review helps to establish what theories already exist, the relationships between them, to what degree the existing theories have been investigated, and to develop new hypotheses to be tested. Often this form is used to help establish a lack of appropriate theories or reveal that current theories are inadequate for explaining new or emerging research problems. The unit of analysis can focus on a theoretical concept or a whole theory or framework.

NOTE: Most often the literature review will incorporate some combination of types. For example, a review that examines literature supporting or refuting an argument, assumption, or philosophical problem related to the research problem will also need to include writing supported by sources that establish the history of these arguments in the literature.

Baumeister, Roy F. and Mark R. Leary. "Writing Narrative Literature Reviews."  Review of General Psychology 1 (September 1997): 311-320; Mark R. Fink, Arlene. Conducting Research Literature Reviews: From the Internet to Paper . 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2005; Hart, Chris. Doing a Literature Review: Releasing the Social Science Research Imagination . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1998; Kennedy, Mary M. "Defining a Literature." Educational Researcher 36 (April 2007): 139-147; Petticrew, Mark and Helen Roberts. Systematic Reviews in the Social Sciences: A Practical Guide . Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers, 2006; Torracro, Richard. "Writing Integrative Literature Reviews: Guidelines and Examples." Human Resource Development Review 4 (September 2005): 356-367; Rocco, Tonette S. and Maria S. Plakhotnik. "Literature Reviews, Conceptual Frameworks, and Theoretical Frameworks: Terms, Functions, and Distinctions." Human Ressource Development Review 8 (March 2008): 120-130; Sutton, Anthea. Systematic Approaches to a Successful Literature Review . Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications, 2016.

Structure and Writing Style

I.  Thinking About Your Literature Review

The structure of a literature review should include the following in support of understanding the research problem :

• An overview of the subject, issue, or theory under consideration, along with the objectives of the literature review,
• Division of works under review into themes or categories [e.g. works that support a particular position, those against, and those offering alternative approaches entirely],
• An explanation of how each work is similar to and how it varies from the others,
• Conclusions as to which pieces are best considered in their argument, are most convincing of their opinions, and make the greatest contribution to the understanding and development of their area of research.

The critical evaluation of each work should consider :

• Provenance -- what are the author's credentials? Are the author's arguments supported by evidence [e.g. primary historical material, case studies, narratives, statistics, recent scientific findings]?
• Methodology -- were the techniques used to identify, gather, and analyze the data appropriate to addressing the research problem? Was the sample size appropriate? Were the results effectively interpreted and reported?
• Objectivity -- is the author's perspective even-handed or prejudicial? Is contrary data considered or is certain pertinent information ignored to prove the author's point?
• Persuasiveness -- which of the author's theses are most convincing or least convincing?
• Validity -- are the author's arguments and conclusions convincing? Does the work ultimately contribute in any significant way to an understanding of the subject?

II.  Development of the Literature Review

Four Basic Stages of Writing 1.  Problem formulation -- which topic or field is being examined and what are its component issues? 2.  Literature search -- finding materials relevant to the subject being explored. 3.  Data evaluation -- determining which literature makes a significant contribution to the understanding of the topic. 4.  Analysis and interpretation -- discussing the findings and conclusions of pertinent literature.

Consider the following issues before writing the literature review: Clarify If your assignment is not specific about what form your literature review should take, seek clarification from your professor by asking these questions: 1.  Roughly how many sources would be appropriate to include? 2.  What types of sources should I review (books, journal articles, websites; scholarly versus popular sources)? 3.  Should I summarize, synthesize, or critique sources by discussing a common theme or issue? 4.  Should I evaluate the sources in any way beyond evaluating how they relate to understanding the research problem? 5.  Should I provide subheadings and other background information, such as definitions and/or a history? Find Models Use the exercise of reviewing the literature to examine how authors in your discipline or area of interest have composed their literature review sections. Read them to get a sense of the types of themes you might want to look for in your own research or to identify ways to organize your final review. The bibliography or reference section of sources you've already read, such as required readings in the course syllabus, are also excellent entry points into your own research. Narrow the Topic The narrower your topic, the easier it will be to limit the number of sources you need to read in order to obtain a good survey of relevant resources. Your professor will probably not expect you to read everything that's available about the topic, but you'll make the act of reviewing easier if you first limit scope of the research problem. A good strategy is to begin by searching the USC Libraries Catalog for recent books about the topic and review the table of contents for chapters that focuses on specific issues. You can also review the indexes of books to find references to specific issues that can serve as the focus of your research. For example, a book surveying the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict may include a chapter on the role Egypt has played in mediating the conflict, or look in the index for the pages where Egypt is mentioned in the text. Consider Whether Your Sources are Current Some disciplines require that you use information that is as current as possible. This is particularly true in disciplines in medicine and the sciences where research conducted becomes obsolete very quickly as new discoveries are made. However, when writing a review in the social sciences, a survey of the history of the literature may be required. In other words, a complete understanding the research problem requires you to deliberately examine how knowledge and perspectives have changed over time. Sort through other current bibliographies or literature reviews in the field to get a sense of what your discipline expects. You can also use this method to explore what is considered by scholars to be a "hot topic" and what is not.

III.  Ways to Organize Your Literature Review

Chronology of Events If your review follows the chronological method, you could write about the materials according to when they were published. This approach should only be followed if a clear path of research building on previous research can be identified and that these trends follow a clear chronological order of development. For example, a literature review that focuses on continuing research about the emergence of German economic power after the fall of the Soviet Union. By Publication Order your sources by publication chronology, then, only if the order demonstrates a more important trend. For instance, you could order a review of literature on environmental studies of brown fields if the progression revealed, for example, a change in the soil collection practices of the researchers who wrote and/or conducted the studies. Thematic [“conceptual categories”] A thematic literature review is the most common approach to summarizing prior research in the social and behavioral sciences. Thematic reviews are organized around a topic or issue, rather than the progression of time, although the progression of time may still be incorporated into a thematic review. For example, a review of the Internet’s impact on American presidential politics could focus on the development of online political satire. While the study focuses on one topic, the Internet’s impact on American presidential politics, it would still be organized chronologically reflecting technological developments in media. The difference in this example between a "chronological" and a "thematic" approach is what is emphasized the most: themes related to the role of the Internet in presidential politics. Note that more authentic thematic reviews tend to break away from chronological order. A review organized in this manner would shift between time periods within each section according to the point being made. Methodological A methodological approach focuses on the methods utilized by the researcher. For the Internet in American presidential politics project, one methodological approach would be to look at cultural differences between the portrayal of American presidents on American, British, and French websites. Or the review might focus on the fundraising impact of the Internet on a particular political party. A methodological scope will influence either the types of documents in the review or the way in which these documents are discussed.

Other Sections of Your Literature Review Once you've decided on the organizational method for your literature review, the sections you need to include in the paper should be easy to figure out because they arise from your organizational strategy. In other words, a chronological review would have subsections for each vital time period; a thematic review would have subtopics based upon factors that relate to the theme or issue. However, sometimes you may need to add additional sections that are necessary for your study, but do not fit in the organizational strategy of the body. What other sections you include in the body is up to you. However, only include what is necessary for the reader to locate your study within the larger scholarship about the research problem.

Here are examples of other sections, usually in the form of a single paragraph, you may need to include depending on the type of review you write:

• Current Situation : Information necessary to understand the current topic or focus of the literature review.
• Sources Used : Describes the methods and resources [e.g., databases] you used to identify the literature you reviewed.
• History : The chronological progression of the field, the research literature, or an idea that is necessary to understand the literature review, if the body of the literature review is not already a chronology.
• Selection Methods : Criteria you used to select (and perhaps exclude) sources in your literature review. For instance, you might explain that your review includes only peer-reviewed [i.e., scholarly] sources.
• Standards : Description of the way in which you present your information.
• Questions for Further Research : What questions about the field has the review sparked? How will you further your research as a result of the review?

IV.  Writing Your Literature Review

Once you've settled on how to organize your literature review, you're ready to write each section. When writing your review, keep in mind these issues.

Use Evidence A literature review section is, in this sense, just like any other academic research paper. Your interpretation of the available sources must be backed up with evidence [citations] that demonstrates that what you are saying is valid. Be Selective Select only the most important points in each source to highlight in the review. The type of information you choose to mention should relate directly to the research problem, whether it is thematic, methodological, or chronological. Related items that provide additional information, but that are not key to understanding the research problem, can be included in a list of further readings . Use Quotes Sparingly Some short quotes are appropriate if you want to emphasize a point, or if what an author stated cannot be easily paraphrased. Sometimes you may need to quote certain terminology that was coined by the author, is not common knowledge, or taken directly from the study. Do not use extensive quotes as a substitute for using your own words in reviewing the literature. Summarize and Synthesize Remember to summarize and synthesize your sources within each thematic paragraph as well as throughout the review. Recapitulate important features of a research study, but then synthesize it by rephrasing the study's significance and relating it to your own work and the work of others. Keep Your Own Voice While the literature review presents others' ideas, your voice [the writer's] should remain front and center. For example, weave references to other sources into what you are writing but maintain your own voice by starting and ending the paragraph with your own ideas and wording. Use Caution When Paraphrasing When paraphrasing a source that is not your own, be sure to represent the author's information or opinions accurately and in your own words. Even when paraphrasing an author’s work, you still must provide a citation to that work.

V.  Common Mistakes to Avoid

These are the most common mistakes made in reviewing social science research literature.

• Sources in your literature review do not clearly relate to the research problem;
• You do not take sufficient time to define and identify the most relevant sources to use in the literature review related to the research problem;
• Relies exclusively on secondary analytical sources rather than including relevant primary research studies or data;
• Uncritically accepts another researcher's findings and interpretations as valid, rather than examining critically all aspects of the research design and analysis;
• Does not describe the search procedures that were used in identifying the literature to review;
• Reports isolated statistical results rather than synthesizing them in chi-squared or meta-analytic methods; and,
• Only includes research that validates assumptions and does not consider contrary findings and alternative interpretations found in the literature.

Cook, Kathleen E. and Elise Murowchick. “Do Literature Review Skills Transfer from One Course to Another?” Psychology Learning and Teaching 13 (March 2014): 3-11; Fink, Arlene. Conducting Research Literature Reviews: From the Internet to Paper . 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2005; Hart, Chris. Doing a Literature Review: Releasing the Social Science Research Imagination . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1998; Jesson, Jill. Doing Your Literature Review: Traditional and Systematic Techniques . London: SAGE, 2011; Literature Review Handout. Online Writing Center. Liberty University; Literature Reviews. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Onwuegbuzie, Anthony J. and Rebecca Frels. Seven Steps to a Comprehensive Literature Review: A Multimodal and Cultural Approach . Los Angeles, CA: SAGE, 2016; Ridley, Diana. The Literature Review: A Step-by-Step Guide for Students . 2nd ed. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE, 2012; Randolph, Justus J. “A Guide to Writing the Dissertation Literature Review." Practical Assessment, Research, and Evaluation. vol. 14, June 2009; Sutton, Anthea. Systematic Approaches to a Successful Literature Review . Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications, 2016; Taylor, Dena. The Literature Review: A Few Tips On Conducting It. University College Writing Centre. University of Toronto; Writing a Literature Review. Academic Skills Centre. University of Canberra.

Writing Tip

Break Out of Your Disciplinary Box!

Thinking interdisciplinarily about a research problem can be a rewarding exercise in applying new ideas, theories, or concepts to an old problem. For example, what might cultural anthropologists say about the continuing conflict in the Middle East? In what ways might geographers view the need for better distribution of social service agencies in large cities than how social workers might study the issue? You don’t want to substitute a thorough review of core research literature in your discipline for studies conducted in other fields of study. However, particularly in the social sciences, thinking about research problems from multiple vectors is a key strategy for finding new solutions to a problem or gaining a new perspective. Consult with a librarian about identifying research databases in other disciplines; almost every field of study has at least one comprehensive database devoted to indexing its research literature.

Frodeman, Robert. The Oxford Handbook of Interdisciplinarity . New York: Oxford University Press, 2010.

Another Writing Tip

Don't Just Review for Content!

While conducting a review of the literature, maximize the time you devote to writing this part of your paper by thinking broadly about what you should be looking for and evaluating. Review not just what scholars are saying, but how are they saying it. Some questions to ask:

• How are they organizing their ideas?
• What methods have they used to study the problem?
• What theories have been used to explain, predict, or understand their research problem?
• What sources have they cited to support their conclusions?
• How have they used non-textual elements [e.g., charts, graphs, figures, etc.] to illustrate key points?

When you begin to write your literature review section, you'll be glad you dug deeper into how the research was designed and constructed because it establishes a means for developing more substantial analysis and interpretation of the research problem.

Hart, Chris. Doing a Literature Review: Releasing the Social Science Research Imagination . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1 998.

Yet Another Writing Tip

When Do I Know I Can Stop Looking and Move On?

Here are several strategies you can utilize to assess whether you've thoroughly reviewed the literature:

• Look for repeating patterns in the research findings . If the same thing is being said, just by different people, then this likely demonstrates that the research problem has hit a conceptual dead end. At this point consider: Does your study extend current research?  Does it forge a new path? Or, does is merely add more of the same thing being said?
• Look at sources the authors cite to in their work . If you begin to see the same researchers cited again and again, then this is often an indication that no new ideas have been generated to address the research problem.
• Search Google Scholar to identify who has subsequently cited leading scholars already identified in your literature review [see next sub-tab]. This is called citation tracking and there are a number of sources that can help you identify who has cited whom, particularly scholars from outside of your discipline. Here again, if the same authors are being cited again and again, this may indicate no new literature has been written on the topic.

Onwuegbuzie, Anthony J. and Rebecca Frels. Seven Steps to a Comprehensive Literature Review: A Multimodal and Cultural Approach . Los Angeles, CA: Sage, 2016; Sutton, Anthea. Systematic Approaches to a Successful Literature Review . Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications, 2016.

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• Assignment structure and writing
• Literature reviews
• Planning your assignment
• Presentations

The literature review 

A literature review analyses and evaluates existing knowledge within a particular domain.

The review, like other forms of academic writing, has an introduction, body and conclusion, well-formed paragraphs, and a logical structure. However, in other kinds of expository writing, you use relevant literature to support the discussion of your thesis; in a literature review, the literature itself is the subject of discussion.

A literature review gives an overview of what has already been said on the topic, who the key writers are, what the prevailing theories and hypotheses are, what questions are being asked, and what methodologies and methods are appropriate and useful.

