Draft of Introduction and Literature Review

3

Unit IV

Lesson 3: The Literature Review

Part 2: The Process

Introduction

Writing a literature review (LR) can be a daunting task. One of the reasons for this situation is that it is difficult to know where to begin. In this lesson, we will discuss some things that you will want to consider as you engage in the process of writing the LR. As you do so, you will want to keep all of the requirements and considerations (included in Lesson 2 of this unit) in mind as you begin.

The Process

As we have discussed before, there is no one writing process, and this concept holds true for the LR. However, there is a loose process that you can follow. As you do so, you can adjust this process to work for your writing and learning style.

Establish a focus: No doubt, you have found a good deal of information about your topic and about the controversy within that topic. So now that you are moving on to drafting the paper itself, you will need to ask yourself which information is the most important. Potentially, it could all be important. How do you narrow down the scope of your project? You will need to find a focus. For example, you might focus on one theme or one main point about which the two sides disagree. However you decide to focus your project, you will want to keep that focus throughout. Doing so will only help you with the next steps. A similar way to think about the same action is to consider your purpose: What do you want the reader to know? What must the reader know? What is the best way to convey that knowledge?

Recall your thesis statement: When you wrote your research proposal in Unit III, you were asked to craft a tentative thesis statement based upon your response to the controversy: agree, disagree, or agree and disagree simultaneously. You will want to recall your thesis statement and use it as a driving force for your project. Ask yourself, “What will my reader need to know in order to understand this thesis statement?” This question will help you to know what you should include in the LR.

Think about organization: The more organized you are before you begin your LR, the easier it will be for you to write it. Take a few minutes to consider the level headings that you might include. How would you outline the LR that you have in mind? Use this outline as a guide to drive your writing, and give yourself leeway to change the organization as you see the need.

Use your annotated bibliography (AB) as a guide: The AB is a research tool that can help you to remember the information presented in each of your sources. You are not obligated to use only the materials found in your AB; however, you can use your AB as a place to start with your LR. Your LR cannot be just a list of summaries from your AB. If you copy and paste your AB into a document and submit it as your LR, you will not meet the requirements of the assignment.

The Form

There are three sections in the LR. Each one must be included in order to satisfy the requirements of the assignment.

· LR preface: Every LR begins with a short introduction paragraph. This paragraph is not the same as the introduction to the entire paper. Instead, you can think of this paragraph as a preface. Use this paragraph as a guide for the rest of your literature review. Commonly, this paragraph attempts to introduce the literature review below, giving the reader a way to understand it. In the example, you will see that this paragraph is directly below the introduction for the paper.

· Body: In the body, you will develop the content of the LR. This is where your organizational method comes in. However you choose to organize your materials, you will present them here. Usually the body is about three to four paragraphs.

· Conclusion: The conclusion signals that the LR is ending, but it also acts as a kind of preface for the body of the paper by restating the thesis statement and establishing the student writer’s argument once again. By doing so, you will be able to begin the paragraph following the LR conclusion with the first paragraph of the body.

The Content

We have established the purposes of the LR and what this section of your paper does for the overall paper. First, you should consider how you might organize your content. There are several ways you can present the same research. Let’s take a look at a few of them.

· Key figures: Much like the use of themes, the use of “key figures” organizes one side’s arguments and then the others. The example introduction and LR is written in this style; first, the position of the NRA is presented, and then the position of Pres. Eugene Sanders is presented.

· Theme: A thematic organization clusters discussions about particular recurring themes into several sections. In the example, the fourth and fifth paragraphs cluster together a deeper discussion of each side of the controversy. This is a limited use of theme, whereby the pro and con sides of the issue become themes. However, the themes could have been clustered together more. For example, the idea about the university campus being a unique environment could have been included in one paragraph in which both the pro and con sides were included.

· Timeline/history: Sometimes, this organizational method is referred to as chronological. When you organize your LR by chronology, you are telling the history of something. This can include the historical context, the recent history, or both. In the example introduction and LR, you will see that there is some contextualization in the third paragraph, wherein the writer discusses a brief history of school shootings.

