GENERAL REVISION AND KEY NOTES - SS3 Literature Past Questions and Answers - page 1

Key Elements of an Effective Literary Review

An effective literary review is one that is clear, concise, comprehensive, critical, and objective.

• Clarity and conciseness: The review should be well-written and easy to understand. The reviewer should avoid using jargon or overly technical language. The review should also be concise, focusing on the most important information.
• Comprehensiveness: The review should cover all of the relevant research on the topic. The reviewer should carefully select the studies to be included in the review, ensuring that they are representative of the body of research on the topic.
• Critical evaluation: The review should not simply summarize the findings of previous studies. The reviewer should also evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of these studies, identifying any gaps in the research literature.
• Objectivity: The review should be free from bias. The reviewer should avoid expressing their own opinions or beliefs as facts.
• Originality: The review should offer new insights or perspectives on the topic. The reviewer should not simply repeat what has been said by others.

In addition to these key elements, an effective literary review should also be well-organized and well-argued. The reviewer should use clear transitions to move from one point to the next. The review should also be well-supported by evidence from the research literature.

Challenges of Writing a Literary Review

Writing a literary review can be a challenging task. Some of the challenges of writing a literary review include:

• Finding and selecting relevant research: There is a vast amount of research published on most literary topics. It can be difficult to find all of the relevant research, and it can be even more difficult to select the most important studies to include in the review.
• Evaluating the quality of research: Not all research is created equal. Reviewers need to be able to assess the quality of the research they are using, and they need to be able to identify any potential biases or limitations in the research.
• Synthesizing findings from multiple studies: Reviewers need to be able to synthesize findings from multiple studies into a coherent and cohesive whole. This can be a difficult task, especially if the studies are using different methodologies or are coming to different conclusions.
• Writing a clear and concise review: Reviewers need to be able to write a clear and concise review that is easy to understand. They need to avoid using jargon or overly technical language, and they need to be able to present their findings in a way that is both informative and engaging.