TERM PAPER: LITERATURE REVIEW ASSIGNMENT GUIDELINES Overview For your end-of-sem

TERM PAPER: LITERATURE REVIEW ASSIGNMENT GUIDELINES
Overview
For your end-of-semester assignment, you will be writing an 8-10-page argumentative literature
review on a topic related to race and ethnicity. You are to pick any social issue, and/or theoretical
or empirical aspect related to race and ethnicity, and write a summary and critical evaluation
of the existing literature on your topic, by framing your evaluation argumentatively. I.e. You will
be aiming to make an argument through the use of evidence via literature on your topic. Your topic
does not necessarily have to on an issue discussed in class, you are welcome to pick a topic not
discussed in class. However, if you are unsure about whether your topic is appropriate for a
literature review, meet with me to discuss your topic.
Writing a Literature Review
A literature review assignment is a broad-ranging, critical view of the literature on a particular
topic. It is similar to the literature review of a thesis, with one major difference: the main aim of a
literature review assignment is to summarize and critically evaluate the literature to establish
current knowledge of a topic.
What should I include in my literature review assignment?
Your literature review assignment should include the following:
 The main ideas, theories and concepts related to your topic.
 Areas of agreement and disagreement related to your topic
 Any problems or gaps in the literature related to your topic.
Here are some things to think about:
 What are some common themes?
 Compare and contrast the various findings, arguments, theories, and methodologies in the
literature.
 What do the authors agree or disagree about? What are the major areas of disagreement,
controversy, or debate?
 Critique the literature; synthesize and evaluate the research, don’t just describe or report it.
Look for any assumptions or bias in the literature.
What is ‘the literature’?
The literature refers to previous work or sources of information relevant to your topic. There are
three sources of materials:
 Primary sources: First-hand reports of original studies, mainly found in academic journal
articles.
 Secondary sources: Critical evaluations and syntheses of original studies.
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 Tertiary sources: Information and ideas often put together from primary or secondary
sources, such as text books, encyclopedias, etc.
You should mainly use primary sources and perhaps the occasional secondary source.
Should I use quotes or paraphrases?
Quotations are usually used only for:
 definitions of technical terms or key words and concepts
 particularly significant phrasing
 maintaining the writer’s specific intention.
Paraphrases are the main method of citing authors. The advantages of paraphrasing are:
 showing that you understand and can interpret the original material
 allowing you to maintain your own voice.
What reporting verbs should I use?
It is important that you are accurate in the way you report and interpret the work of others. When
selecting reporting verbs to incorporate the work of other writers, you need to reflect the intention
of the original work. You should also show your opinion of that work and how it relates to your
discussion of the issues. For example:
Lewis (2013) explains the link between …
Myers and Miller (2011) have conceded that their findings should not be …
The findings have been criticized as lacking validity because … (see Lee, Jones, & Elwood,
2013).
Hadan (2014) criticizes previous researchers for …
Several research teams singled out the importance of … (Browne, 2013; Trang, 2012;
McKay, 2014).
These examples use APA referencing style; you are also welcome to use ASA or Chicago or MLA
format, as long as your referencing style is consistent.
How should I structure my literature review assignment?
Your literature review should have a clearly organized structure with an introduction and
conclusion.
Note that your literature review is not a summary of studies in your field presented one by one,
paragraph by paragraph. Instead, you need to structure the body of your literature review in themes
or ideas, synthesizing information from various sources.