A critical literature review shows how prevailing ideas fit into your own thesis, and how your thesis agrees or differs from them.

This depends on what the literature review is for, and what stage you are at in your studies. Your supervisor or lecturer should specify a minimum number of references.

Generally speaking, a reasonable number of references in a literature review would be:

• Undergraduate review: 5-20 titles depending on level
• Honours dissertation: 20+ titles
• Masters thesis: 40+ titles
• Doctoral thesis: 50+ titles.

1. Conduct the literature search

Find out what has been written on your subject. Places to start are:

• Bibliographies and references in key textbooks and recent journal articles. Your supervisor or tutor should tell you which are the key texts and relevant journals.
• Library search
• Databases – not all databases can be searched via Library Search. Consider searching subject specific databases individually to ensure you comprehensively conducting your literature review.
• RISE Research Repository – UniSQ's repository of research outputs.
• Google Scholar – can be useful for finding resources, such as conference papers, and research in other universities’ repositories. 

Many abstracting journals and electronic databases are available. Subject support is available for databases and bibliographies relevant to your field. 

2. Note the bibliographical details

Write down the full bibliographical details of each book or article as soon as you find a reference to it. This will save you an enormous amount of time later on. Referencing management software, such as EndNote , can be useful to manage citation information.

3. Read the literature

Take notes as you read the literature. You are reading to find out how each piece of writing approaches the subject of your research, what it has to say about it, and (especially for research students) how it relates to your own thesis.

Questions to consider include:

• Is it a general textbook or does it deal with a specific issue(s)?
• Does it follow a particular school of thought?
• What is its theoretical basis?
• What definitions does it use?
• What is its general methodological approach? What methods are used?
• What kinds of data does it use to back up its argument?
• What conclusions does it come to?

Other questions may be relevant. It depends on the purpose of the review.

4. Write the review

Having gathered the relevant details about the literature, you now need to write the review. The kind of review you write, and the amount of detail, will depend on the level of your studies.

A literature review synthesises many texts in one paragraph. Each paragraph (or section if it is a long thesis) of the literature review should classify and evaluate a common theme you have discovered in your research which is relevant to your thesis.

Like all academic writing, a literature review should have an introduction, body, and conclusion.

The introduction should include:

• the topic of your thesis
• the parameters of the topic (what it includes and excludes)
• why you have selected the literature.

The body paragraphs could include relevant paragraphs on:

• historical background including classic texts
• current mainstream versus alternative theoretical or ideological viewpoints, including differing theoretical assumptions, differing political outlooks, and other conflicts
• possible approaches to the subject (empirical, philosophical, historical, postmodernist, etc.)
• definitions in use
• current research studies
• current discoveries about the topic
• principal questions that are being asked
• general conclusions that are being drawn
• methodologies and methods in use.

The conclusion should include:

• A summary of major agreements and disagreements in the literature
• A summary of general conclusions that are being drawn
• A summary of where your thesis sits in the literature.

Chapter One: Understanding the Assignment / Types of Research Projects / Preliminary Research

Understanding the Assignment

You are viewing the first edition of this textbook. a second edition is available – please visit the latest edition for updated information..

We discuss the following topics on this page:

Intended Audience for the Project

Purpose of the project, understanding the assignment prompts, guidelines, and expectations, the role of analysis in research projects.

Key Takeaways

Be sure you fully understand the assignment before you begin research. If there are terms in the assignment you don’t understand or methods you don’t yet know how to do, you will need to obtain this knowledge as soon as possible. The best source for information about your assignment is the person who gave the assignment (usually your instructor). For additional help understanding the assignment, visit the UCF Writing Center .

Jada’s assignment was to write a 10-12 page paper that analyzed a work of literature (she chose James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues”) while employing two schools of criticism and citing five scholarly sources using the MLA format. This is a fairly common but deceptively complex literary studies research assignment. Instructors might also stipulate that your research includes biographical or historical information about your chosen subject. Other kinds of research can include textual analysis, comparative readings, genre studies, or theory-based approaches. We discuss various theories and methods in future modules. For now we will discuss four major types of research projects. These include 1) interpretive, 2) critical, 3) historical, and 4) creative.

Audience awareness is an important aspect of good writing (and one we will discuss many times throughout this course). If your instructor does not stipulate an intended audience, assume you are writing for a journal of literary studies and that your classmates or other students and literary scholars are your imagined audience. It can be tempting to think of your instructor as your audience since they will be reading and grading your paper. However, you should avoid doing so unless told otherwise. Rather, think of your instructor as an editor who gives an assignment and evaluates your work for publication. The true “audience” in this case would be the readers of your real or imagined journal.

Different journals and conferences favor certain kinds of research over others and you should explore a few journals to see what kinds of research they publish. It is useful to review the submission guidelines for various literary journals and conferences to find out what kinds of research they prefer. Many journals publish articles with very specific formatting and methodology requirements, and learning about them can provide insight to beginning researchers. By studying the field, you can also be more prepared if or when you’re considering graduate school or are thinking about writing beyond class assignments. Publishing and presenting on a more professional level await!

The typical purpose of a research paper in literary studies is to convince an audience to share your conclusion about a work of literature (or about a genre, a historical period, an author, a theory, etc.). Thus, you want to make a well-supported case to convince your reader to adopt your understanding and not some other understanding. The research method you choose (and your effectiveness in using it) will determine whether you succeed.

It’s common to begin a research project with a broad topic that you refine and focus throughout your research. Jada’s journey started with a general interest in James Baldwin’s short story, “Sonny’s Blues,” but became a more clear, complex, and focused question that drove her research.

First, Jada needed to know the parameters of the assignment. Instructors may provide a specific prompt focused on a particular literary work, an author, a literary form, a historical period, a theme, a theory, a method, or some other aspect of literary studies  or  the instructor may offer a choice of prompts. The instructor may require that your paper argue for or against a certain proposition. Alternatively the instructor may leave the assignment open-ended, requiring students to identify their own topic and produce their own prompt (otherwise known as a research question).

In addition, the instructor may list other requirements for your research project such as page length, number and type of sources, citation format, style guidelines, etc. Be sure to familiarize yourself with all these requirements before you begin your project; you don’t want to get to the deadline only to realize you needed five more citations, your paper is five pages too short, and you don’t know the difference between MLA and APA formats. The best source for information about the research paper guidelines is your instructor. If you have questions about the assignment or just want to go over the requirements before you begin your work, please ask your instructor for help. They are there to help you!

Research projects should make  arguments , which are not to be confused with  analysis . An analysis does not necessarily pose any arguments. Any research project must include some analysis, but this analysis must be used to support an interpretive, critical, or historical claim (or to give a creative work some rhetorical agency).

Analytical work will help you better understand a literary text. The goal of analysis is to describe what type  a text is, how it  functions , what its  parts  or  elements  are, and how it achieves its  effects.  You must do an analysis, but you should not stop with one; an analysis is a necessary step to creating an argument. Later in this course we will discuss how you use analysis to build your arguments.

The following pages will include more details about types of research projects, Jada’s project, including short videos of her discussing her approach to finding resources, establishing relevance, refining and evaluating her research question, and managing her research.

reasons given to persuade others that a belief or action is right or wrong.

examination of the elements or structure of something.

Strategies for Conducting Literary Research Copyright © 2021 by Barry Mauer & John Venecek is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Literature Review Assignment

Note to instructors: This literature review assignment may be used as part of an ongoing research project, or it may be used as a stand-alone project. You are encouraged to adopt, adapt, or remix these guidelines to suit your goals for your class.

Rough Draft:

Peer Review:

Final Draft:

This assignment will help you become aware of how writers and researchers consider previous work on a topic before they begin additional research. 

• Locate a variety of scholarly print and digital sources that represent multiple perspectives on a topic.
• Analyze sources by critically reading, annotating, engaging, comparing, and drawing implications.
• Methods of gathering and determining the credibility of sources
• Strategies for identifying and discussing multiple perspectives in research

A literature review provides context and establishes the need for new research. In your literature review, you will summarize and analyze published research on your topic by identifying strengths, weaknesses, commonalities, and disagreements among your sources.

For this assignment, you will conduct research on your topic and then compose a thoughtful, well-organized literature review that reflects your own analysis of at least five scholarly sources and their contributions to your topic. (Note that a literature review differs from an annotated bibliography, which simply lists sources and summaries one-by-one. A literature review also differs from a research paper because it does not include new arguments or unpublished primary research.)

Your literature review should have three parts: an introduction, a body, and a conclusion.

Introduction

In the introduction, identify your research topic and provide appropriate background information to clarify the context in which you will be reviewing the sources. You should also identify commonalities, conflicts, and/or gaps in published research. Finally, you should explain the criteria you’ve used to analyze, compare, and contrast sources.

In the body, discuss your sources. Organize your discussion of sources based on a common characteristic such as authors’ purposes, findings, or conclusions; research methodologies; or chronology. Briefly summarize each source and describe the strengths and weaknesses of each source. Identify and analyze each source’s contribution to the topic and address differing viewpoints. Integrate source information effectively using lead-in phrases and citations. 

In the conclusion, discuss the ways your sources have contributed to greater knowledge and understanding of the topic and address shortcomings in the existing research. Answer the following questions: What has your review of the sources revealed or demonstrated about the topic? What new questions that have been raised? What areas need further study? 

Formatting requirements

Follow MLA format. Use black Calibri or Times New Roman font in size 12. Double-space the entire document. Use 1-inch margins on all sides.

Criteria for success

General criteria:.

• The writing is clear and coherent/makes sense. 
• The tone and language are appropriate for the audience.
• The writing adheres to grammar and punctuation rules.
• All sources are cited properly, both within the literature review and on the Works Cited page. 

In the introduction, you should . . .

• Identify the general topic or issue you have researched.
• Provide appropriate background information to clarify the context in which you will be reviewing sources. 
• Identify overall trends conflicts, and/or gaps in research and scholarship; and/or identify a single problem or new perspective. 
• Explain the criteria you’ve used to analyze, compare, and contrast sources.
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What is literature for? The role of transformative reading

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• https://doi.org/10.1080/23311983.2019.1692532

1. Introduction

2. transformative purpose in the development of literary theories, 3. the cognitive turn and the role of transformative reading, 4. uses of transformative reading in education and at the workplace, 5. conclusion, acknowledgements, additional information.

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The question of what literature is for—if there is a purpose—is not new. Since the beginning of literary theory as a field of study, the debate has been long and complex and is still ongoing. This article offers a reflection on the concept of purpose in the development of literary theories up to the advent of the cognitive turn in the twenty-first century, when empirical studies of literary reading began to proliferate. The paper argues that discussions on the question of purpose have changed from no purpose to pragmatic and later to more existential purposes. It places transformative reading in the center of this debate and reflects on the results of the series of empirical studies conducted so far. The paper focuses on the implications and uses of transformative reading in social contexts. It concludes by discussing how empirical work in this area suggests new conceptual distinctions that could contribute to theorizing about purpose in literary studies more generally. It also indicates what lies ahead in terms of challenges while pointing at new research directions.

• transformative reading
• literary experience
• reader response
• empirical study
• literature education

PUBLIC INTEREST STATEMENT

We say that literature changes lives. But is this statement supported by scientific evidence? This paper presents recent work on how readers might gain fresh insights into themselves and others through reading literature, in a process called “transformative reading.” It describes the forms of cognitive and emotional engagements involved: by vividly imagining stories and resonating with characters and situations in novels and stories, readers may reflect on how they would feel or act, what consequences their thoughts and behaviours might have for others, and who they may or may not be in the future. In light of a reflection on the concept of “purpose” in the development of literary theories, this paper holds that the purpose of literature lies in the experience itself—it transforms readers’ personal and social concepts—and in its uses in social contexts. It concludes by discussing how empirical work in this area suggests new conceptual distinctions that could contribute to theorizing about purpose in literary studies more generally.

“Purpose” has different definitions in literary theory and criticism and it is a highly contested concept. For the Transformative Reading Program (henceforth, the TR Program), the purpose of literature lies in the experience itself; and this experience is transformative. According to TR, literary reading always implies both a text and a reader in a reciprocal experience at a particular time and place. In such a fluid exchange, both text and reader are mutually modified. Thus, from this perspective, although the purpose of literature is only one—to be transformative—it might have different expressions, or different forms.

I go completely into [the reading], and become one of the characters and I have to stop myself from talking like that character [ especially if it’s something like Jane Austen ] … when I read fiction … I just get completely absorbed and I’m there and I’m involved and I’m feeling all of the emotions and everything else . (p. 32, my italics)

I lived through World War II in London, England … Mostly I have kept the experience to myself … I think that I buried a lot of it inside me somewhere … Lodge’s novel … was just such an experience for me … I was strongly moved by it, but more, I was grateful for it. The expression, the novel, sometimes gives a shape, a form, to experience that we recognize as our own. The novel is then a gift, a creating of the reader’s reality, existence, history. The pieces of my past, my life, that were lying around in a puzzling mess—unexpressed, unformed, vaguely felt—were gathered together and given recognizable and storable shape. This is a priceless gift—a gift to the reader of part of the reader’s life. Now I can say, if you want to know some of how it felt to be me as a twelve-year-old in England in 1944 and 1945, read Out of the Shelter . (quoted by Kuiken, Miall, & Sikora, Citation 2004 , p. 178)

Books help me clarify my feelings; change my way of thinking about things; help me think through problems in my own life; help me make a decision; and give me the strength and courage to make major changes in my own life; they … give me hope to rebuild my life. (Ross et al., Citation 2006 , p. 163)

This statement explains in a way how reading can be woven into the texture of readers’ lives. The experience seems to have transformative powers as it deepens our understanding of the position of the self in the world. Granted that the experiences of reading vary widely, these accounts illustrate how individuals often refer to the impact of reading on their self-awareness when they explain why they engage in fiction (Fialho, Citation 2002 ; Miall & Kuiken, Citation 2002 ; Radway, Citation 1984 ; Toyne & Usherwood, Citation 2001 ). Thus, the meaning literature makes in readers’ lives is personal while being unique to each individual.

