Skip to Main Content

Paula's General Research Guide: How to Write a Literature Review

This guide is designed to provide assistance in researching general multidisciplinary topics.

Guides to Writing Literature Reviews

Literature Review: Conducting & Writing (University of West Florida-University Libraries))
This guide will provide research and writing tips to help students complete a literature review assignment.

Writing a Literature Review MIni-Lesson (Brooklyn College CUNY)
Source
Parts of this mini-lesson were adapted from the UC Santa Cruz University Library website
(http://library.ucsc.edu/help/howto/write-a-literature-review), the University of North Carolina Writing
Center website (http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/literature_review.html), the University of
Wisconsin-Madison Writing Center website (http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/ReviewofLiterature.html),
and the Writing at the University of Toronto website (http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/specific-typesof-writing/literature-review). Other parts were written by Brendan O’Malley (WF, 2009-2011) and CoreyFrost (WF, 2006-2008)
http://www.brooklyn.cuny.edu/web/aca_facultywac/Mini-Lessons-LiteratureReview.pdf

Composing a Literature Review or Review of Scholarship (University of Massachusetts Amherst)
In a Nutshell

A literature review tells who else has researched your topic and what they say about it.

Its purpose is to inform readers about the range and quality of research existing on your topic, and to point the way to future research.

It is not meant to argue your opinion about the topic itself.

Includes SAMPLE LITERATURE REVIEWS.