Greetings, study abroad treasures~ I know you feel like your scalp is itching every time you write the introduction of your paper. Yes, I know that feeling, it’s really too painful. But don’t worry, today I’m going to share with you some tips on how to write a literature review. After all, we’re all on the road to knowledge. Come on, let’s take a look at this super practical and simple method.
1. Figure out your purpose
First of all, make sure you figure out what you really want to do first. You know? It’s that “why are you doing this review” question. It’s really like drawing a locator for your starting line. Generally, you can go back to the beginning of the article and see what the author’s original argument was, and then see what other people think about it. This will give you a better understanding of the lineage of that article.
2. Go back to previous essays
Next, you need to review the previous literature. This is not for you to re-read all the articles again, but for you to find out what previous scholars have said about the topic. At this point, you’ll want to pay special attention to see if previous scholars have overlooked anything important. These details are often where your research can shine.
3. Make a plan
After reading the previous literature, you should start thinking about how to write this literature review. You can consider marking out the strengths and weaknesses of each article. This way, when you look back in the future, you won’t forget what you’ve come up with. Draw a map, so that this map includes what parts of the article might be cited, what problems might arise from the writing and where you expect to go. This will ensure that you don’t mess up your research progress.
4. Categorise the articles
Finally, organise and categorise the articles. You’ll need to figure out what field your research topic is in, and then pick out articles in the same category and compare them to each other. Don’t miss out on the seemingly insignificant details, sometimes it’s the hidden information that really impresses people.
5. Getting to the details
Once you’ve read all the information and filtered out the overlap, it’s time to focus on your personal research question. At this point, all you need to focus on might be some of the subtle differences in each article, analysing the similarities and differences between them in depth. This is because sometimes these subtle differences are directly related to your research questions or even preconceptions.
All in all, if you do the above, your literature review will have been modelled. Of course, there are many other things you can do, such as seeking the opinions of other scholars. In any case, don’t be afraid to seek advice from others, trust me, you will all do a great job! So, get organising your literature review, write your unique review and write your own academic chapter! Cheer up! A bright future is waiting for you ahead!
