For this assignment, your goal is to present what you have learned about your topic across all of the articles you gathered and read. If your thoughts have evolved since you turned into your outline, it is OK to deviate from what you submitted in your outline last week! You are encouraged to:
- Use headings within your literature review to guide the reader through your thoughts as you summarize the key points you want to make.
- Be scholarly, but don’t use overcomplicated language. Be direct. Do not use colloquial expressions, and do not use first person (e.g., “I,” “me,” “my”).
- Do not simply write a paper that brings the reader through a summary of what you read article-by-article (like mini article critiques). Instead, each paragraph should be about a different point you want to make about your topic and what the combined literature demonstrates about that point. Expect to use multiple citations in each paragraph.
- Take a look at the introduction for the article you critiqued in Week 3 if you are unsure how to write your literature review. Notice how their literature review is focused on topics and a synthesis of others’ research and theory. Model your structure, tone, and “flow of thoughts” after theirs. Also, note how the authors have used citations and where they are placed.
- Create a References page that only uses references (not annotations). Be sure that your page lists your references in the proper order and that formatting and punctuation are correct.
