Literature review ukm

What is a literature review? A literature review is a piece of academic writing demonstrating knowledge and understanding of the academic literature on a specific topic placed in context. A literature review also includes a critical evaluation of the material; this is why it is called a literature review rather than a literature report.

Stand-alone literature review If you are writing a stand-alone paper, give some background on the topic and its importance, discuss the scope of the literature you will review (for example, the time period of your sources), and state your objective. What new insight will you draw from the literature?

Ideally, you should narrow the field down so you get just a few dozen results. Skim through these quickly to identity texts which are most likely to be helpful. If this does not produce enough material, browse along the library shelves in the relevant subject area and look at any of the books that catch your eye.

If you haven’t been provided with any specific guidelines, it is recommended to keep your literature review around 15-30% of your entire paper. To give you a rough idea, that is about 2-3 pages for a 15-page paper. In case you are writing a literature review as a stand-alone assignment, its length should be specified in the instructions provided.