Literature Review: Write the Literature Review

You've selected a research topic, reviewed your discipline style, found, saved and analyzed your sources, and now you are ready to write! Here are some tips for writing an effective literature review:

1. Literature reviews are not annotated bibliographies or a list of sources.

A literature review is not just a list of sources. You will need to provide a narrative of how the sources fit together and how they are related to your research. 

2. Look at other literature reviews for examples of how your discipline writes literature reviews.

If you are having trouble with your writing, it can be helpful to look at other literature reviews to see how they are written and what is included in them. While literature reviews usually have the same basic format across the disciplines, each discipline might have slight variations in the way that they write literature reviews.

Remember that you can find literature reviews near the beginning of most scholarly articles. You can use the articles that you have already found to find examples of literature reviews.

The UHV Center for Student Success can help with writing assistance and resources, as well as help you with citations. You can schedule an appointment both face-to-face and virtual. Learn more about their services and how to book an appointment on their website.