LITERATURE REVIEW
-READING AND WRITING
AT THE END OF THIS MODULE, I CAN:

Explain how one’s purpose is a crucial consideration in
academic and professional writing.

Identify the unique features of and requirements in composing
text that are useful across disciplines.

Perform writing task involved in the different stages of the
writing process.

Write a comprehensive literature review.
Whenever you read research papers, you will come
across a literature review in which you ge to informed
about the published readings about the topic under
investigation. Specifically, a LITERATURE REVIEW is
an evaluative report of previous studies related to the
subject matter of academic paper. It describes,
summarize, and evaluates such studies in connection
with the topic of the paper. It also gives a theoritical
basis for the research and helps the author determine
the nature, scope, and limitation of his or her own study.
It is important that you learn how to write a
literature review because it shows how much you
have researched about the subject matter of your
paper. Further, a literature review is an essential
part of research paper because it provides the
research credibility in that the reader will know
important ideas related to it.
Like the rest of your paper, your
literature review should be well written and
organized. It should be also relevant to the
subject of your paper; otherwise, your
review will not be able to serve its purposeto provide background information about the
topic of your study.
Considerations in Writing a Literature Review
The following are some of the factors to considder
in writing a literature review:
Unique features of the text.
2. Purpose and audience.
3. Pattern of development.
1.
Unique Features of a Literature Review
A literature review may be differentiated among other
academic papers in terms of its contents and organization.
The content of a literature review is information taken from
different published papers about a particular subject. It
organization may depend on the type of information to be
presented. The information may be arranged either
thematically or chronologically. Thematically arranging the
information means organizing the information according to
points made by topic. On the other hand, chronological
arrangement means sequencing the pieces of information
based on the date they were published.
Purpose and Audience
In writing a literature review, your intended
audience are primarily readers (or researchers)
who want to find out more information about the
subject of your study. In addition, a literature review
may be writen for professionals who would like to
become updated with the latest trends in their field.
Considering your audience, your purpose must
them be to inform.
Patern of Development
You may use different patterns of development in
writing you literature review. For instance, you may
use the exemplification/calssification pattern of
development in writing since you will have to organize
the information you have obtained in a general to
specific manner-that is,beginning with the general
point or classification and supporting it with specific
examples. You may use description or definition and
supporting it with comparison-and-contrast and
cause-and-effect in some cases.
Guidelines in Writing a Review.
1.
Read, watch, or listen to the material more than once. Going through
the material for a few times can give you some clarity. At first, do it for
pleasure, and then be critical in the succceding times.
2.
Be brief and concise. A review should only be about 350 to 500 words.
3.
Develop an outline. Write down the major points and supporting ideas in
logical order. The outline will serve as a guide in writing the review.
4.
Assert and support claims. Do not state the obvious. Support your
claims by citing lines, scenes, or dialogues fom the material.
Differentiating Book Review, Article Critique,
Literature Review
Article Critique
Book Review
Literature Review
Intends to provide critical evaluation or assessment of a piece of
writing.
The main purpose of a book review/ article critique is to
persuade book/article readers of a particular genre to either
read the book/article and how credible the writing is.
Is an evaluative report of
previous studies related to the
subject matter of an academic
paper.
Critique is written by experts in
the field written objectively. A
critique requires a specific
audience who must have a
similar background as the
author to understand what he or
she is trying to point out.
May be different among other
academic papers in terms of its
content and organization.
Content is taken from different
published papers organized
according to the type of
information to be presented.
*Thematically
* Chronologically
Review is written by anyone
interested in a particular field
consisting subjective opinion of
a work like movie, book,
performance art or music.