Is Munchausen by Proxy a Real Sickness?
Week 8: Writing a Literature Review
For this assignment you will write a 5-7 page literature review, double spaced. This
assignment is intended to be an introduction for you on writing literature reviews,
something you may be requested to do for future classes (including your senior
thesis project) and/or professional projects. You are going to write a small-scale or
what is also called a selective literature review. Start this early in the week to give
yourself plenty of time to create a well-written and polished literature review.
This assignment is worth 250 points and is due Sunday at midnight.
To prepare for this assignment, do the following prewriting and planning:
Review the 6 sources cited in your annotated bibliography (NOTE: You are
welcome to cite more sources, if you wish).
Follow this outline for your review:
I. Introduction In the introduction you should:
A. define or identify the general topic, issue, or area of concern point out
overall trends in what has already been published
B. establish your point of view for reviewing the literature [Include
your research question!]
C. indicate the organization of the review
II. Body In the body you should:
A. group research studies and other relevant literature according to a
common theme [for example, you may find prevailing theories and/or
practices involved with your research; you can use these as thematic
sections for the body of your literature review]
B. summarize each item of the literature appropriately according to its
significance
C. compare and evaluate each item of the literature
D. provide topic sentences at the beginning of paragraphs and summary
sentences at the end of sections to help the reader understand what the main
issues are
III. Conclusion In the conclusion you should:
A. summarize the literature maintaining the focus presented in the
introduction
B. evaluate the current”state of the art”[or state of the topic that represents
your research question] [by] pointing out gaps in the literature,
inconsistencies and issues that are important for future study
C. conclude by giving some insight into the relationship between your topic
and a larger area of study or area of professional practice
The following elements are required for your literature review:
A. Your literature review must be 5-7 pages in length, double spaced (not
including your references or works cited list), using a 12-point, Times
New Roman font
B. Include a References list (APA format) at the end of your literature review
C. The References list should be on a separate page following the literature
review
D. Refer to the style guide in the LBSU302 Libguide for how to incorporate
in-text or parenthetical citations throughout the body of your literature
review and for formatting the citations in your references or works cited
list properly.
Editing Your Literature Review and Getting Help with the Assignment
Once you have completed a draft of your literature review, read it aloud, ask another
person you trust to read it for clarity and consistency, and make the necessary edits
to polish your draft into a well-written final version.