How do I write a Literature Review?

Question

I was assigned this alongside my final paper for my history class. My teacher said it has to be at least three pages, but I already have a bibliography with 8 sources on it. What is the difference between my bibliography, my research paper, and the literature review I've been assigned?

Answer 1

A literature review demonstrates your ability to research. It also showcases your expertise on your chosen topic. By including a literature review in your project or thesis, you are also providing your reader with the most prevalent theories and studies on your topic, evaluations and comparisons of these studies, and gaps there may be in the literature. This helps your reading audience to understand your project/thesis better. It also makes you a more credible and reliable author.

Since you are new at this, please hit me up if you would like help getting started with a lit review outline.

Answer 2

Hi there!

Literature reviews often vary depending on the context, but in general, a literature review is a (relatively) short written piece that describes the existing scholarly work on a particular subject. So, if I am understanding correctly, in your case, you've been assigned three sections:

1. a literature review in which you give an overview of current and past scholarly work on your topic
2. a research paper in which you contribute to this scholarly conversation with an argument of your own
3. a bibliography in which you give citations for every source referenced in both the literature review and the research paper

Here's an additional resource on literature reviews from the Purdue Online Writing Lab: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/conducting_research/writing_a_literature_review.html

Whether for this assignment or any future writing work you may have, feel free to contact me to make an appointment. I am very familiar with the research and writing process and would love to work with you on it!

All best,

Alex

Answer 3

This is a common assignment in high school and college, but depending on the professor, the expectations can be quite confusing! Sometimes, the literature review is simple and easy, and other times, it takes longer than writing the rest of the paper itself. I can help you decipher what kind of literature review you've been assigned, and how to put it together! We can also go over what the point of a literature review is.