How to Write a Literature Review

"How to" Guideline series is coordinated by Helen Mongan-Rallis of the Education Department at the University of Minnesota Duluth. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions to improve these guidelines please me at e-mail hrallis@d.umn.edu. by Helen Mongan-Rallis.

Take the mystery out of this academic assignment with these simple formulas.

Take the mystery out of this academic assignment with these simple formulas for writing your literature review.

The aim of a literature review is to show your reader (your tutor) that you have read, and have a good grasp of, the main published work concerning a particular topic or question in your field. This work may be in any format, including online sources.

o How to Write a Literature Review o o o o "...of making books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh." --Ecclesiastes 12:12 o One of the things that most university students have to do, is write a literature review.

APA (American Psychological Association) style is most commonly used to cite sources within the social sciences. This resource, revised according to the 6th edition, second printing of the APA manual, offers examples for the general format of APA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the reference page.

College writing often involves integrating information from published sources into your own writing in order to add credibility and authority--this process is essential to research and the production of new knowledge.

The two videos here walk you through writing a literature review. I've chosen them because they are accurate, and the videos themselves are well-made and easy to watch.