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LESSON ___: FEATURES AND REQUIREMENTS IN COMPOSING TEXTS THAT ARE

USEFUL ACROSS DISCIPLINES (LITERATURE REVIEW)
At the end of the lesson, the students will be able to:

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a. define literature review;

b. identify the functions, structure and guidelines of literature review; and;
c. valuate the importance of literature review.

INTRODUCTION
A literature review is a synthesis of whatever professionals or
researchers in the field are saying about a particular topic in the area. It can be
written separately from a research paper. It must be updated, and it must supply new
interpretations of the issue or subject matter based on the information presented.

What is Literature Review?

A literature review is a type of academic writing

that provides an overview of a specific topic. It surveys
scholarly work such as academic books (but not
textbooks), computerize databases, conference
proceedings, dissertation’s/theses, empirical studies
government reports, historical records, journal article,
monographs, and statistical handbooks.

As an advance form of academic writing, a literature review

critically analyzes the relationship among the scholarly works and the
current work. It can be written as a stand-alone paper or as part of a research paper
explaining a theoretical framework and related studies. Unlike an annotated bibliography
which presents a summary and synthesis (i.e., linking different sources).

Below are the differences among the sources.

Annotated Book Review Literature Review

Bibliography
Summarizes the Evaluates a book Review Reviews a significant
references and explain number of scholarly work
how important they are in in order to identify what is
addressing the research known and not known
questions about a topic

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Doing a literature review will test your ability to seek literature efficiently and
identify useful scholarly work. It will also test your ability to evaluate studies for their
validity and reliability. Hence, writing a literature review involves research, critical
appraisal, and writing. Everything else included, a student may take 40 hours to finish a
well- written literature review.

Functions of a Literature Review

This type of a review has the following roles.

 Justifies a research questions, method or theoretical and conceptual framework

 Establishes the relevant of the topic
 Provides necessary information to better understand a specific topic or study
 Shows reviewers familiarity and mastery of the topic
 Establishes a niche of the study
 Resolves conflict among contradictory studies

Structure of a Literature Review

Introduction
 Purpose for writing literature review and the importance of the topic being
reviewed
 Scope of the review
 Criteria used for selecting the literature
 Organizational pattern of the review

Body
 Historical background
 Relevant theories
 Relationship between and among the studies, and how each study advanced a
theory
 Strengths and weaknesses of each paper
 Various viewpoints on the topic

Conclusion
 Restatement of the main argument or thesis
 Main agreements and disagreements in the literature
 If stand-alone paper: conclusions; implications; and direction for future studies

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 If part of a thesis or research paper: linking of the literature review to the research
questions
 Overall perspective on the topic.

Guidelines in Writing a Literature Review

Writing a literature review is composed of three distinct parts ---literature

search, evaluation and analysis of articles and writing the literature review –all of
which are discussed below.

Literature Search
1. Review the documentation style (e.g., APA, MLA, Chicago) that you will adopt and
be familiar with its format in relation to writing a literature review.
2. Choose and focus on a topic that you will explain.
3. Determine the kind and number of sources you will be using. Will your literature
review be exclusive to articles or will it include other documents? Will you focus on
experimental studies or will you also include theoretical papers that explain a
theory?
4. Survey the available online databases relevant to your topic. These include
ProQuest, Science Direct, JSTOR, or Google Scholar. As much as possible, include
only the references published by top journals and publishers.
5. Use relevant keywords when searching for scholarly documents or article. For
example, if your topic is about the impact of Facebook-based e-portfolios on the
writing skills of ESL learners, your possible keywords are Facebook, ESL writing, e-
portfolio, portfolio assessment, Facebook-based e-portfolio, and social networking
site.
6. Always include landmark studies or papers (i.e., studies which had remarkably
changed the field) related to your topic.
7. Always evaluate the sources for coverage and currency. Include only those articles
directly related to your topic.

Evaluation and Analysis of Articles

Once you have identified and obtained the articles for your review, analyze them
before writing the actual literature review. To do this, you may apply the following
steps.

