Writing the Literature Review!

So we've sampled the literature through the annotation process, taken notes, etc., now it's time to put it together in a lit review.

This is not very different from the other formal academic writing you've done in the past. You'll have an intro with a thesis, a body of support (made up of the predetermined categories of HO, CTP, CD, etc.), and a concluding section. This is, really, the first half of your larger research paper.

That being the case, you should make some sort of reference to your project. You have several options for this: you can do it in the intro/thesis; you can do it as part of the analysis/concluding thoughts in your body paragraphs; you can do it in the conclusion; you can do it in all those places. Just do it (Nike)! Notice my citation.

As you weave the research into the paper, remember to vary your approach in integrating quotes and paraphrased material. Good writing will do this in number of ways. The Integrating Quotes handout is a good resource/review on different strategies for this. Part of the rubric is tied to your use of these different strategies. Remember that anytime you borrow somebody's direct words or paraphrase their ideas/work, it deserves an APA citation. Be sure you attempt to correctly use what we call "in text" citation of your sources, following the APA format. Consult the OWL APA Guidelines for In Text Citation as you work on this.

If you're visual and you want to see a pretty good model of a finished lit. review product, check out this paper: Lit. Review Example It's a little on the long side for your first version of your lit. review, but it's a decent holistic model that does the things you're supposed to do according to the rubric.

Notice, for instance, in the example how they have a title page (you must do this), their use of leveled APA headings, and a reference page that is properly formatted, with only the references they used in their paper, no annotations.

Finally, keep the Literature Review Rubric close at hand during this process. There is no excuse for NOT doing well if you follow this and strive to format according to APA guidelines.

You can do this ... don't leave it to the last moment ... you'll be fine.

Hard copies are due for turn in/class activities on Tuesday, 10/18. No excuses.