Literature Review and Practical Requirements as for Writing It

So you decided to write down a literature review. You have already checked your topic and sources for referencing. You need something more. However, you do not know how to move forth. Hence, you are reading the right article!

It is vital to define what is so special about writing literature review? Students may confuse it with research papers or reports. Some may get involved into a fallacy that it is just referencing sources after proper quotations. In fact, do not make any conclusions about correct writing of a literature review.

Literature review: Requirements

There are several steps in making successful review of literature with points on main features of sources and their relevance to a definite theme:

1. Count the number of required sources. You are to be accurate in the amount of materials for your research. It is a matter of your ability to select sources thoroughly according to their number.
2. A literature review touches upon the character of the sources. Look at the professor’s requirements once more. Define whether these should be academic sources (journal articles, books etc.) or one may also relate to magazine and newspaper articles as well as web pages?
3. Roughly evaluate your sources. A literature review is a kind of critical analysis of publications. 
4. Determine the priorities of each source. You are to designate the hierarchy of your sources, so that to make your literature review well-connected.
5. Analyze each source of your review of literature. Provide main objectives in every source. Search the pivots which are emphasized by an author. Provide an interpretation of the source. It should be less like ordinary summary, but a critique of a source related to the main theme.