In the midst of studies that indicate the decline of Literary Studies and the Humanities in general (for a review, see Fialho, Citation 2012 ; Fialho, Zyngier, & Miall, Citation 2011 ; Schrijvers, Citation 2019 ), and the number of literary readers (Leesmonitor.nl), there is no reason to be pessimistic and assume that the relevance of literature is waning. It is true that audiences may go for the many self-help books available today or popular magazines (Bergsma, Citation 2008 ; Cuijpers, Citation 1997 ). However, they also show a preference for literary texts (Koopman, Citation 2016a ), movies (Oliver & Bartsch, Citation 2011 ), as well as television (Krijnen, Citation 2007 ). Besides the pursuit of pleasure and amusement (hedonic motives), media audiences also search for texts that reflect on life’s meaning, truths and purposes (eudaimonic motives; Oliver & Raney, Citation 2001 ). In training students to see the meaning for themselves and how to teach others to uncover the importance of individual literary texts, the TR Program contributes to the relevance of Humanities in general.

The problem is that when it comes to an education in literature, such a purpose is not always expressed or have a place. Literature students may acquire the skills necessary to analyze narrative techniques, and to distinguish modernist from postmodernist novels, but they are not asked to read for personal relevance. Traditional literary studies have centered around questions such as “What is this text about?”. In fact, why one would study literature in the first place is an issue that is notoriously ignored in curricula. Questions such as “What is this text about for you?”, “What does it mean for your life?”, “What can I learn from this story”, and “How could this novel change the way I live?” are seldom considered (see Fialho et al., Citation 2011 ; Citation 2012 ; Fialho, Citation 2012 ; for exceptions, see Schrijvers, Citation 2019 ; Schrijvers, Janssen, Fialho, & Rijlaarsdam, Citation 2016 , Citation 2019a , Citation IN Preparation ; Schrijvers, Citation 2019 ; Schrijvers, Janssen, Fialho, De Maeyer, & Rijlaarsdam, 2019c). Outside academia, the relevance of literature for people’s lives may be more common, such as programs like Changing Lives Through Literature Footnote 2 or Literature for Life Footnote 3 show (see also Skjerdingstad and Tangerås in this special issue). In bookclubs, or any other shared reading groups, literature is seen to bring an increased sense of life purpose (e.g. Longden et al., Citation 2015 ; Trounstine & Waxler, Citation 2005 ), but there the search for meaning remains largely uninformed by the insights from literary scholarship, nor is it guided by evidence-based principles. These are central questions investigated by the TR Program. As it provides an evidence-based program (see Section 3 ), TR is a scholarly endeavor that goes beyond everyday reading practices.

In placing TR within the debate of the purpose of literature and literary studies, this article initially asks where literary theory contributes to the question of purpose. Section 1 offers a reflection on the concept of the transformative purpose in the development of literary theories up to the advent of the cognitive turn at the turn of the twenty-first century. Section 2 focuses on the question of how the experiential purpose of literary reading comes about. It discusses the cognitive turn in literary studies, indicating how empirical studies of literature have been testing some of the hypotheses emerging from literary theory. Then, it places TR in the center of this debate and reflects on the results of the series of empirical studies conducted so far. Section 3 concentrates on the implications and uses of TR in social contexts. The paper concludes with a discussion on how empirical work on transformative reading suggests new conceptual distinctions that could contribute to theorising about “purpose” in literary studies more generally. It also indicates what lies ahead in terms of challenges while pointing at new research directions.

The question of the transformative purpose of the arts and of literature, more specifically, or the idea that the arts (including literature) is for transformation is not new. It has been present since human beings realized that they could influence others through discourse. In the course of the development of literary theories, however, opinions are divided as to (1) whether literature’s transformative powers are desirable or not and as to (2) the aspects of life that literature changes.

In Poetics, Aristotle was already aware of the emotional effects drama produced on the audience. Plato also attributed to “good poets” the capacity to affect readers, and regarded emotions as “the element in us that the poets satisfy and delight” (qtd. in Burke, Citation 1995 , p. 20). The transformative effects of literature were considered dangerous because of their power to influence readers, which led Plato to ban poets from his Republic. Although the Greeks acknowledged the effects of literature and rhetoric, their focus was mainly on how effects in reception, such as catharsis, depended on the manipulation of verbal art.

After Romanticism, the question of the purpose of literature varied, from the preservation of the separateness of literature (especially in Kantian aesthetics) and its elevation to a cult object (Art for Art’s Sake) through a claim for literature as a source of consolation and focus for human feelings, including its moral values. In his preface to The Picture of Dorian Gray , Oscar Wilde concluded (Wilde, Citation 1891–1993 ) that “All art is quite useless”. This notion that literature has no purpose other than being aesthetically pleasing was also shared later by critics and writers such as Virginia Woolf and T.S. Eliot, among others. Despite such possibilities entertained about whether or not literature would have a purpose, Matthew Arnold, in the 19 th century, for example, emphasized its transformative purpose, seeing literature as a substitute for religion and claiming that the purpose of literature was to change us for the better.

In the 20 th century, the dominance of Formalist approaches to art and literature and New Criticism limited the efforts to understand the transformative aspects of reading, but it was with the opponents of formalist approaches that attention to its social function and purposes regained the weight. Raymond Williams ( Citation 1977 ) criticized the formalists in his introduction to Marxist literary criticism, and Lukács ( Citation 1948 ) had already argued that art cannot be understood as an autonomous entity which pleases without concept. Art has to be conceived as an historical fact within a social totality. Indeed, Lukács ( Citation 1971 ) also claimed that literature should become a revolutionary practice capable of transforming society.

Later, Eagleton ( Citation 1983 ) criticized the formalists’ notion of literariness and argued that “special language” can be found not only in literary language but elsewhere. Sharing Trotsky’s ( Citation 1923 ) and Williams’ views, Eagleton claimed that the formalists “pass over the analysis of literary ‘content’ for the study of literary form”—It was essentially the application of linguistics to the study of literature and concerned with the structures of a language rather than with what one might actually say. Content was merely the “motivation of form, a convenience for a formal exercise”. Eagleton believes that it is the context that tells that something is literary and that the language itself has no inherent properties or qualities which might distinguish it from other kinds of discourse. He goes to the extreme of stating that “anything can be literature” if they are valued to be so. Also, prominent poststructuralist critics have argued that there are no special characteristics that distinguish literature from other texts. They seem to imply that any text, whether literary or not, depends on functions common to all texts.

The second point of agreement among opponents of formalism is the argument that it is not possible to have a “scientific” study of literature. Based as it is on a general and not specifically literary theory of signification, deconstruction ended up becoming synonymous with a particular method of textual analysis and philosophical argument involving the close reading of works of literature, philosophy, psychoanalysis, linguistics, and anthropology to reveal logical or rhetorical incompatibilities between the explicit and implicit planes of discourse in a text and to demonstrate by means of a range of critical techniques how these incompatibilities are disguised and assimilated by the text. The title of de Man’s second book, Allegories of Reading , is suggestive. What began as a critique of methods and systems of reading can be legitimately accused of having succumbed to the normative methodization it criticized. All in all, it can be argued that in the evolution of literary criticism briefly outlined so far, the issue of purpose has centered around the question “what purpose?” The question “purpose for whom?” was only addressed by reader reception theorists.

Reader reception and response theorists in the sixties and the seventies renewed appreciation for the centrality of the role of the reader, now seen as an active participant in the creation of a text’s meaning. In an early proposal, Rosenblatt ( Citation 1938–1995 ) already shifted the emphasis of textual analysis away from the New Critical focus on the text alone and viewed the reader and the text as partners in the production of meaning, although a rather solitary voice at the time. Reader reception and response critics then moved away from the text as a sole determiner of meaning to the significance of the reader as an essential participant in the reading process, one who is informed by the experiences he/she brings to the moment of reading: present historical circumstances, world knowledge, gender, race, class, age, education, personal experiences, feelings ( Citation 1978 , p. 127). This consideration of the reader as an active participant in the interaction reader-text is what differentiates Rosenblatt and reader-response critics from other critical approaches that also considered aesthetic responses.

Despite sharing an emphasis on the role of the reader, reader reception and response criticism do not provide us with a unified body of theory or methodology, with each critic espousing a different approach to textual analysis and different models of readers, e.g., Eco’s “model reader” ( Citation 1979 ); Fish’s “informed reader” ( Citation 1970 ); Iser’s “implied reader” ( Citation 1974 ); Riffaterre’s “super reader” ( Citation 1959 ; for an overview, see Zyngier, Citation 1994 ). These approaches brought readers to the limelight, but their models tend to be those of specialized and not of ordinary readers. It is true that some efforts towards valuing the ordinary reader were being made, for example, by de Beaugrande ( Citation 1985 ) and Rabinowitz ( Citation 1987 ). However, the mainstream in literary studies continued to be carried out within a purely theoretical framework, with a few exceptions (see Holland, Citation 1975 ; Holland & Schwartz, Citation 1975 ).

Felski ( Citation 2008 ) prolifically demonstrates how recent theorists and common readers are in more agreement about the purpose of literature than one would expect. She offers a well-articulated account of the various modes of textual engagement, including literature as a source of self-knowledge, revealing and concealing much of who we are (pp.77–104). She also argues that aesthetic value is inseparable from its use. Thus, her central argument is that literature can be a rich source of personal meaning. It might give us direction in our struggles to find out what we are in this world for, what our life mission is, how to lead our lives purposefully. Since literature reveals much about ourselves, what we do with it and how we use it also reveals its meaning and purpose. Aligned with such a view, from the TR Program perspective, the transformative purpose of literature is the essence of what literature is, which can be expressed by what readers do with it and by its uses .

The TR program contributes to reader response theories, and takes Felski’s proposal a step forward, by putting the actual reader in the limelight. It is innovative in describing and explaining the detailed mechanisms by which literature can be meaningful for readers’ lives, which revises the traditional takes on the notion of literariness.

The cognitive turn in literary studies developed alongside a proliferation of empirical studies of the actual reader. They show, however, far more divergent reading practices and varied understandings of literature than, for example, Eagleton’s account would allow (Miall & Kuiken, Citation 1994 , Citation 1999 ). Based on the assumption that the purpose of literature is to gain a fresh experience of the self in the world, the cognitive turn has moved the debate to the interplay between cognition and emotion, and also addresses literariness, through the study of actual readers and the detailed mechanisms by which literature is self-implicating and self-modifying. In empirical studies, and more specifically, in TR research, literariness is not seen exclusively as a set of formal textual properties (Jakobson, Citation 1960 ) or as only relying on a set of conventions (e.g., Culler, Citation 1975 ; Fish, Citation 1980 ), but as involving readers’ refamiliarizing/reconceptualizing strategies (Fialho, Citation 2007 ). The underlying assumption is that responses to literary texts combine verbal, emotional and cognitive elements that may account for the distinctiveness of the literary experience. Thus, TR reconceptualizes the notion of “literariness” and how the reader processes literary texts, and the results contribute to the debate on the purpose of literature, now seen from the perspective of the actual reader.

Drawing on the dehabituation theory of literature (Miall, Citation 2006 ), TR is grounded on a notion of literariness that is not solely defined as a characteristic set of text properties or as residing exclusively “in what people do with the writing”, as Eagleton suggested, but resides in the interaction between reader and text. Literariness is here seen as the product of a distinctive mode of reading that is identifiable through three key components of response to literary texts: (1) foregrounded textual or narrative features , (2) readers’ defamiliarizing responses to them, and (3) the consequent modification of personal meanings (see also Miall & Kuiken, Citation 1999 ), or “refamiliarizing/reconceptualizing strategies” (Fialho, Citation 2007 ).

Research on the first key component of the dehabituation theory, what foregrounded textual or narrative features contribute to the second and third components is underdeveloped. In other words, it remains unclear what textual components or what it is exactly that causes defamiliarizing responses and the consequent modification of personal meanings, or transformative reading (see also Hakemulder, Fialho, & Bal, Citation 2016 , p.23). Other questions yet to be investigated involve the role of individual differences (Henrich, Heine, & Norenzayan, Citation 2010 ; Ross et al., Citation 2006 ) and the conditions of implementation (Schrijvers et al., Citation 2016 , Citation 2019a , Citation 2019b , Citation 2019c , Citation in preparation ; see Section 3 ).

Research on the second and third components have been more illuminating. Insights into the second key component, readers’ defamiliarizing responses , or the forms of cognitive and emotional engagement from the part of the reader in literary experiencing have been described in many ways. Among the theories and models put forward in the psychology of art, reading has been seen as a “simulation” of social phenomena, prompting readers to go “beyond the schema given” (Miall, Citation 1989 , p. 55). As Oatley and colleagues suggest, feelings may play a mimetic role. While empathizing with characters, readers take on their goals, feel their emotions, and draw upon the same social skills that enable them to understand others (Oatley, Citation 1994 , p. 66). Kneepkens and Zwaan ( Citation 1994 ) elaborate upon the ways different feelings in literary response might interact and provide empirical evidence for such arguments. For instance, they show how readers become less and less involved in technical aspects and contextual information (A-emotions or Artefact emotions) and more involved in character and event descriptions in the story world (experiencing F-emotions, or Fiction emotions) as a story progresses (p. 134). Their contribution, however, resides much more in the kind of questioning their discussion generates, materialized in a number of empirically testable predictions ( idem 136). The “transportation” model has argued that, in literary experiencing, readers are transported into narrative worlds ((Green & Brock, Citation 2000 ; Citation 2002 )). According to this model, in imagining what it would be like to be in the characters’ shoes, readers sympathize or identify with characters positively or negatively, and share or reject their views of the world (Green, Citation 2004 ; Hakemulder, Citation 2001 ; Oatley, Citation 1994 , Citation 1999 ). Literary reading processes have also been described as coming about via a merging of boundaries between self and others, a result of “experience-taking”, where readers take the experiences of the text as their own (Kaufman & Libby, Citation 2012 ; Sikora, Kuiken, & Miall, Citation 2011 ), a form of enactive engagement (Fialho, Citation 2012 ). Despite the kind of metaphor used to describe forms of reader engagement, these models and theories seem to share a view on literary experience as a combination of emotional and cognitive processes.

As a development of the cognitive turn, some studies have focused on the third key component of the dehabituation theory, the consequent modification of personal meanings , or how readers perceive reading and how it changes the reader. Two centuries after Matthew Arnold assumed that literature made readers better persons (see Section 1 ), scientific efforts to check this assumption began to sprout, but empirical research on this issue is still rather scarce. So far, explorations on a form of reading that transforms the reader’s self as well as his or her perceptions of others (Fialho, Citation 2012 ) have generated two working hypotheses: reading literature impacts concepts of (1) “self” and (2) “other.”

