LITERATURE REVIEW ASSIGNMENT (35% of Final Grade)
The purpose of the stand-alone literature review is to provide a summary, synthesis, and critical evaluation
of the literature relevant to your specific research question or aim. The literature review will contribute something
new to the topic, so it will not be a discussion that has been repeated or previously established in the past.
Your literature review assignment for this course should focus on how multiple scholars have examined the
“knowledge popularization”, “knowledge dissemination” or “science communication” of a specific topic in areas of
the “harder” sciences (Health Sciences, Natural Sciences, Computer Science, Applied Sciences, etc.).
Writing a literature review will give you the opportunity to demonstrate skills in two main areas: (1)
information seeking: the ability to scan the literature efficiently and to identify a set of useful articles and books and (2)
critical appraisal: the ability to apply principles of synthesis to analyze unbiased and valid studies.
This scientific/academic genre is not composed of just a descriptive list of the material available, or a set of
summaries.
Detailed Instructions:
These are the rhetorical movies and steps that readers of your literature review will expect to see:
Larger Structure Moves & Steps Involved – Explanation
Title The title should indicate the topic/issue that will be
explored in your literature review.
Introduction Move A)
• Provides general background
information;
• Establishes the focus and goal(s) of the literature
review, issues to be explored, the research gap,
and the research question;
• Briefly presents the methods used for data
collection (e.g. where and how you found the
sources; what keywords you used and the
inclusion/exclusion criteria, how you organized
the data).
Establishing the territory Move B)
• Summarizes, synthesizes, and evaluates
(reviews) the studies under review by
orchestrating scholarly voices (gives an
overview of the main points of each source and
combines them into a coherent whole)
Discussion – Establishing the niche Move C)
• Discusses and assesses the literature adding
the writer’s own interpretations from an overall
perspective, considering the questions and
issues raised in the introduction.
Main Body
UBC – WRDS150B – Writing and Research in the Disciplines – Instructor: Dr. Laura Baumvol
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Readers of your literature review will appreciate seeing the use of the following stylistic features:
• Integral and non-integral citations that manage your readers’ experience of the conversation(s) you are
constructing in your review
• Reporting expressions with reporting verbs that capture the research activities, findings, claims, ideas being
reported
• A mix of levels of information (high, mid, and low) that help your reader understand the sources’ reasoning
• A mid- to higher-level introduction that frames the goals, purposes, and questions/issues you are addressing
in your review
• Use of hedging to attenuate your assessments and claims about others’ studies
• Use of self-mentions (first person) and/or agentless passive features (passive voice) that help you position
yourself and articulate your own reasoning, goals, focus of review, etc.
• Requirements:
• You must incorporate at least two sources of your Annotated Bibliography assignment into your Literature
Review.
• A successful literature review will analyze and synthesize a total of 6 sources (being at least two from your
Annotated Bibliography assignment) in the main body. These sources should be chosen based on the
issues/question you wish to address in your literature review. They should help you narrow the focus of your
literature review to a set of issues and questions you wish to explore.
• Format:
• Word limit 1300-1600 words (10% more or 10% less) (Word count does not include identifying information
or reference list)
• Please add the word count to the very bottom of your Literature Review (before your references)
• Title Page: Follow instructions on https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/student-title-page-guide.pdf
or on the pdf posted on Canvas
• Use 1.5 space for your sentences.
• Use 12-point font (either Times New Roman or Arial) and make sure your margins are the standard 1 inch
margin on all sides.
• Use APA Citation Style.
(Instructions adapted from Dr. Jackie Rea’s materials.)
Conclusion Move D)
• Discusses the limitations of your own research;
• Makes suggestions for future research based on
the gaps you have ident
THREE SCHOLARLY SOURCES ARE GIVEN IN THE ATTACHED DOCUMENT, 3 MORE ARE TO BE FOUND
Last Completed Projects
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