literature review

ENGL 1223 OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY

Literature Review Assignment Sheet and Rubric

Main Goals

The Literature Review has three main goals: 1) to explain to the reader the ideas and concepts in the literature, their differences and similarities, and, in general, their connections to each other; 2) to convince the reader that the topic and project they are reading about is relevant, important, and should be pursued; 3) to provide a central argument - that the current literature is either missing something, or is limited or in need of an update, or that certain perspectives, theories, and/or methodologies need work.

Overall, your reader should already begin to understand your argument, and possibly even your plan of action, long before you explicitly state it in your review.

How does one accomplish these three goals?

1. Explain - Order of information and organizational patterns help the reader understand you explanations, along with detailed discussion and, where relevant, specific examples.

2. Convince - Appropriate language and linguistic strategies help in convincing the reader of the relevance and importance of the project (i.e. aggravated language, implicit remarks)

3. Argument - The gap statement, the why-statement, and the PoA/Purpose statement, along with explanations and supporting evidence all help make your argument clear.

Structure of the Literature Review

Background

Gap Statement + Explanation

Why-Sentence + Explanation

PoA/Purpose Statement

Predictions

Final Research Question (FRQ)

Format Requirements:

· Times New Roman, 12-point font

· Double Spaced

· Word limit: 2 double-spaced pages minimum

· You MUST use all 4 sources from the summaries, but you are encouraged to use more to make your case

RUBRIC

200 points possible

Content (80 points max) · Clearly explains the topic (background) · Indicates why the topic is important/relevant · Synthesizes and explain ideas and concepts contained in the sources · Clearly connects ideas and concepts to show reader the current state of the literature · Appropriately uses sources to support ideas · Indicates what gap(s) exist (gap statement) and why it/they is/are important to address (why-sentence) · Contains a logical PoA/Purpose Statement · Length is appropriate	Vocabulary and Diction (10 pts max) · Appropriate academic word choice · No vague terminology · Variety of vocabulary · Vocabulary appropriate to research writing
Organization (70 pts max) · Clear and appropriate order(s) of information · Clear and appropriate organizational pattern(s) · Illustrates how ideas are connected and developed · In text citations used appropriately	Spelling, Punctuation, & Capitalization (10 pts max) · Rule mastery
Sentence Structure and Grammar (20 pts max) · Effective use of different sentence structures · Appropriate use of tense · Grammatical error avoidance · Effective use of function words	Formatting (10 pts max) · Formatting convention mastery