These hypotheses have been examined experimentally (Bird, Citation 1984 ; Djikic, Oatley, & Carland, Citation 2012 ; Djikic, Oatley, Zoeterman, & Peterson, Citation 2009 ; Kaufman & Libby, Citation 2012 ) and qualitatively (Coady & Johannessen., Citation 2006 ; Csikszentimihalyi, Citation 1990 ; Fialho, Citation 2002 ; Miall & Kuiken, Citation 2002 ; Osen, Citation 2002 ; Radway, Citation 1984 ; Rosenthal, Citation 1995 ; Toyne & Usherwood, Citation 2001 ; Trounstine & Waxler, Citation 2005 ). The experimental work indicates that literature may influence readers’ outgroup perceptions (Hakemulder, Citation 2000 ; Johnson, Citation 1993 ) as well as their mentalizing abilities (e.g., Mar, Oatley, Hirsh, Dela Paz, & Peterson, Citation 2006 ). Some studies suggest that for the effects to occur, readers need some form of engagement with the text through absorption in the story-world and appreciation of the style (Koopman, Citation 2016b ), sympathy (Johnson, Citation 2012 ), empathy and absorption (Bal & Veltkamp, Citation 2013 ). Qualitative studies have revealed that literature may potentially deepen readers understanding of the position of the self in the world. They also suggest that some form of emotional engagement might be a precondition for such an effect.

A better understanding of the reading experience itself and the interplay between the second and the third components of the dehabituation theory, namely, readers’ defamiliarizing strategies and the consequent modification of personal meanings (or, readers’ reconceptualizing processes, cf. Fialho, Citation 2007 ), may provide more insight into what kinds of narrative and emotional engagements are involved (see Polvinen and Sklar in this special issue). Empirical (Hakemulder, Citation 2000 ) and phenomenological studies have been quite illuminating here (see Bálint, Hakemulder, Kuijpers, Doicaru, & Tan, Citation 2017 ). By offering a hybrid between qualitative and quantitative procedures, Miall and Kuiken ( Citation 1995 ) proposed a system and a measurement to classify individual differences in readers’ orientation towards literary texts. The items they describe refer to shifts in self-understanding and to changes in the reader’s perceptions of less personal matters. Later, (Miall & Kuiken, Citation 2002 ) attempted to describe the different forms of feelings in literary reading, which they categorized as evaluative, narrative, aesthetic , and self-modifying . Building on this initial distinction, (Kuiken et al., Citation 2004 ) showed how literary reading has the capacity to deepen self-understanding and one’s perception of everyday life, especially after a personal crisis, or what they called “expressive enactment.”

Trying to locate whether and how “expressive enactment” occurred within literary reading, Sikora et al. ( Citation 2011 ) found that self-perceptual change occurs through a succession of evocative moments during the reading, which involve (a) aesthetic feelings , as well as narrative feelings in response to situations and events in the text; (b) blurred boundaries between the self and the narrator or story characters, suggestive of metaphors of personal identification; and (c) active and iterative modification of an emergent affective theme. For some readers, these iterative modifications move toward saturation, richness, and depth (Kuiken et al., Citation 2004 ), which they called “self-modifying feelings”.

Drawing on these findings, the TR project examines how literary narrative fiction may deepen readers’ self and social perceptions. The aim is to obtain a rich description of the phenomenon (i.e., what is transformative reading like? What are the components involved?). A second issue is how the different TR components are in a relationship with one another so that a theoretical-empirical model of transformative reading may be offered.

Looking specifically into how changes in the sense of self occurs as the reading experience unfolds, Fialho ( Citation 2012 ) showed that “self-modifying reading” is not a monolithic phenomenon. Two types of experiences are articulated, each distinguished by different “modalities of consciousness Footnote 4 ” and ways of embodied repositioning of the reader in relation to the text (Iser, Citation 1974 , Citation 1980 ; Merleau-Ponty, Citation 2002 ). One type is mediated by the setting and another one by engaging with characters. Each of these two types seems to entail a different dimension of self possibly resulting from a different form of engagement with narratives. In the first, the reader recognizes aspects of the setting in self. In the second, social concepts (perceptions of others) are involved. Through engaging with characters, the reader recognizes aspects of the protagonist in self and others. Common to these two types is a temporal aspect that seems to be essential to its nature. These two types, their dimensions and forms of engagement have generated two models of reading processes: a form of reading that transforms the reader’s self as well as his or her perceptions of others (Fialho, Citation 2012 ).

Fialho ( Citation 2018 , Citation in preparation ) now aims at gaining access to how readers describe their subjective experiences of TR and is exploring the moments in which changes in self and self-and-other constructs occur. Thirty thematic semi-structured in-depth interviews have been conducted with native speakers of English, in two sessions. In the first, participants reported their most memorable TR experiences. In the second, they selected a story that was reread with a focus on five evocative passages. As a result, an inventory has been offered. Currently, she is investigating how the different components interact, thus opening ways to designing empirical process models.

From a more quantitative perspective, (Fialho, Hakemulder, & Hoeken, Citation in preparation ) have been aiming to articulate the underlying dimensions of TR to find out their relationship. They have been developing and testing a scale that measures both the experiences during and after reading and charting the relations between them. Preliminary results further detail the types of reading feelings suggested by Miall and Kuiken ( Citation 2002 ) and have also enabled the articulation of an empirical model of transformative reading.

So far, the theoretical-empirical model of transformative reading (Fialho, Citation 2018 ) distinguished two outcomes—insight into oneself and into others—and identified six underlying components. Adult readers who participated in studies about reading experiences that had transformative impact on them, indicated that they vividly imagined the setting and characters in texts ( imagery ), recognized aspects of themselves or others in characters ( identification ), enacted and embodied the experiences of a character ( experience-taking ), evaluated characters positively or negatively ( character evaluation ), felt sympathy and compassion for characters ( sympathy ), and noticed which words, phrases or sentences were particularly striking or evocative to them ( aesthetic awareness ). For the readers investigated, these particular experiences preceded new or deeper insights into themselves and others ( self-other insights ). In light of the dehabituation theory, the six underlying components (imagery, identification, experience-taking, character evaluation, sympathy, and aesthetic awareness) are arguably readers’ defamiliarizing strategies (see Fialho, Citation 2007 , for the description of other defamiliarizing strategies that are not “transformative”). The result of this complex engagement with texts ( self-other insights ) is where modifications of personal meanings are observed.

What the TR Program has shown so far is that transformation ( defamiliarizing strategies and the consequent modification of personal meanings ) does occur, but it seems to happen naturally and unexpectedly. And when readers eventually experience shifts in sense of self while reading, when they gain fresh understandings of who they are as individuals, their reading becomes meaningful, as they realize how they may be changed.

In the TR Program, it is proposed that the way texts are approached, or their uses, determines if readers will become aware of personal relevance. Experiencing reading (i.e., reading for personal response and affective resonance rather than for analysis and interpretation) has been shown to foster different forms of emotional resonance, of self-implication, and of self-reflection, and perceiving the text as a meaningful experience (e.g. Fialho et al., Citation 2011 ; Citation 2012 ; for a review, see Hakemulder et al., Citation 2016 ; Schrijvers et al., Citation 2016 ). Changing insights about what the life of others might look like may depend on the degree to which readers make efforts to imagine themselves in the shoes of fictional characters representing these others (Hakemulder, Citation 2008 ; Johnson, Citation 2012 ). In this respect, the articulation of first versions of the TR model (Fialho, Citation 2012 , Citation 2018 ) through qualitative and quantitative methods investigating the role of different modes of reading in deepening the perceptions of self and others have enabled the design of evidence-based approaches to literary narratives that help readers uncover personal meaning.

It is important to stress here that TR is not a reason to read. In the interview studies conducted, readers do not usually report going to libraries, bookstores to look for books that will change their lives (Fialho, Citation 2018 , in preparation). It is not a “why” they read (hence, the title of the article). When they gain fresh understandings of who they are as individuals, their reading gives them a sense of purpose by adding meaning to their lives. In this sense, only during the act of reading, readers find out what art is for.

The purpose of literature—to change the reader (not necessarily for the better or for the worse)—can be expressed by its uses (see Introduction). How literature changes the reader, or the essence of what literature is, has been operationalized by means of the theoretical-empirical model of transformative reading, describing its components and how its components relate to one another. In other words, the TR model describes how literature defamiliarizes perceptions and modifies personal meanings , or readers’ reconceptualization processes (Sections 1 and 2 ).

The main research questions at the moment are how the TR model can be used in different social contexts and what the role of contextual factors (i.e., types of instruction) is to this form of reading. So far, the model has been applied in both the academic (students of literature) and non-academic contexts (participants in reading workshops in business settings).

In the educational context, the model was adapted and applied to grades 10–12 young adult Dutch students (for a complete program, see Schrijvers, Citation 2019 ). The Dutch Institute for Curriculum Development argues that literature education is important for broadening students’ personal, social and cultural horizons. The aims of this study were to examine the impact of literature education on students’ self- and social perceptions and to explore relationships between students’ learning experiences and their teachers’ classroom practices. First we asked whether, indeed, (1) adolescents gain personal and social insights through reading in the secondary literature classroom, and (2) how these perceived learning outcomes are related to their teachers’ approaches to various aspects of literature teaching. Dutch students (N = 297, grades 10–12) and their teachers (N = 13) were assessed and findings showed that nearly all students (99%) reported to have learned something about themselves and others through literature education, mainly personal characterizations of oneself and others, learning about oneself and others as literary readers, descriptions and evaluations of people’s behaviors, and lessons for life. In addition, teachers’ reports of more classroom interaction and student autonomy were related to students’ more frequent reports of personal and social insights, but this could also partly be explained by students being more familiar with fiction and having a more positive attitude toward literary reading (Schrijvers et al., Citation 2016 ).

As a second step, we explored whether and how literature education may foster adolescent students’ insights into self and others. A systematic review of 13 experimental and quasi-experimental intervention studies yielded instructional design principles on (a) text selection; (b) activating, annotating, and reflecting on the personal life and reading experiences in writing activities; and (c) verbally sharing these experiences with others in exploratory dialogues. Such review resulted in design principles for literature education to foster students’ social behavior, their attitudes toward outgroups, their moral development and their personal responses to fiction. To this end, we concluded students must (a) engage in exploratory dialogues in which a variety of personal responses can be expressed and shared, based on (b) reading and writing activities that focus on noticing personal responses and connecting these to prior life experiences, with regard to (c) fictional novels, short stories, poems or passages containing social-moral themes (Schrijvers et al., Citation 2019a ).

The theoretical-empirical TR model, the explorative study in Dutch literature classrooms, and the three design principles identified in a review of previous intervention studies enabled the design of a literature classroom intervention for 15-year-old students in the Netherlands, which aimed to foster their insights into themselves, fictional others, and real-world others. A first intervention was developed in collaboration with teachers, tested, and redesigned into a second intervention, resulting in the design of a valid and practical domain-specific program titled Transformative Dialogic Literature Teaching (TDLT, Schrijvers, Citation 2019 ; Schrijvers et al., Citation 2019b ; the complete TDLT instructions package is offered by Hakemulder et al., Citation in press ).

Another study, quasi-experimental, assessed the effects of the newly developed TDLT intervention on 15-year-old students. Six TDLT units centered around short stories about “justice and injustice”. Students were stimulated to engage in internal dialogues with stories and in external dialogues with peers about stories and reading experiences. TDLT students (N = 166) were compared to students who received regular lessons (RLT) focused on the analysis of literary texts (N = 166). Analysis of quantitative and qualitative data indicated that TDLT fostered (a) students’ insight into self, fictional and real others, (b) eudaimonic reasons for reading, (c) reported use of strategies to deal with difficulties in literary texts, and (d) motivation for literature education, whereas RLT did not (Schrijvers et al., Citation 2019c ; Citation IN Preparation ).

Teachers […] may emphasize knowing and recognizing literary devices, getting at the “internal logic” of a text’s construction […], and relating a work’s central “organic” meaning to how this meaning was expressed. There may be an emphasis on “rightness” of literary interpretation. Interpretative questions about the text will be answered after reading […], and discussions mediated by the teacher, who acts as the authority on the text (p. 25, quoted by Schrijvers, Citation 2019 , p. 181).

If developing insights into self and others is acknowledged as one of the objectives of literature teaching, a formalist, knowledge-oriented approach appears not to be too helpful. In contrast, as in TDLT, instruction should encourage students to explore their personal responses in dialogic interactions with and about literary texts, by completing purposefully designed combinations of pre-, during- and post-reading tasks in which analysis of literary devices is a means to reason about reading experiences, themes, characters, and moral implications.

At the workplace, the issue of purpose—what literature is for and in what ways it is relevant for the business setting—is pressing. Research has shown that it promotes interpersonal competencies and social success (Cooper & Sawaf, Citation 2003 ; Ferrari, Weststrate, & Petro, Citation 2013 ; Goleman, Citation 1995 , Citation 1998 ) and moral enhancement in terms of pro-sociality, altruistic behavior and empathy (Hakemulder, Citation 2000 ; Kaufman & Libby, Citation 2012 ; Kidd & Castano, Citation 2013 ). It promotes creativity, positive attitudes, productivity and effective leadership (Hogan, Curphy, & Hogan, Citation 1994 ; Palmer, Walls, Burgess, & Stough, Citation 2001 ).

Several are the elements still needed to better understand what causes such effects for a more central function of the benefits of reading in this context: (a) the role of the text (i.e., specific narrative features); (b) the literary experience itself; (c) the reader (i.e., identity, general reading orientation); (d) the approach (i.e., instructions, educational approach, etc.). At present, the TR program can contribute with better insights into the role of the reading experience itself and the approach to reading.

In this context, adaptations and applications of the TR model are ongoing and still preliminary. One of such adaptations has resulted in Empathy Reading Workshops. These are evidence-based interventions that aim to (a) enable participants to experience, or live through texts (vs. analyzing, cf. Fialho et al., Citation 2011 , Citation 2012 ; Rosenblatt, Citation 1938–1995 ; Schrijvers, Citation 2019 ); (b) make participants aware of notions of empathy in reading and life at the workplace; (c) sensitize participants to relations among cognitive and affective processes involved in TR and in interpersonal relationships; (d) give participants the opportunity to practice such processes; (e) suggest how such processes might be applied in real-life situations (Fialho, Citation 2017 ).

