A literature review is a critical summary of what the scientific literature (books, articles, studies, theses and dissertations) says about your specific topic or question. Often student research in APA fields falls into this category. Your professor might ask you to write this kind of paper to demonstrate your familiarity with work in the field pertinent to the research you hope to conduct.
A literature review typically contains the following sections:
Title page
Introduction section (why is this topic important?)
List and analysis of references
Some instructors may also want you to write an abstract for a literature review, so be sure to check with them when given an assignment. Also, the length of a literature review and the required number of sources will vary based on course and instructor preferences.
(Adapted from the Purdue Online Writing Lab)
Introduction: Explain why this research topic is important. Outline what direction your review will take: i.e., what aspects of the topic you’re focusing on.
Body: Present your summaries and evaluations of the sources in a clear, logical, and coherent manner. Some options for organizing your review include chronological, order of importance, two sides of a controversial problem, differences in perspective or viewpoint. Your review must “read” like a coherent paper, not a list.
Note: Most literature reviews describe only the main findings, relevant methodological issues, and/or major conclusions of other research.
Ensure your final list of references includes all sources you’ve discussed, and use the citation style required in your discipline.
(Adapted from the Purdue Online Writing Lab)
A tutorial by Western Universtiy