1. Skim the articles and read their abstracts.

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2. Group the articles and other documents according to their categories.

3. Take down notes. Focus on the research questions, methodology used, major
findings and their explanation, and conclusion.
4. Summarize the details using a concept map. In this way, you will see the
relationship, similarities and differences among the articles.
5. Write a synthesis of the references you have read before writing the actual
literature review.
6. Create an outline. You may look for other literature reviews to serve as models for
writing the outline.

Writing the Literature Review

Once all the materials are ready and you have clear outline of the ideas you
want to express, you may now start the actual writing process.

1. State clearly your thesis or main argument and be guided by it accordingly.

2. Below is an example of a thesis statement for a literature review.

Because of Facebook’s popularity, many educators have explored its

educational use in the tertiary level.

3. If you say that no studies have been conducted on one aspect of your topic, justify
it.
4. Direct the readers to other related literature reviews that cover items which you do
not intend to cover. You may use the citation format “(see Author, year)” or follow
the format prescribed by your chosen documentation style.
5. Never treat a literature review as a series of annotated bibliography.
6. Use headings and subheadings to classify the parts of your topic. For each topic
heading, analyze the differences among studies and look for gaps.
7. Note that each paragraph should focus on one aspect of the topic.
8. Use effective transitions to make your review easier to read and understand.
9. The body of the literature review can be organized thematically, methodologically
or chronologically.
10.Use direct quotations sparingly.
11.Classify important definitions.

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Activity 1: Write T if the statement is true and F if false.

_______1. A literature review requires skills in summarizing but not in synthesizing

information.
_______2. A literature review is an example of academic writing.

_______3. A literature review is limited only to articles.

_______4. A literature review requires skills in selecting sources.

_______5. A literature review shows a research gap.

_______6. Direct quotation should be used as frequently as possible.

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_______7. Writing a literature review involves higher-order thinking skills.

_______8. The main purpose of making a literature review is to analyze literary texts
such as short stories and novels.
_______9. The quality of review is dependent on the quality of the reviewed articles.

_______10. The scope of the review should be indicated in the introduction.

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Activity 2: Read and analyze the following literature review very carefully.
Then, complete the table that follows.

Kram (1985) has proposed that mentoring relationships develop and mature over
time, providing different levels of mentoring functions as they progress through a
sequence of four distinct phases: initiation, cultivation, separation, and redefinition.
During the initiation phase, the mentor and the protégé begin initial interactions that
involve learning the other’s personal style and work habits. He described the first six to 12
months of a relationship as characterized by musings that protégés and mentors providing
coaching, challenging work and visibility, the mentor embodies as fantasized role model
with whom the protégé begins to identify and develops positive expectations about career
development. If the relationship matures past the initiation phase, it then progresses to
the cultivation phase, in which career development, role modeling and psychosocial
mentoring functions are proposed to be at their highest. Kram (1985) further proposed
that the emotional bond between the mentor and protégé deepens and intimacy increases
during this phase. This phase may last from two to five years as the protégé learns from
the mentor and the mentor promotes and protects the protégé. Protégés gain knowledge
from the mentor, and the mentor gains loyalty and support of the protégé and feelings
that his or her values, ideas and work habits may be passed on to the protégé during the
cultivation phase. The third phase, separation, involves a structural and psychological
disconnection between the mentor and the protégé when functions provided by the
mentor decrease, and the protégé becomes independent. In the redefinition phase, the
mentor and protégé frequently develop a relationship that is more peer-like, characterized
by mutual support and informal contact. While career and psychosocial functions are less
evident, sponsorship from a distance, occasional counseling and coaching and ongoing
friendship continue. Hay (1995) believes that mentoring process is underpinned by the
following principles: recognizing that people are okay, realizing that people can change
and want to grow, understanding how people learn, recognizing individual differences,
empowering through personal and professional development, developing competence,
encouraging collaboration not competition, encouraging scholarship and a sense of

