A Template Guide (Martha's General)

What's a Literature Review?

A literature review is, as its name suggests, a review, survey, critique, or evaluation of the literature that has previously been published about your topic of research. 

It IS:

• Selective -- only include the most relevant developments related to your topic -- not everything.
• A critical analysis -- it's fine to mention issues that were not addressed or any gaps in the research
• A way to show that your research hasn't been done before. 
• A way to show what your research builds upon.
• A way to familiarize yourself with your topic.

It is NOT: 

• meant to include everything ever written about your topic. 
• just a summary. 
• just a listing of works previously published. 
• making an argument or trying to persuade your reader. 
• summarizing the results of your own original research. 

How long is it? 

It depends. Often it is the first section, perhaps 1-3 pages, of a longer scholarly article. 

Sometimes a "review of the literature" will be published as its own standalone article, as in these examples:

Sometimes it is even a book-length work:

The following books are kept at the Reference Desk on the second floor of Andersen Library. Some titles also have copies in the Main Collection which can be checked out; check Research@UWW. The citation style manuals for MLA, APA, and Turabian are useful when creating bibliographic citations; however, for guidance on the format, content, and length of your annotations, please talk to your professor.

The following websites may be of assistance to you when creating your literature review. These sites are provided for general assistance only. Because the format, content and length of lit reviews vary, please ask your professor for guidelines to follow when beginning your assignment.