Intervention studies have not been carried out yet, but the TR components as described in the model (see Section 2 ) have been adapted into the form of TR activities. We have been testing the effects of each activity on scores on empathy, access to possible selves, changes in self and social (self-other) concepts. Current research findings have shown that embodied approaches to literary reading seem to be the most effective in fostering empathic engagements and identification with story characters, which seem to be essential components of TR (Fialho, Citation 2017 ).

By applying TR to the workplace, the TR program has been shifting the research agenda to better understanding the causal mechanisms of the effects of reading fiction on social cognition (cf. Mumper & Gerrig, Citation 2016 ). In fact, Mumper and Gerrig ( Citation 2016 ) may be correct: what is relevant is perhaps not only what we read, but also how we read and how we invite readers to read. Designing embodied approaches to reading seems to be promising. So far, we have improved our understanding of how individual and shared reading can be transformative. Further studies could provide theoretical and empirical contexts for differentiating effects of the theory of mind and empathy.

This paper has reflected on the purposes of literature from the perspective of literary criticism. It has shown how throughout the development of the theories proposed, the debate has shifted from focusing on the text, the author, the contextual conditions, and/or the reader. This brief review has shown how, despite differing perspectives, literature can be seen as a source of self-knowledge, revealing and concealing much of who we are. It can be a rich source of personal meaning and what we do with it and how we use it also reveals its purpose.

The TR program helps bring the issues of what we do with literature and how we use it to the limelight. It investigates how readers refer to the impact of reading on their self-awareness while engaging in fiction and, through this process, find personal meaning in the act of reading. So far, its main result is that the purpose of literature lies in the experience itself, in its power to prompt us to connect deeply and conscientiously with our emotions, deepening our senses of who we are, what we are in this world for, and how we are in a relationship with others. Such findings become premises that inform the applications of TR in social contexts. The TR program starts from insights from literary scholarship and creates evidence-based principles for the experiential purpose of literature to unfold in different contexts. The TR workshops are about the experiential purpose of literature as they invite readers to experience texts and not to engage it from an analytical perspective. Readers have been seen to read for affective resonance and personal relevance. TR workshops are, thus, evidence-based approaches to literary narratives that help readers uncover personal meanings.

We are just in the early stages of this research program. However, the empirical work on transformative reading conducted so far suggests new conceptual distinctions that could contribute to theorising about “purpose” in literary studies more generally. To be precise, at present, transformative reading is conceptualized in light of the dehabituation theory of literature (Miall, Citation 2006 ). This raises the question of whether purpose is theory-specific. In this sense, The TR model is both theoretical and empirical, offering a description of the components that characterize readers’ forms of engagement and reconceptualizing strategies (Fialho, Citation 2007 ). A question that follows regards the purpose(s) of each of the constructs articulated so far, namely imagery, identification, experience-taking, character evaluation, sympathy, aesthetic awareness , and self-other insights for a literary reading. Finally, research on transformative reading indicates a new strain in applying literary reading and literary theory to different, practical fields. An implicit question here is whether literature would serve different purposes in different contexts and the extent to which the learning goals in each learning environment would need to be context-dependent (see Burke, Fialho, & Zyngier, Citation 2016 ).

In terms of future empirical work, many challenges lie ahead. Issues that still need to be investigated are: (1) the role of the text; i.e., a systematic comparison between literary and other forms of reading and what it is exactly in the text that causes the particular effects. Future research may benefit from making a clearer distinction between the effects of “literariness,” “narrativity,” and “fictionality.” It may also benefit from looking into what in the text evokes embodied resonances from the reader (Caracciolo, Guédon, Kukkonen, & Müller, Citation 2017 ; Kukkonen, Citation 2014 ; Kuzmičová, Citation 2014 ); (2) the role of individual differences: whether such effects occur for any reader, for avid readers (cf. Ross et al., Citation 2006 ) or just for a small elite of highly educated students of English literature; (3) the conditions of implementation: the role of approaches to literature, for example, finding out whether instructions—assignments, educational approach, providing background information about authors and texts—can enhance these effects (see also Hakemulder et al., Citation 2016 ).

The design of evidence-based interventions enables a multiplicity of uses and concretizations of the aesthetic values of literature. In line with Felski ( Citation 2008 ), who claims that aesthetic value is inseparable from its use, the TR program might also be adapted to investigate, for example, how the search for meaning may be related to positive health outcomes (cf. Rieger, Reinecke, Frischlich, & Bente, Citation 2014 ; Wirth, Hofer, & Schramm, Citation 2012 ). Eudaimonic responses to movies may be associated with autonomy, relatedness and competence, the three constructs that Self Determination Theory predicts to be related to well-being. Here, the search for meaning can be studied from the perspective of positive psychology, testing hypotheses concerning positive health outcomes. In particular we might take “positive health”—“the ability to adapt and self-manage, in the light of the physical, emotional and social challenges of life” (Huber, Citation 2014 )—as one of the key outcome measures in future studies. Among the six main dimensions that constitute “positive health”, Huber ( Citation 2014 ) names “meaningfulness” as the most important dimension. This way, the TR program might add to the insights of studies in media psychology about the eudaimonic effects of media (e.g., Bartsch, Kalch, & Oliver, Citation 2014 ) in contributing with a better understanding of how we uncover meaningfulness through engaging with the arts, a topic largely neglected by researchers outside philosophy and religion studies.

All in all, the TR program aims to contribute to the relevance of the Humanities in general. A central tenet is that reading literature means experiencing the world. It is true that, so far, TR has focused on transformations, but if art is a source for meaning-making by fostering self-refection, and more conscientious awareness of how we engage with ourselves and others, it impacts social cognition, and such abilities as empathy. Literature has, then, both personal and social purposes.

Research for this article was supported by NOS-HS Grant “The Place of the Cognitive in Literary Studies” (327086). The grant also covered the expenses for open access publication. This work was prepared at the University of Oslo, under the auspices of the Literature, Cognition, and Emotions Group. The empirical studies on transformative reading reported here have been conducted as part of the project ‘Uses of Literary Narrative Fiction in Social Contexts’, funded by the Dutch Organization for Scientific Research (NWO; grant number 360-30-240) and carried out at ICON (Institute for Cultural Inquiry, Department of Media and Culture Studies, Utrecht University) and at ICO (Research Institute of Child Development and Education, University of Amsterdam). The author thanks Frank Hakemulder, Sonia Zyngier, Karin Kukkonen and Rolf Reber for valuable feedback.

Notes on contributors

Olivia Fialho

Olivia Fialho is a Post-Doctoral Researcher at the Department of Literature, Area Studies and European Languages, University of Oslo, and Assistant Professor of Leadership at Utrecht University. She holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature (University of Alberta), and has contributed to empirical studies of literary reading and education (e.g., see her co-edited Scientific Approaches to Literature in Learning Environments , 2016; Learning and Instruction , 2019). Her project “Transformative Reading” investigates the phenomenology, preconditions, and underlying processes through which literary narrative fiction deepens perceptions of self and others. While funded by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) as part of the project “Uses of Literary Narrative Fiction in Social Contexts” (grant number 360-30-240), she developed a theoretical-empirical model of transformative reading. In her current research, funded by the “Literature, Cognition and Emotions” initiative at the University of Oslo, she tests this model and researches how its cognitive underpinnings may contribute to a theory of literary reading. Her research has been implemented in education and business.

1. Here, both modification and awareness occur. See his lines: “I was strongly moved by it, but more, I was grateful for it. The expression, the novel , sometimes gives a shape, a form, to experience that we recognize as our own.” The presence of awareness is indicated by the word “recognize”, and of modification by the expressions “I was strongly moved” and “the novel … gives a shape, a form, to experience.”

2. Changing Lives Through Literature is an alternative sentencing program based on the belief that literature has the power to transform lives by enabling criminal offenders to gain insight into their lives and reassess their behaviour. For further information, see http://cltl.umassd.edu/home-flash.cfm ; see also Trounstine and Waxler ( Citation 2005 ).

3. Literature for Life is a charity aimed at empowering at-risk teenage mothers through literature. It runs book groups for teenage mothers and their children and use novels as an opportunity to debate and discuss issues of relevance to these participants, who have the opportunity to publish and perform their poetry. For further information, see http://literatureforlife.org/ .

4. For a full discussion of such an interdisciplinary perspective, or how phenomenology, linguistic approaches to discourse, and neuroscience may meet to contribute to a theory of literary reading, see Fialho ( Citation 2012 ), p.29–86.

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Thesis Statements for a Literature Assignment

A thesis prepares the reader for what you are about to say. As such, your paper needs to be interesting in order for your thesis to be interesting. Your thesis needs to be interesting because it needs to capture a reader's attention. If a reader looks at your thesis and says "so what?", your thesis has failed to do its job, and chances are your paper has as well. Thus, make your thesis provocative and open to reasonable disagreement, but then write persuasively enough to sway those who might be disagree.

Keep in mind the following when formulating a thesis:

• A Thesis Should Not State the Obvious
• Use Literary Terms in Thesis With Care
• A Thesis Should be Balanced
• A Thesis Can be a Blueprint

Avoid the Obvious

Bland: Dorothy Parker's "Résumé" uses images of suicide to make her point about living.

This is bland because it's obvious and incontestable. A reader looks at it and says, "so what?"

However, consider this alternative:

Dorothy Parker's "Résumé" doesn't celebrate life, but rather scorns those who would fake or attempt suicide just to get attention.

The first thesis merely describes something about the poem; the second tells the reader what the writer thinks the poem is about--it offers a reading or interpretation. The paper would need to support that reading and would very likely examine the way Parker uses images of suicide to make the point the writer claims.

Use Literary Terms in Thesis Only to Make Larger Points

Poems and novels generally use rhyme, meter, imagery, simile, metaphor, stanzas, characters, themes, settings and so on. While these terms are important for you to use in your analysis and your arguments, that they exist in the work you are writing about should not be the main point of your thesis. Unless the poet or novelist uses these elements in some unexpected way to shape the work's meaning, it's generally a good idea not to draw attention to the use of literary devices in thesis statements because an intelligent reader expects a poem or novel to use literary of these elements. Therefore, a thesis that only says a work uses literary devices isn't a good thesis because all it is doing is stating the obvious, leading the reader to say, "so what?"

However, you can use literary terms in a thesis if the purpose is to explain how the terms contribute to the work's meaning or understanding. Here's an example of thesis statement that does call attention to literary devices because they are central to the paper's argument. Literary terms are placed in italics.

Don Marquis introduced Archy and Mehitabel in his Sun Dial column by combining the conventions of free verse poetry with newspaper prose so intimately that in "the coming of Archy," the entire column represents a complete poem and not a free verse poem preceded by a prose introduction .

Note the difference between this thesis and the first bland thesis on the Parker poem. This thesis does more than say certain literary devices exist in the poem; it argues that they exist in a specific relationship to one another and makes a fairly startling claim, one that many would disagree with and one that the writer will need to persuade her readers on.

Keep Your Thesis Balanced

Keep the thesis balanced. If it's too general, it becomes vague; if it's too specific, it cannot be developed. If it's merely descriptive (like the bland example above), it gives the reader no compelling reason to go on. The thesis should be dramatic, have some tension in it, and should need to be proved (another reason for avoiding the obvious).

Too general: Edna St. Vincent Millay wrote many poems with love as the theme. Too specific: Edna St. Vincent Millay wrote "Love is not all: it is not meat nor drink" in <insert date> after <insert event from her life>. Too descriptive: Edna St. Vincent Millay's "Love is not all: it is not meat nor drink" is a sonnet with two parts; the first six lines propose a view of love and the next eight complicate that view. With tension and which will need proving: Despite her avowal on the importance of love, and despite her belief that she would not sell her love, the speaker in Edna St. Vincent Millay's "Love is not all: it is not meat nor drink" remains unconvinced and bitter, as if she is trying to trick herself into believing that love really does matter for more than the one night she is in some lover's arms.

Your Thesis Can Be A Blueprint

A thesis can be used as roadmap or blueprint for your paper:

In "Résumé," Dorothy Parker subverts the idea of what a résumé is--accomplishments and experiences--with an ironic tone, silly images of suicide, and witty rhymes to point out the banality of life for those who remain too disengaged from it.

Note that while this thesis refers to particular poetic devices, it does so in a way that gets beyond merely saying there are poetic devices in the poem and then merely describing them. It makes a claim as to how and why the poet uses tone, imagery and rhyme.

Readers would expect you to argue that Parker subverts the idea of the résumé to critique bored (and boring) people; they would expect your argument to do so by analyzing her use of tone, imagery and rhyme in that order.

Citation Information

Nick Carbone. (1994-2024). Thesis Statements for a Literature Assignment. The WAC Clearinghouse. Colorado State University. Available at https://wac.colostate.edu/repository/writing/guides/.

Copyright Information

Copyright © 1994-2024 Colorado State University and/or this site's authors, developers, and contributors . Some material displayed on this site is used with permission.

Understanding Assignments

What this handout is about.

The first step in any successful college writing venture is reading the assignment. While this sounds like a simple task, it can be a tough one. This handout will help you unravel your assignment and begin to craft an effective response. Much of the following advice will involve translating typical assignment terms and practices into meaningful clues to the type of writing your instructor expects. See our short video for more tips.

Basic beginnings

Regardless of the assignment, department, or instructor, adopting these two habits will serve you well :

• Read the assignment carefully as soon as you receive it. Do not put this task off—reading the assignment at the beginning will save you time, stress, and problems later. An assignment can look pretty straightforward at first, particularly if the instructor has provided lots of information. That does not mean it will not take time and effort to complete; you may even have to learn a new skill to complete the assignment.
• Ask the instructor about anything you do not understand. Do not hesitate to approach your instructor. Instructors would prefer to set you straight before you hand the paper in. That’s also when you will find their feedback most useful.

Assignment formats

Many assignments follow a basic format. Assignments often begin with an overview of the topic, include a central verb or verbs that describe the task, and offer some additional suggestions, questions, or prompts to get you started.

An Overview of Some Kind

The instructor might set the stage with some general discussion of the subject of the assignment, introduce the topic, or remind you of something pertinent that you have discussed in class. For example:

“Throughout history, gerbils have played a key role in politics,” or “In the last few weeks of class, we have focused on the evening wear of the housefly …”

The Task of the Assignment

Pay attention; this part tells you what to do when you write the paper. Look for the key verb or verbs in the sentence. Words like analyze, summarize, or compare direct you to think about your topic in a certain way. Also pay attention to words such as how, what, when, where, and why; these words guide your attention toward specific information. (See the section in this handout titled “Key Terms” for more information.)

