How to Construct a Literature Review

To write a literature review you must learn how to collect information, evaluate the meaning of that information and then concisely and coherently reflect an understanding of the data into a piece of literature.



A literature review is a collation of information about a specific subject, novel, text or literary work that explores the values, evaluates the meanings and identifies the intricate details of one of the above mentioned pieces of literature. It usually starts as a thesis that is built up on to provide a concise and coherent document with a clear evaluation of a piece of work.

Literature reviews are often used for educational practices such as college, university and other higher education, as well as for professional evaluations for marking and exam purposes. They can also be used for personal references, to demonstrate a clear understanding of a text and to improve one's own skills in English Language and English literature.

By collecting and presenting all of the available material and informative pieces on a specific topic or piece of literature, you are then able to fairly grasp the inner workings of the piece of text. You will recognise and differentiate between multiple paragraphs of text, being able to understand the detailing of each phrase and sentence and presenting the relevant information in the form of comparisons, constructive criticism, improvements and alterations.

It is while researching that you will compile several angles of perspective to form your literature review, which when in its completed form, will allow a reader, marking body or other official to gather a clear image in to the piece of literature that has been reviewed. A great review will consist of factual points, unbiased angles of approach and a coherent interpretation of the text.

The skill of gathering resources for use in a literature review will comprise of analytical research, logical approaches and unique view points. Over time, there have been countless literature reviews created and a skilled writer and author will aim to use these previously created pieces to their advantage, disputing and refuting claims as well as organising supporting statements ready for being presented.