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inquiry, searching for new ideas, theories and knowledge and reflecting on past
experiences as key to understanding.
According to Mackimm, et al (2003) mentoring relationship is a special relationship
where two people make real connection. It is a protected relationship in which learning
and experimentation occur through analysis, examination, reexamination and reflection on
practice, situations, problems, mistakes and successes (of both the mentors and the
mentees) to identify learning opportunities and gaps. According to Yang (2006),
mentoring relationships range from loosely defined, informal collegial associations in which
a mentee learns by observation and example to structured formal agreements between
expert and novice co-mentors where each develops professionally through the two-way
transfer of experience and perspective. Whether the relationship is formal or informal, the
goal of mentoring is to provide career advice as well as both professional and personal
enrichment. It is important that the mentor and the mentee have a clear grasp of the
mentoring process for maximum benefits of this special relationship. For mentoring to be
effective, the mentee together with the mentor needs to reflect on the experiences in
school and attempts to understand the experience through analysis and conceptualization.
The individual makes choices based on analyzing the implications. She/he identifies
options, decides on what to do next and undergoes another experience.
Mentoring relationship is classified as formal or informal, and short term or long
term (Goodyear, 2006). Formal mentoring is usually mandatory and institutionalized by
the school or agency. The meetings are determined, monitored and evaluated based on
clearly articulated goals and milestones. Informal mentoring relationship is more
spontaneous and springs from the mentee’s intrinsic desire to become better. The choice
of the mentor is based on trust and confidence. Another type of mentoring is the duration
of the relationship which can be short term and long term. A short term mentoring usually
addresses a set of specific needs. Long term mentoring is based on the broad based goals
incorporated in the professional development career of the institution or agency. Whether
the mentoring relationship is formal or informal, short term or long term, literature proves
that mentoring has improved the teacher’s personal artistry and professional skill in the
workplace.
Source: (taken from the research article of Dayagbil, et al.)

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Research Topic:

List down the

authorities cited in
the literature What is the idea implied?
review

Source: Critical Reading and Writing, Dayagbil, 2016 pp. 137-139

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Activity 3: Read and summarize five journal articles about the topic
below. Don’t forget to indicate your sources.

Research Topic: Facebook Engagement of Students

Journal Article # 1
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Journal Article # 2 ___________________________________________________

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Journal Article # 3
___________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

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Journal Article # 4 ___________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

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Journal Article # 5
___________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

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_________________________________________________________________

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Rubric in Summarizing Journal

3 points 2 points 1 point

Good Fair Poor

The article is clearly The article is clearly The article summary

but succinctly summarized, but is unclear or overly
summarized - only some sub points are detailed, so long as
the key points of the addressed along to appear more like
Summary
article are touched with main points. a short, unclear
upon. The article The summary is not article than a
summary takes up no succinct, is too long summary.
more than one third and cumbersome
of the total
assignment.
Good Fair Poor

Article selected is Article selected may Article is barely

current (<5 years), be current (<5 related to task or is
topic is specific to years) or somewhat grossly out dated (>
Article Choice task. Article older, topic is related 10 years). Article
published in peer- to task, but less not from acceptable
reviewed scholarly specific. Article source.
journal. published in peer-
reviewed scholarly
journal.
Good Fair Poor

Summary is well Paper is organized, Paper is not well

organized, and has an intro, body organized, has an
clearly stated. The and conclusion. The unclear or non-
points of the article purpose of the paper existent intro, body
Organization are clear from the becomes clear within and conclusion. The
very beginning and the paper and the purpose of the
the name and author name and author of paper is unclear and
of the article is made the article is the name and
clear early in the mentioned within the author of the article
paper. paper. is not stated or
stated late.

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Good Fair Poor

APA and page length APA and page length

APA and page
Mechanics
(1) requirements are (1) requirements are
length (2-3 pages)
Requirement
met and there are no met and there are 1-
requirements are
s
grammatical errors or 4 grammatical errors
not met. There are
typos. or typos. 5+ grammatical
errors or typos.
Source: https://www.rcampus.com/rubricshowc.cfm?code=E9896B&sp=yes&

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