“Analyze the effect that gerbils had on the Russian Revolution”, or “Suggest an interpretation of housefly undergarments that differs from Darwin’s.”

Additional Material to Think about

Here you will find some questions to use as springboards as you begin to think about the topic. Instructors usually include these questions as suggestions rather than requirements. Do not feel compelled to answer every question unless the instructor asks you to do so. Pay attention to the order of the questions. Sometimes they suggest the thinking process your instructor imagines you will need to follow to begin thinking about the topic.

“You may wish to consider the differing views held by Communist gerbils vs. Monarchist gerbils, or Can there be such a thing as ‘the housefly garment industry’ or is it just a home-based craft?”

These are the instructor’s comments about writing expectations:

“Be concise”, “Write effectively”, or “Argue furiously.”

Technical Details

These instructions usually indicate format rules or guidelines.

“Your paper must be typed in Palatino font on gray paper and must not exceed 600 pages. It is due on the anniversary of Mao Tse-tung’s death.”

The assignment’s parts may not appear in exactly this order, and each part may be very long or really short. Nonetheless, being aware of this standard pattern can help you understand what your instructor wants you to do.

Interpreting the assignment

Ask yourself a few basic questions as you read and jot down the answers on the assignment sheet:

Why did your instructor ask you to do this particular task?

Who is your audience.

• What kind of evidence do you need to support your ideas?

What kind of writing style is acceptable?

• What are the absolute rules of the paper?

Try to look at the question from the point of view of the instructor. Recognize that your instructor has a reason for giving you this assignment and for giving it to you at a particular point in the semester. In every assignment, the instructor has a challenge for you. This challenge could be anything from demonstrating an ability to think clearly to demonstrating an ability to use the library. See the assignment not as a vague suggestion of what to do but as an opportunity to show that you can handle the course material as directed. Paper assignments give you more than a topic to discuss—they ask you to do something with the topic. Keep reminding yourself of that. Be careful to avoid the other extreme as well: do not read more into the assignment than what is there.

Of course, your instructor has given you an assignment so that they will be able to assess your understanding of the course material and give you an appropriate grade. But there is more to it than that. Your instructor has tried to design a learning experience of some kind. Your instructor wants you to think about something in a particular way for a particular reason. If you read the course description at the beginning of your syllabus, review the assigned readings, and consider the assignment itself, you may begin to see the plan, purpose, or approach to the subject matter that your instructor has created for you. If you still aren’t sure of the assignment’s goals, try asking the instructor. For help with this, see our handout on getting feedback .

Given your instructor’s efforts, it helps to answer the question: What is my purpose in completing this assignment? Is it to gather research from a variety of outside sources and present a coherent picture? Is it to take material I have been learning in class and apply it to a new situation? Is it to prove a point one way or another? Key words from the assignment can help you figure this out. Look for key terms in the form of active verbs that tell you what to do.

Key Terms: Finding Those Active Verbs

Here are some common key words and definitions to help you think about assignment terms:

Information words Ask you to demonstrate what you know about the subject, such as who, what, when, where, how, and why.

• define —give the subject’s meaning (according to someone or something). Sometimes you have to give more than one view on the subject’s meaning
• describe —provide details about the subject by answering question words (such as who, what, when, where, how, and why); you might also give details related to the five senses (what you see, hear, feel, taste, and smell)
• explain —give reasons why or examples of how something happened
• illustrate —give descriptive examples of the subject and show how each is connected with the subject
• summarize —briefly list the important ideas you learned about the subject
• trace —outline how something has changed or developed from an earlier time to its current form
• research —gather material from outside sources about the subject, often with the implication or requirement that you will analyze what you have found

Relation words Ask you to demonstrate how things are connected.

• compare —show how two or more things are similar (and, sometimes, different)
• contrast —show how two or more things are dissimilar
• apply—use details that you’ve been given to demonstrate how an idea, theory, or concept works in a particular situation
• cause —show how one event or series of events made something else happen
• relate —show or describe the connections between things

Interpretation words Ask you to defend ideas of your own about the subject. Do not see these words as requesting opinion alone (unless the assignment specifically says so), but as requiring opinion that is supported by concrete evidence. Remember examples, principles, definitions, or concepts from class or research and use them in your interpretation.

• assess —summarize your opinion of the subject and measure it against something
• prove, justify —give reasons or examples to demonstrate how or why something is the truth
• evaluate, respond —state your opinion of the subject as good, bad, or some combination of the two, with examples and reasons
• support —give reasons or evidence for something you believe (be sure to state clearly what it is that you believe)
• synthesize —put two or more things together that have not been put together in class or in your readings before; do not just summarize one and then the other and say that they are similar or different—you must provide a reason for putting them together that runs all the way through the paper
• analyze —determine how individual parts create or relate to the whole, figure out how something works, what it might mean, or why it is important
• argue —take a side and defend it with evidence against the other side

More Clues to Your Purpose As you read the assignment, think about what the teacher does in class:

• What kinds of textbooks or coursepack did your instructor choose for the course—ones that provide background information, explain theories or perspectives, or argue a point of view?
• In lecture, does your instructor ask your opinion, try to prove their point of view, or use keywords that show up again in the assignment?
• What kinds of assignments are typical in this discipline? Social science classes often expect more research. Humanities classes thrive on interpretation and analysis.
• How do the assignments, readings, and lectures work together in the course? Instructors spend time designing courses, sometimes even arguing with their peers about the most effective course materials. Figuring out the overall design to the course will help you understand what each assignment is meant to achieve.

Now, what about your reader? Most undergraduates think of their audience as the instructor. True, your instructor is a good person to keep in mind as you write. But for the purposes of a good paper, think of your audience as someone like your roommate: smart enough to understand a clear, logical argument, but not someone who already knows exactly what is going on in your particular paper. Remember, even if the instructor knows everything there is to know about your paper topic, they still have to read your paper and assess your understanding. In other words, teach the material to your reader.

Aiming a paper at your audience happens in two ways: you make decisions about the tone and the level of information you want to convey.

• Tone means the “voice” of your paper. Should you be chatty, formal, or objective? Usually you will find some happy medium—you do not want to alienate your reader by sounding condescending or superior, but you do not want to, um, like, totally wig on the man, you know? Eschew ostentatious erudition: some students think the way to sound academic is to use big words. Be careful—you can sound ridiculous, especially if you use the wrong big words.
• The level of information you use depends on who you think your audience is. If you imagine your audience as your instructor and they already know everything you have to say, you may find yourself leaving out key information that can cause your argument to be unconvincing and illogical. But you do not have to explain every single word or issue. If you are telling your roommate what happened on your favorite science fiction TV show last night, you do not say, “First a dark-haired white man of average height, wearing a suit and carrying a flashlight, walked into the room. Then a purple alien with fifteen arms and at least three eyes turned around. Then the man smiled slightly. In the background, you could hear a clock ticking. The room was fairly dark and had at least two windows that I saw.” You also do not say, “This guy found some aliens. The end.” Find some balance of useful details that support your main point.

You’ll find a much more detailed discussion of these concepts in our handout on audience .

The Grim Truth

With a few exceptions (including some lab and ethnography reports), you are probably being asked to make an argument. You must convince your audience. It is easy to forget this aim when you are researching and writing; as you become involved in your subject matter, you may become enmeshed in the details and focus on learning or simply telling the information you have found. You need to do more than just repeat what you have read. Your writing should have a point, and you should be able to say it in a sentence. Sometimes instructors call this sentence a “thesis” or a “claim.”

So, if your instructor tells you to write about some aspect of oral hygiene, you do not want to just list: “First, you brush your teeth with a soft brush and some peanut butter. Then, you floss with unwaxed, bologna-flavored string. Finally, gargle with bourbon.” Instead, you could say, “Of all the oral cleaning methods, sandblasting removes the most plaque. Therefore it should be recommended by the American Dental Association.” Or, “From an aesthetic perspective, moldy teeth can be quite charming. However, their joys are short-lived.”

Convincing the reader of your argument is the goal of academic writing. It doesn’t have to say “argument” anywhere in the assignment for you to need one. Look at the assignment and think about what kind of argument you could make about it instead of just seeing it as a checklist of information you have to present. For help with understanding the role of argument in academic writing, see our handout on argument .

What kind of evidence do you need?

There are many kinds of evidence, and what type of evidence will work for your assignment can depend on several factors–the discipline, the parameters of the assignment, and your instructor’s preference. Should you use statistics? Historical examples? Do you need to conduct your own experiment? Can you rely on personal experience? See our handout on evidence for suggestions on how to use evidence appropriately.

Make sure you are clear about this part of the assignment, because your use of evidence will be crucial in writing a successful paper. You are not just learning how to argue; you are learning how to argue with specific types of materials and ideas. Ask your instructor what counts as acceptable evidence. You can also ask a librarian for help. No matter what kind of evidence you use, be sure to cite it correctly—see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial .

You cannot always tell from the assignment just what sort of writing style your instructor expects. The instructor may be really laid back in class but still expect you to sound formal in writing. Or the instructor may be fairly formal in class and ask you to write a reflection paper where you need to use “I” and speak from your own experience.

Try to avoid false associations of a particular field with a style (“art historians like wacky creativity,” or “political scientists are boring and just give facts”) and look instead to the types of readings you have been given in class. No one expects you to write like Plato—just use the readings as a guide for what is standard or preferable to your instructor. When in doubt, ask your instructor about the level of formality they expect.

No matter what field you are writing for or what facts you are including, if you do not write so that your reader can understand your main idea, you have wasted your time. So make clarity your main goal. For specific help with style, see our handout on style .

Technical details about the assignment

The technical information you are given in an assignment always seems like the easy part. This section can actually give you lots of little hints about approaching the task. Find out if elements such as page length and citation format (see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial ) are negotiable. Some professors do not have strong preferences as long as you are consistent and fully answer the assignment. Some professors are very specific and will deduct big points for deviations.

Usually, the page length tells you something important: The instructor thinks the size of the paper is appropriate to the assignment’s parameters. In plain English, your instructor is telling you how many pages it should take for you to answer the question as fully as you are expected to. So if an assignment is two pages long, you cannot pad your paper with examples or reword your main idea several times. Hit your one point early, defend it with the clearest example, and finish quickly. If an assignment is ten pages long, you can be more complex in your main points and examples—and if you can only produce five pages for that assignment, you need to see someone for help—as soon as possible.

Tricks that don’t work

Your instructors are not fooled when you:

• spend more time on the cover page than the essay —graphics, cool binders, and cute titles are no replacement for a well-written paper.
• use huge fonts, wide margins, or extra spacing to pad the page length —these tricks are immediately obvious to the eye. Most instructors use the same word processor you do. They know what’s possible. Such tactics are especially damning when the instructor has a stack of 60 papers to grade and yours is the only one that low-flying airplane pilots could read.
• use a paper from another class that covered “sort of similar” material . Again, the instructor has a particular task for you to fulfill in the assignment that usually relates to course material and lectures. Your other paper may not cover this material, and turning in the same paper for more than one course may constitute an Honor Code violation . Ask the instructor—it can’t hurt.
• get all wacky and “creative” before you answer the question . Showing that you are able to think beyond the boundaries of a simple assignment can be good, but you must do what the assignment calls for first. Again, check with your instructor. A humorous tone can be refreshing for someone grading a stack of papers, but it will not get you a good grade if you have not fulfilled the task.

Critical reading of assignments leads to skills in other types of reading and writing. If you get good at figuring out what the real goals of assignments are, you are going to be better at understanding the goals of all of your classes and fields of study.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper: The Literature Review

• Purpose of Guide
• Writing a Research Proposal
• Design Flaws to Avoid
• Independent and Dependent Variables
• Narrowing a Topic Idea
• Broadening a Topic Idea
• The Research Problem/Question
• Academic Writing Style
• Choosing a Title
• Making an Outline
• Paragraph Development
• The C.A.R.S. Model
• Background Information
• Theoretical Framework
• Citation Tracking
• Evaluating Sources
• Reading Research Effectively
• Primary Sources
• Secondary Sources
• What Is Scholarly vs. Popular?
• Is it Peer-Reviewed?
• Qualitative Methods
• Quantitative Methods
• Common Grammar Mistakes
• Writing Concisely
• Avoiding Plagiarism [linked guide]
• Annotated Bibliography
• Grading Someone Else's Paper

A literature review surveys books, scholarly articles, and any other sources relevant to a particular issue, area of research, or theory, and by so doing, provides a description, summary, and critical evaluation of these works in relation to the research problem being investigated. Literature reviews are designed to provide an overview of sources you have explored while researching a particular topic and to demonstrate to your readers how your research fits within a larger field of study.

Fink, Arlene. Conducting Research Literature Reviews: From the Internet to Paper . Fourth edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 2014.

Importance of a Good Literature Review

A literature review may consist of simply a summary of key sources, but in the social sciences, a literature review usually has an organizational pattern and combines both summary and synthesis, often within specific conceptual categories . A summary is a recap of the important information of the source, but a synthesis is a re-organization, or a reshuffling, of that information in a way that informs how you are planning to investigate a research problem. The analytical features of a literature review might:

• Give a new interpretation of old material or combine new with old interpretations,
• Trace the intellectual progression of the field, including major debates,
• Depending on the situation, evaluate the sources and advise the reader on the most pertinent or relevant research, or
• Usually in the conclusion of a literature review, identify where gaps exist in how a problem has been researched to date.

The purpose of a literature review is to:

• Place each work in the context of its contribution to understanding the research problem being studied.
• Describe the relationship of each work to the others under consideration.
• Identify new ways to interpret prior research.
• Reveal any gaps that exist in the literature.
• Resolve conflicts amongst seemingly contradictory previous studies.
• Identify areas of prior scholarship to prevent duplication of effort.
• Point the way in fulfilling a need for additional research.
• Locate your own research within the context of existing literature [very important].

Fink, Arlene. Conducting Research Literature Reviews: From the Internet to Paper . 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2005; Hart, Chris. Doing a Literature Review: Releasing the Social Science Research Imagination . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1998; Jesson, Jill. Doing Your Literature Review: Traditional and Systematic Techniques . Los Angeles, CA: SAGE, 2011; Knopf, Jeffrey W. "Doing a Literature Review." PS: Political Science and Politics 39 (January 2006): 127-132; Ridley, Diana. The Literature Review: A Step-by-Step Guide for Students . 2nd ed. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE, 2012.

