Literature Review

Directions:

1. After receiving approval of the Issue/Research Question you submitted in Module 3, locate
FIVE credible, current (since 2011) journal articles, trade magazine articles, newspaper articles,
or online publications from professional associations in your discipline. I encourage you to do
more than “Google” your topic. Instead, use what you have learned about Mason’s databases
and the resources available at the professional association websites to locate recent research
and studies on the issue you have chosen.

2. Following the resources attached in Module 4, compose a draft of your Literature Review,
following the DIRECTIONS, the SAMPLE, the “Writing a Literature Review” resource from the
Mason Writing Center, and the other attached resources.

3. This draft needs only six, well-developed paragraphs:

Paragraph # 1 – Overview of the Issue (define/explain WHAT the issue is, WHY it is currently an
issue in your field, HOW LONG it has been as issue, and WHAT arguments/counterarguments
are being presented. Remember, unlike a research paper, a Literature Review does NOT
present a claim and then try to prove it. Instead, a Literature Review writer “develops a
question and then looks at how other researchers in published studies have answered this and
related questions. The writer (you) then analyzes the points these studies have made and
determines how each has addressed the question “(“Writing a Literature Review”).
PARAGRAPHS # 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 – In each paragraph, focus on one of the articles you read, by
explaining the author’s purpose, how the author(s) attempts to answer your research question,
and how this article/study supports or refutes one or more of the other four articles you
found. Include direct quotes from each article, not simply summary or paraphrase.

4. Format your Draft, as always, following MLA or APA manuscript format (heading, pagination,
and double-spacing)and use correct in-text and Works Cited (MLA) or References (APA) page
format.