Instruction for Writing a Literature Review
It is possible to complete some study units by writing a review. If you wish to write a review, you should first
select a preliminary topic for your review and then contact a teacher representing the field. He or she gives
you more detailed instructions. In general, however, the length of a review for 10 ECTS credits is about 20
pages + references and title page (font 12, line spacing 1.5) with 15-25 articles in peer-reviewed journals as
references.
In your review, you should be able to state the aim of the review, to make your own theoretical conclusions
about the literature, to show potential gaps and contradictions in the studies and to suggest topics for future
studies. As Bem (1995) writes, reviews are critical evaluations of material that has already been published.
By organizing, integrating and evaluating previously published material, the author informs the reader of the
state of current research; identifies relations, contradictions, gaps, and inconsistencies in the literature; and
suggests the next step or steps in solving the problem. In short, the text should be your own, not others'.
Take into account that 10 credits equal 270 hours, ie. about seven weeks full-time work, so you really
should have time to do it properly!
Because a review must not be a summary only about what others have said or studied but rather a critical
analysis of earlier research on a specific topic, the correct use of references is of utmost importance. Bad
referencing can cause a suspicion of plagiarism, so be careful.
You should:
* never cite a whole paragraph, or a cluster of sentences, by putting one or more references in the end, after
a period.
This kind of citing is not allowed because the reader cannot know where the citation begins and where it
ends. In other words, you should not simply move the text written by others in your text. For example, you
should assess a line of research based on your own evaluation and by words of your own, not by words of
others. This requires expertise: You need to become familiar with the literature to be able to do that.
* use second-hand references or textbooks only in exceptional cases.
* not give too many references. Researchers use references to help the readers to find the most important
studies, not to inform the readers how many publications the author has read.
* be specific.
For example, a sentence: "Anxiety decreases motivation to do well in schools and thus indirectly decreases
school performance (Smith, 2010)" must not mean that you cite Smith, who has said this. You have to use
references exactly so that the reader knows whether you refer to speculations, research results, reviews, or
what.
Correct examples:
- Smith (2010) showed that anxiety decreases school performance. [Smith's research finding]
- Earlier studies (e.g., Smith, 2010) have shown that anxiety decreases school performance. [Smith's
research finding]
- Smith (2010) has argued / suggested that anxiety decreases school performance. [Smith's speculation,
not a result of an empirical study]
- Anxiety decreases school performance (a review: Smith, 2010). [Smith has done a review (or a metaanalysis) of studies on this topic]
- "Anxiety decreases school performance", said Smith already in the 19 th century (Smith, 1889, p. 25). [A
quote]
Citations in the text and the reference list should usually follow the APA style (American Psychological
Association, 2010). Besides these instructions and those of your teacher, you can find several useful tips in
the internet. Try to google the expression "writing a scientific review", for example.
References:
American Psychological Association (2010). The publication manual of the American Psychological Association. 6th
edition. Washington, DC : American Psychological Association.
Bem, D. J. (1995). Writing a Review Article for Psychological Bulletin. Psychological Bulletin, 118, 172-177.
14 Steps to Writing Clearly
by San Francisco Edit www.sfedit.net
1. Determine what you’re trying to say before writing it. Figure out precisely what you want to say. This
may sound obvious, but many do not bother to do it. Knowing what you want to say beforehand maximizes
the odds of producing an organized, persuasive paper.
2. Think in terms of an outline. To ensure a logical flow, start by making an outline (even if it’s in your
head). Please see our newsletter “Eight Steps to Developing an Effective Outline”
3. Write direct sentences. Have only one idea or point per sentence. Keep sentences simple and short.
Use two sentences rather than joining them with “and”.
4. Be brief. Conciseness is important in writing research papers. Learn to look for long phrases that can be
shortened.
5. Organize your thoughts. Be sure that every paragraph has a clear topic sentence and that the
paragraph content supports the topic. Remember, the goal is to report your findings and conclusions clearly,
with as few words as necessary.
6. Substitute action verbs for "to be". "To be" is an important verb, but it weakens the text when used
excessively. For example, think about changing "is a summary of" to "summarizes".
7. Be sparing with adjectives & adverbs. Try to remove unspecific modifiers such as "very," "extremely,"
and "highly". When you do use modifiers, make them as specific as possible. For example, try changing "a
very good response" to "the expected response".
8. Be as precise as possible. Avoid phrases such as "a number of" and "a quantity of". If you can, replace
these with a word such as "many," "few," or "some," or, even better, the actual number.
9. Avoid unnecessary constructions and prepositions. Phrases such as "It is clear that" and "The fact is
that" are empty verbiage. Assuming you believe what you are about to say, just say it.
The same is true for prepositional phrases such as "In order to" or "In an attempt to." "In order to understand
this reactions, we . . . " is better said as "To understand this reaction, we. . . ."
10. Look for omissions. Did you forget an essential sentence or two in your conclusion that explains your
thought processes to someone who doesn’t think about these issues every day?
11. Look for repetitions. When you see the same word used repeatedly, consider using synonyms.
Although repeating a word or phrase is sometimes effective rhetorically, it can also make your sentence
structure clumsy.
12. Write as you speak. Wherever possible, use words you ordinarily speak and hear. If you can't hear
yourself saying it, then don't see yourself writing it.
13. Leave it alone for a while. Of course, there’s not always time, but do this whenever you can. You will
be surprised how many flaws will appear in your manuscript when you put it aside for a while.
14. Edit, edit, edit.
For more detailed information regarding writing a manuscript for publication, please review some of our other
articles at http://www.sfedit.net/newsletters.htm. These articles approach such subjects as Writing the First
Draft, Writing Effective Results, Methods and Materials, Discussions, Selecting a Journal, Responding to
Reviewers, etc.
M. Lindeman January 2014
Psychology in the University of Helsinki