Integrative Literature Reviews

It is important to think of knowledge in a given field as consisting of three layers. First, there are the primary studies that researchers conduct and publish. Second are the reviews of those studies that summarize and offer new interpretations built from and often extending beyond the primary studies. Third, there are the perceptions, conclusions, opinion, and interpretations that are shared informally that become part of the lore of field.

In composing a literature review, it is important to note that it is often this third layer of knowledge that is cited as "true" even though it often has only a loose relationship to the primary studies and secondary literature reviews. Given this, while literature reviews are designed to provide an overview and synthesis of pertinent sources you have explored, there are a number of approaches you could adopt depending upon the type of analysis underpinning your study.

Integrative Review Considered a form of research that reviews, critiques, and synthesizes representative literature on a topic in an integrated way such that new frameworks and perspectives on the topic are generated. The body of literature includes all studies that address related or identical hypotheses or research problems. A well-done integrative review meets the same standards as primary research in regard to clarity, rigor, and replication. This is the most common form of review in the social sciences.

Structure and Writing Style

I.  Thinking About Your Literature Review

The structure of a literature review should include the following :

• An overview of the subject, issue, or theory under consideration, along with the objectives of the literature review,
• Division of works under review into themes or categories [e.g. works that support a particular position, those against, and those offering alternative approaches entirely],
• An explanation of how each work is similar to and how it varies from the others,
• Conclusions as to which pieces are best considered in their argument, are most convincing of their opinions, and make the greatest contribution to the understanding and development of their area of research.

The critical evaluation of each work should consider :

• Provenance -- what are the author's credentials? Are the author's arguments supported by evidence [e.g. primary historical material, case studies, narratives, statistics, recent scientific findings]?
• Methodology -- were the techniques used to identify, gather, and analyze the data appropriate to addressing the research problem? Was the sample size appropriate? Were the results effectively interpreted and reported?
• Objectivity -- is the author's perspective even-handed or prejudicial? Is contrary data considered or is certain pertinent information ignored to prove the author's point?
• Persuasiveness -- which of the author's theses are most convincing or least convincing?
• Value -- are the author's arguments and conclusions convincing? Does the work ultimately contribute in any significant way to an understanding of the subject?

II.  Development of the Literature Review

Four Stages 1.  Problem formulation -- which topic or field is being examined and what are its component issues? 2.  Literature search -- finding materials relevant to the subject being explored. 3.  Data evaluation -- determining which literature makes a significant contribution to the understanding of the topic. 4.  Analysis and interpretation -- discussing the findings and conclusions of pertinent literature.

Consider the following issues before writing the literature review: Clarify If your assignment is not very specific about what form your literature review should take, seek clarification from your professor by asking these questions: 1.  Roughly how many sources should I include? 2.  What types of sources should I review (books, journal articles, websites; scholarly versus popular sources)? 3.  Should I summarize, synthesize, or critique sources by discussing a common theme or issue? 4.  Should I evaluate the sources? 5.  Should I provide subheadings and other background information, such as definitions and/or a history? Find Models Use the exercise of reviewing the literature to examine how authors in your discipline or area of interest have composed their literature review sections. Read them to get a sense of the types of themes you might want to look for in your own research or to identify ways to organize your final review. The bibliography or reference section of sources you've already read are also excellent entry points into your own research. Narrow the Topic The narrower your topic, the easier it will be to limit the number of sources you need to read in order to obtain a good survey of relevant resources. Your professor will probably not expect you to read everything that's available about the topic, but you'll make your job easier if you first limit scope of the research problem. A good strategy is to begin by searching the HOMER catalog for books about the topic and review the table of contents for chapters that focuses on specific issues. You can also review the indexes of books to find references to specific issues that can serve as the focus of your research. For example, a book surveying the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict may include a chapter on the role Egypt has played in mediating the conflict, or look in the index for the pages where Egypt is mentioned in the text. Consider Whether Your Sources are Current Some disciplines require that you use information that is as current as possible. This is particularly true in disciplines in medicine and the sciences where research conducted becomes obsolete very quickly as new discoveries are made. However, when writing a review in the social sciences, a survey of the history of the literature may be required. In other words, a complete understanding the research problem requires you to deliberately examine how knowledge and perspectives have changed over time. Sort through other current bibliographies or literature reviews in the field to get a sense of what your discipline expects. You can also use this method to explore what is considered by scholars to be a "hot topic" and what is not.

III.  Ways to Organize Your Literature Review

Thematic [“conceptual categories”] Thematic reviews of literature are organized around a topic or issue, rather than the progression of time. However, progression of time may still be an important factor in a thematic review. For example, a review of the Internet’s impact on American presidential politics could focus on the development of online political satire. While the study focuses on one topic, the Internet’s impact on American presidential politics, it will still be organized chronologically reflecting technological developments in media. The only difference here between a "chronological" and a "thematic" approach is what is emphasized the most: the role of the Internet in presidential politics. Note however that more authentic thematic reviews tend to break away from chronological order. A review organized in this manner would shift between time periods within each section according to the point made.

IV.  Writing Your Literature Review

Once you've settled on how to organize your literature review, you're ready to write each section. When writing your review, keep in mind these issues.

Use Evidence A literature review section is, in this sense, just like any other academic research paper. Your interpretation of the available sources must be backed up with evidence [citations] that demonstrates that what you are saying is valid. Be Selective Select only the most important points in each source to highlight in the review. The type of information you choose to mention should relate directly to the research problem, whether it is thematic, methodological, or chronological. Related items that provide additional information but that are not key to understanding the research problem can be included in a list of further readings . Use Quotes Sparingly Some short quotes are okay if you want to emphasize a point, or if what an author stated cannot be easily paraphrased. Sometimes you may need to quote certain terminology that was coined by the author, not common knowledge, or taken directly from the study. Do not use extensive quotes as a substitute for your own summary and interpretation of the literature. Summarize and Synthesize Remember to summarize and synthesize your sources within each thematic paragraph as well as throughout the review. Recapitulate important features of a research study, but then synthesize it by rephrasing the study's significance and relating it to your own work. Keep Your Own Voice While the literature review presents others' ideas, your voice [the writer's] should remain front and center. For example, weave references to other sources into what you are writing but maintain your own voice by starting and ending the paragraph with your own ideas and wording. Use Caution When Paraphrasing When paraphrasing a source that is not your own, be sure to represent the author's information or opinions accurately and in your own words. Even when paraphrasing an author’s work, you still must provide a citation to that work.

V.  Common Mistakes to Avoid

These are the most common mistakes made in reviewing social science research literature.

• Sources in your literature review do not clearly relate to the research problem;
• You do not take sufficient time to define and identify the most relevent sources to use in the literature review related to the research problem;
• Relies exclusively on secondary analytical sources rather than including relevant primary research studies or data;
• Uncritically accepts another researcher's findings and interpretations as valid, rather than examining critically all aspects of the research design and analysis;
• Does not describe the search procedures that were used in identifying the literature to review;
• Reports isolated statistical results rather than synthesizing them in chi-squared or meta-analytic methods; and,
• Only includes research that validates assumptions and does not consider contrary findings and alternative interpretations found in the literature.

Cook, Kathleen E. and Elise Murowchick. “Do Literature Review Skills Transfer from One Course to Another?” Psychology Learning and Teaching 13 (March 2014): 3-11; Fink, Arlene. Conducting Research Literature Reviews: From the Internet to Paper . 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2005; Hart, Chris. Doing a Literature Review: Releasing the Social Science Research Imagination . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1998; Jesson, Jill. Doing Your Literature Review: Traditional and Systematic Techniques . London: SAGE, 2011; Literature Review Handout . Online Writing Center. Liberty University; Literature Reviews . The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Onwuegbuzie, Anthony J. and Rebecca Frels. Seven Steps to a Comprehensive Literature Review: A Multimodal and Cultural Approach . Los Angeles, CA: SAGE, 2016; Ridley, Diana. The Literature Review: A Step-by-Step Guide for Students . 2nd ed. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE, 2012; Randolph, Justus J. “A Guide to Writing the Dissertation Literature Review." Practical Assessment, Research, and Evaluation . vol. 14, June 2009; Sutton, Anthea. Systematic Approaches to a Successful Literature Review . Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications, 2016; Taylor, Dena. The Literature Review: A Few Tips On Conducting It . University College Writing Centre. University of Toronto; Writing a Literature Review . Academic Skills Centre. University of Canberra.

Writing Tip

Break out of your disciplinary box.

Thinking interdisciplinarily about a research problem can be a rewarding exercise in applying new ideas, theories, or concepts to an old problem. For example, what might cultural anthropologists say about the continuing conflict in the Middle East? In what ways might geographers view the need for better distribution of social service agencies in large cities than how social workers might study the issue? You don’t want to substitute a thorough review of core research literature in your discipline for studies conducted in other fields of study. However, particularly in the social sciences, thinking about research problems from multiple vectors is a key strategy for finding new solutions to a problem or gaining a new perspective. Consult with a librarian about identifying research databases in other disciplines; almost every field of study has at least one comprehensive database devoted to indexing its research literature.

Frodeman, Robert. The Oxford Handbook of Interdisciplinarity . New York: Oxford University Press, 2010.

Another Writing Tip

Don't just review for content.

While conducting a review of the literature, maximize the time you devote to writing this part of your paper by thinking broadly about what you should be looking for and evaluating. Review not just what scholars are saying, but how are they saying it. Some questions to ask:

• How are they organizing their ideas?
• What methods have they used to study the problem?
• What theories have been used to explain, predict, or understand their research problem?
• What sources have they cited to support their conclusions?
• How have they used non-textual elements [e.g., charts, graphs, figures, etc.] to illustrate key points?

When you begin to write your literature review section, you'll be glad you dug deeper into how the research was designed and constructed because it establishes a means for developing more substantial analysis and interpretation of the research problem.

Hart, Chris. Doing a Literature Review: Releasing the Social Science Research Imagination . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1 998.

Yet Another Writing Tip

When do i know i can stop looking and move on.

Here are several strategies you can utilize to assess whether you've thoroughly reviewed the literature:

• Look for repeating patterns in the research findings. If the same thing is being said, just by different people, then this likely demonstrates that the research problem has hit a conceptual dead end. At this point consider: Does your study extend current research?  Does it forge a new path? Or, does is merely add more of the same thing being said?
• Look at sources the authors cite to in their work. If you begin to see the same researchers cited again and again, then this is often an indication that no new ideas have been generated to address the research problem.
• Search the Web of Science [a.k.a., Web of Knowledge] Citation database and Google Scholar to identify who has subsequently cited leading scholars already identified in your literature review. This is called citation tracking and there are a number of sources that can help you identify who has cited whom, particularly scholars from outside of your discipline. Here again, if the same authors are being cited again and again, this may indicate no new literature has been written on the topic.

Onwuegbuzie, Anthony J. and Rebecca Frels. Seven Steps to a Comprehensive Literature Review: A Multimodal and Cultural Approach . Los Angeles, CA: Sage, 2016; Sutton, Anthea. Systematic Approaches to a Successful Literature Review . Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications, 2016.

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Unlocking Academic Success: The Top 12 Benefits of Assignments

Is it possible that you would reach the end of your degree but didn't attempt any assignment in your academic career? Not really. Well, the importance of assignments is not hidden from us. We all are aware of its significance. Completing assignments is a daunting task, but do you have any idea about their benefits? If not, then keep reading this article. We'll explain the benefits of assignments in detail and how to finish them fast. Before moving forward, let's have a brief overview of what an assignment is and its purpose.

What is an assignment? 

Assignments play an important part in the learning process of students. It is a well known assessment method for teachers as well. Additionally, it is not only for students but also for professors. With the help of assignments, professors can evaluate the skills, expertise, and knowledge of students. It also helps teachers assess whether or not pupils have met the learning objectives. Moreover, it allows them to gauge how much students have learned from their lessons. 

In education, an "assignment" means a piece of schoolwork that teachers give to students. It provides a range of opportunities to practice, learn, and show what you've learned. When teachers assign assignments, they provide their students with a summary of the knowledge they have learned. Additionally, they assess whether students have understood the acquired knowledge. If not, what concerns do they may have?  

Purpose of Giving Assignments to Students

Teachers give homework to help students in their learning. Doing homework shows they are good at it, responsible, and can manage their time wisely. College professors also give homework to check how well students understand what they learned. Clarity is required when planning an assignment on a number of issues. As a result, the following factors are taken into account by your teacher when creating the structure for your assignment.

• Will it be an individual or group assignment?
• How can it be made more effective for students?
• Should I combine two approaches for this project?
• Do I need to observe how students are working on the assignment? Or should I check it once they've finished it?
• What standards must I follow when evaluating this assignment?

What are the aspects of assignment evaluation?

Instructors usually follow these three aspects when evaluating an assignment.

The assignment and the method used to evaluate the results are in line with the learning objectives.

Reliability

Teachers draw distinctions and assign grades based on the outcomes. The score is consistently calculated based on the predefined parameters. It guarantees that the grades are evaluated in a meaningful way.

Objectivity

An assignment's goal should be obvious. The primary goal of this assignment is to teach students what they will learn. Also, how to finish that assignment. Teachers need to specify what they expect from the assignment and how they are going to evaluate it. 

Types of Writing Assignments

There are different types of writings that teachers assign to students at the college or university level. Some of writing assignment types are:

It presents the author's viewpoint on a subject with supporting data and may also argue its case. The essay structure consists of three main components: introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. Essays are of different types, such as analytical essays, compare and contrast essays, and persuasive essays. You can also buy essays from an online writing service. 

A report offers information about an issue in a clear and organized manner. You may have learned this information through reading, research, experiments, and measurements in the field or lab. You might also have gained it from your personal experiences. Additionally, reports have different structures depending on the subject or discipline. The basic structure of the report consists of an abstract, introduction, methodology, findings, discussion, conclusion, and appendices. 

Literature reviews

A literature review may be assigned as a standalone assignment. In the literature review, the goal is to summarize the key research relating to your topic. Alternatively, it might be a section of a lengthy project, like a research report or thesis. The goal would be to justify the need for more research on the topic you have selected.

Annotated bibliographies

A literature review or essay synthesizes various sources and incorporates them into a single discussion about a topic. In contrast, an annotated bibliography evaluates and summarizes each reading independently. Each reading is typically presented alphabetically based on the first letter of the lead author's surname. It is difficult to generate an annotated bibliography. But you can get expert help by hiring an online annotated bibliography writing service . 