Some Conventions

As we have discussed for each genre, there are conventions that you need to follow in order to meet the expectations of your readers. The following are a few of these conventions that you should consider as you write:

· Include only the most relevant information: Do not include information that you find interesting about the topic just because it is interesting. Instead, focus on the project as a whole and the reader. What does the reader need to understand in order to grasp the topic, the controversy, and your argument?

· Remember that the focus of the LR is the ideas of others: Sometimes, students begin to summarize and engage with arguments about which they do not agree. This leads the student to feel that he or she must argue the oppositional author’s point. However, the LR is not the appropriate place for such an engagement. Instead, if the student wishes to contest another’s position, then that should be done in a rebuttal, which would appear in the body of the paper. The rebuttal will be discussed later in this course, so you may include one if you wish. For now, you should strive to present the arguments of others as fairly as possible and avoid engaging these ideas, despite how you may or may not agree with them.

· You may choose to make a distinction between the data presented in a source and the author’s conclusions about it: There are times when you may want to include the data from a source, such as a statistic or personal account, but you do not agree with the way that source’s author makes use of that data. You can still use the data. While it is always advisable that you include the author’s conclusions about the data, it is not a requirement, as it can be difficult to do so when you are attempting to make a larger point. The main point here is that you can compartmentalize between data and the author’s conclusions. However, it should be made clear that you will still need to cite the author using APA regardless.

· It is helpful to readers to include the source type when you present the material: In other words, if you are summarizing the findings of a federal agency from an annual report of theirs, then you will want to mention this as you introduce the material. For example:

In the 2015 report of U.S. national mathematics proficiency, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), a subsidiary of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), stated that “2015 scores at [fourth and eighth] grades [are] lower than in 2013 and higher than in 1990” (para. 1).

National Assessment of Educational Progress. (2015). 2015 mathematics & reading assessments. Retrieved from http://www.nationsreportcard.gov/reading_math_2015/#?grade=4

As you can see from the example, knowing the type of source (in this case, an annual report) helps the reader to visualize from where the material comes.

· Quotations should be used carefully: In an LR, you are focusing on what others have said, but there is no deep analysis of what others have said. Instead, you want to focus on the points being made. You should be able to rely on summary, paraphrasing, and synthesis for this. Direct quotations should be avoided as much as possible.

· Retain your own “voice”: Above, we discussed that you should be fair to others by presenting their arguments to the best of your ability. In the same way, you should be able to establish your “voice” as a writer, and this voice should be mostly authoritative, but considerate and thoughtful. Remember that your job in the LR is to present the controversy, so you should not be arguing in the LR. Instead, make your presence known by keeping your overall project in the forefront of the reader’s mind.

· The sources that you use in the LR can be used in the body section: Students will sometimes hold back on including a source in their LR because they think they will not be able to use the source more than once. However, this is not the case. You may, in fact, use the same source in the LR and in the body section.

· Avoid plagiarism when summarizing, paraphrasing, and synthesizing: Even when you do not mean to plagiarize, you can still do it. From EH 1010, you know ways that you can avoid plagiarism, but the main way you can avoid such a critical mistake is to be sure that you are always citing any material that comes from another person—regardless of how large or small. It is a good habit to get into! If you always cite your work as you write along, then you will find that it is less work for you when you revise and that you are able to avoid simple mistakes that can lead to plagiarism. If you ever have any questions about plagiarism, please ask! It is better to ask and know than to avoid asking and find yourself in an unpleasant situation. Your professor and the specialists at the Success Center and CSU Online Library are here to help you learn APA so that you can be the best student you can be.

Review

1. The writing process for the literature review includes the following steps: (1) find a focus, (2) recall your thesis, (3) think about organization, and (4) use your annotated bibliography as a guide.

2. Your LR cannot be just a list of summaries from your AB. If you copy and paste your AB into a document and submit it as your LR, you will not meet the requirements of the assignment.

3. There are three ways to organize your LR: (1) include key figures, (2) use themes, and (3) include a brief timeline or history.

4. There are three sections to the literature review: (1) the preface, (2) the body, and (3) the conclusion.