Case studies

In general, a case study requires the integration of theory and practice. This helps you connect theoretical ideas to real professional or practical situations. A case may be a person, any event, idea, etc. You are analyzing the case by mapping it against a theoretical explanation to understand and see the big picture – What has happened? It may take the form of a report or an essay. Consult your lecturer or tutor and review the assignment question.

Research paper

The research paper starts with a topic and your research question. Add data from trustworthy sites and properly cite those sources. Moreover, add a claim or argument as your thesis statement. If you don't know how to write a research paper , you can check our latest guide.

Response paper

In the response paper, discuss what you've read or learned about a particular problem or subject. Evaluate concepts about other readings, talks, or debates. Write in a combination of formal and informal styles. (make sure to consult your professor's guidelines)

Top 12 Benefits of Assignments

For hard working students, assignments can offer many benefits once they get used to them. They help you get the grades you want and show what you have learned in your classes. You'll see the benefits of assignments more clearly when you learn about their different types and what your teacher expects. Assignments are an absolute way to do well in your classes.

We have already talked about what an assignment is and its purpose. Let's explore the impact of homework assignment on students' learning.

1. Enhance the student's knowledge

Teachers assign assignments on a variety of subjects and topics. This will help the students to gain knowledge when they work on different kinds of topics. It is one of the best benefits that students receive from assignments. They are also introduced to significant ideas and insightful information.

Suppose your assignment topic is too complex. You have to spend extra time and effort to conduct detailed research to understand the topic. This way, you will not only be able to complete your assignment. But also gain a lot of new information.

There can be a lot of pressure to memorize information exactly. This pressure may lead to simply repeating it when studying for an exam. Students find it challenging to truly grasp the concepts covered in their courses. This results in a lack of deep understanding. On the other hand, when you undertake a challenging assignment, you'll be applying knowledge to real world issues. These issues often have multiple possible solutions. You'll find that developing this kind of thinking and improving your assignment writing skills will help you throughout the course and the rest of your academic career.

2. Improve student's problem solving skills

Another benefit of assignments is when students work on complex projects; their analytical and critical thinking skills are also enhanced. This is an extremely useful skill for students to possess. Since it will help them in their academic and professional journey. We continue to learn from this process regardless of our age.

A great technique to master your course material is to challenge yourself. Give yourself a complex problem to solve and strive to find a solution. Similar to the benefits of homework , you can only improve at something by putting it into practice and giving it a lot of thought. We are always working on these analytical and problem solving skills, and going back to school will force you to develop them even more. 

3. Boost your writing caliber

We frequently find ourselves with a lot on our minds but unable to properly and clearly explain it in front of the audience. Assignments help us in improving our writing skills. When you have a habit of writing, then you can communicate easily. Your writing skills will improve because your academic task requires you to write. Another benefit of assignments is that they assist you in writing concisely and clearly.

4. Help to think under pressure

Sometimes, you might be assigned a very difficult assignment that requires a lot of knowledge, and you are not familiar with it. Handling these complex tasks assists you in persevering when you don't have enough information. It also helps you to grow confidence in your skills to find the right solution.

Additionally, all students and professionals need to learn how to think under pressure. The assignment gives you the opportunity to do so. Since you probably only have a few days to finish the assignment. You'll need to not only manage your busy schedule to finish it. But also squeeze in a lot of learning and application of what you've learned. Possessing this ability will be beneficial because it will enable you to think clearly under pressure, which will help you succeed in school and in your career.

5. Help in boosting grades

There is more pressure to perform well on exams when a course has few exams that make up for an important part of your final grade. Smaller assignments that account for a smaller portion of your final grade mean that even if you don't perform well on one of them, you will still have more chances to improve your grade.

You can feel more at ease knowing that your grades are divided in this manner. This provides you with multiple chances to work towards a higher grade. Many students prefer smaller assessments. These relieve them of worrying about a single test significantly impacting their final grade.

6. Build time management skills

A study conducted among students revealed that students who completed more assignments performed better in their overall academics. They also achieved higher scores in specific subjects.

Due to these tasks, students gain more time management skills, which further empowers them. They learn the ability to allocate their time between assigned tasks and prioritized activities. They are aware of what needs to be done first. How to solve problems faster, and how to turn in their work ahead of schedule. Furthermore, this practice teaches them to use their time wisely.   

7. Enhance organizing and planning skills

Completing an assignment requires thoughtful planning. Students' organizational skills are improved through the information search, sorting, and use of relevant data. Following that, students will be able to plan out when and how to complete their assigned work. Attempting assignments allows them to effectively handle their learning habits. They also help them to apply their knowledge wisely to improve their academic performance.  

8. Understand how to apply in real life scenarios

Applying theoretical concepts to real world situations also gets easier when one learns how to write theoretical assignments. This enables them to be prepared to deal with any problems that arise in the future.

9. Boosts your knowledge of technical subjects and ideas

When a subject is taught in a classroom environment, it's normal for students to not understand it. They are forced to spend more time comprehending and finishing their work when they are assigned assignments on those subjects, though.

This enables them to respond to those questions with ease and proficiency. Regardless of a concept's technicality, you'll gain a strong command over it. This happens when you write multiple articles on the same topic or idea.

10. Improve research skills

Doing homework and assignments also helps students get better at researching. When a professor assigns any assignment, students perform thorough research on different topics. This allows them to learn the ability to find useful information and sort it accordingly. Their professional life is positively impacted, and their academic performance is improved by this habit.

11. Learn the art of tasks prioritizing

When handling a lot of assignments, you will learn to prioritize the task based on its importance. It is a crucial skill that is needed in professional life. Prioritizing your work will help you to complete all your tasks on time. You will be able to meet the deadlines.

12. Making a personal study space

You can get help from your colleagues and online resources. But the task of implementing that knowledge is your own. This is exactly what you need to understand concepts.

As you work on your assignments, you can create a relaxing study space that increases productivity. You'll be able to create a unique working style by doing this. In addition, you can focus on creativity, productivity, learning, and pursuing interests.

Of course, everything has a negative aspect, even though there are definite advantages. Sometimes, students may question the true value of assignments. They wonder if there are any restrictions on this particular grading scheme. Students usually wonder this when they are having difficulty with their coursework or with specific concepts. These carry significant burdens. They can be stressful for students struggling with course material.

However, this belief has a reason. Even experts can't agree on the best way to evaluate a student's performance in a course. This sparks a lot of discussion.

How to finish assignments fast?

Firstly, make a plan of what steps you will cover in your assignment. It includes how much time is required to complete the assignment. Then, list out all the tasks that you will do in your assignment. Identify what you need to complete this assignment, like a calculator, books, paper, and pen. Find a relaxing and quiet place to work without any distractions. Switch off your phone. Have some light snacks and water. Take quick breaks between assignment tasks. When you're done with the assignment, reward yourself.

Concluding Remarks

Now, you have a clear understanding of what the assignment means and its importance. And how it is beneficial for the student's academic career. Would you like additional information? Or do you simply not have the time to complete it? Stop worrying! You can find the solution at Nerdpapers, all under one roof. Our professionals have years of experience. So, if a student gets stuck on a project or assignment, they can take a variety of actions to help them finish it on time. Not only can our native experts produce high quality assignments. But they can also help you achieve good grades at reasonable costs. Therefore, hire subject related experts for appropriate guidance and assistance rather than compromising your grades. Whether you are a college, university, or high school student, there are several benefits of assignment writing.

Table of Contents

Persuasive essay topics – how to choose one for you, how to write a persuasive essay- expert tips.

Assignments Matter: Making the Connections That Help Students Meet Standards

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What exactly is an "assignment" and why does it matter? How can educators ensure that their teaching meets the rigorous demands of the Common Core State Standards, so that all students are well prepared for college or careers?

Table of contents

Introduction

Part 1: Why and What

Why Assignments Matter

Part 2: In the Classroom

About the authors

Book details

Product no., 978-1-4166-1440-1, release date, member book, topics in this book, related books.

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Importance of assignments in Student life

• January 29, 2020
• Academic Help , Education , general awareness , general knowledge , informative blogs , make my assignment

Many of us believe that assignments are a total waste in our lives and that they have no significant importance in academics. Which is why we do get annoyed whenever our teachers talk about submitting assignments or assigning one. Assignment writing task is something, which is almost disliked by every individual reading this blog. However, this concept is completely wrong.

From the beginning of the learning process, students are given certain assignments and homework , to develop their critical and analytical skills. In the initial stages, i.e. if we talk about elementary schooling part, the complexity level of such assignments remain low, but as a student enters some college or university, the assignments turn into a more complicated and sophistical thing. Though, many of us might still question as to why we are given assignments, and what is the main purpose behind it? Well, there are many intentions behind giving assignments and homework to students.

Teachers deliver necessary knowledge and information to students which help them in understanding the topics related to various subjects. As a teacher, it is not acceptable behavior to present everything to their students and pamper them. This effectively harms the learning competencies of students, and thus education becomes meaningless to them. Therefore, with the help of assignments and homework, students are expected to gain knowledge on their own at home.

There are many reasons as to why students are given with assignments , which are as follows-

Building focus

Often the assignments and homework come with a good percentage which can further boost their final score. Therefore, students are required to complete their assignments in order to finish their full course. This will help them concentrate more on their subject and encourage high score so that they can easily write a flawless paper.

Advancement of the learners

Students are given numerous types of assignments which need to be completed at their home, as this requires their complete dedication which further helps in their development. According to some experts, the growth of a human is directly linked to its utilization of the brain. So, if students give more efforts and study time without taking help from others, they tend to gain more knowledge.

Practical skills

With the help of assignments, students get to learn new techniques and specific writing tips which assist them in their academics. Continuous practice is required if you want to excel in this field. Practice leads to an improvement in one’s skills or grabbing a grip for some subject. Thus, assignment writing and homework is a means of this exercise. When students write assignments or do their homework, they come across new problems and equations and discover its relevant solutions on their own, which is why they are given this task to complete at home. The practice also benefits the students by getting them ready for certain unpredicted situations.

Time management

The assignments and homework assigned to students need to be completed within a specified time period; which somehow makes them a time savvy. They find out which task is of more importance to them and how they can handle their agenda. Based on the urgency or significance, they assign equal importance to each task depending upon its time completing and other factors. Time management skill is something which can be used for future purpose as well. Therefore, it prepares one for his/her future career and endeavors.

Evaluative purpose

The primary purpose of providing assignments to students is to analyze whether they have understood a specific topic or subject. On the other hand, if the concept is not clear to a student, then it might reflect their sparse learning and weak foundation of understanding. Apart from this, teachers also assess various other skills that are endured in this process.

To become successful

Assignment and homework writing task is something that helps students with their future studies and theories; they also get the preparation done for their exams as well. This also helps them achieve their specific set goals and aims, and concentrate better on future endeavors.

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Fulbright recipient Dawn Thomas reflects on her impactful work teaching English and art in Spain

Dawn Thomas (MAT secondary English education ‘23) was awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship for 2023-24. Originally set to embark on her teaching journey in Israel, unforeseen circumstances led to the cancellation of her assignment. She is now serving as an English language assistant and English art assistant for students ranging from 3 years old through those in sixth grade, who speak Spanish and Gallego, in Galicia, Spain. After finishing her Fulbright tenure and returning to the U.S., Thomas will start a new position in the English Department at Iowa City High School, where she will teach three world literature classes and two African American literature classes. Learn more about her reflections on her Fulbright experience through the Q&A piece below.   

Can you give us a brief overview of your Fulbright experience?

My Fulbright program initially began online with my original host institution in Haifa, Israel. During this period, I collaborated with the English Department at the Arab Academic College for Education to develop a six-day unit on African American literature, poetry, and music for Arab Israeli teaching students.

Since arriving in Spain, I have:

• Led multiple daily classes focusing on English language grammar and structure.
• Designed and taught a multi-style self-portrait art project.
• Created and led a cultural art activity that resulted in a school-wide collection of "stones of remembrance."
• Conducted an art activity centered on the life and work of Elizabeth Catlett.
• Facilitated small-group English language lessons and evaluations with each first and second -grade student.
• Hosted an "African American Read-In" in Spain as part of the National Council for Teachers of English's annual event. During this event, I read "Susie King Taylor: The Bravest Girl You've Ever Seen" to all first through sixth grade students over three days. The readings included an activity where students planted okra seeds, an important heritage reference from the book.
• Delivered a presentation about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on my first day of school, which coincided with Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the U.S. My bilingual coordinator assigned all sixth grade students to create a biography about him, and I had the opportunity to review and evaluate each one.
• Designed a three-episode Harlem Renaissance podcast as a required "side project," featuring six students—two from each of the fourth, fifth, and sixth grades. Our final podcast recording will take place on the last day of my Fulbright program. 

How has your Fulbright experience influenced you personally and professionally?

This experience has, more than anything else, provided me with the confidence to exist and engage with globally diverse groups of people. It has furthered my understanding and beliefs about how language works and is used in various power structures and defined cultures. It has helped me to appreciate immigrant student experiences in the U.S. I believe this experience will become invaluable to me as a new teacher in the Iowa City community. 

What advice do you have for future students interested in applying for a Fulbright?  

My advice for future Fulbrighters is to prepare to stick with the application process; believe that if you receive an award, you absolutely deserve it...no one is doing you a favor; and finally, this experience is, more than anything else you will probably experience, what you make of it. No one, not Fulbright, not the U.S. Department of State, not your peers or parents can make this experience into the dream you have for yourself. YOU have to make it happen, so let go of all expectations and start creating your journey. 

EXPLORE THE MANY FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES OPEN TO UI STUDENTS AND ALUMNI 

International Programs  (IP) at the University of Iowa (UI) is committed to enriching the global experience of UI students, faculty, staff, and the general public by leading efforts to promote internationally oriented teaching, research, creative work, and community engagement.  IP provides support for international students and scholars, administers scholarships and assistance for students who study, intern, or do research abroad, and provides funding opportunities and grant-writing assistance for faculty engaged in international research. IP shares their stories through various media, and by hosting multiple public engagement activities each year.  

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International Programs at the University of Iowa supports the right of all individuals to live freely and to live in peace. We condemn all acts of violence based on race, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, and perceived national or cultural origin. In affirming its commitment to human dignity, International Programs strongly upholds the values expressed in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights .