The purpose of a literature review is to, as the name suggests, “review” the literature surrounding a certain topic area. The word “literature” means “sources of information” or “research.” The literature will inform you about the research that has already been conducted on your chosen subject.

If you are going to propose your own study, as when writing a thesis, dissertation, or research proposal, your literature review must be relevant to the work you plan to do.

A literature review is NOT an annotated bibliography. You will not start a new section each time you talk about a new work. Several works can and probably will be mentioned in the same paragraph. While an annotated bibliography only demonstrates how particular sources will be used in a study, a literature review also shows how the sources interact with each other.

At the end of your literature review, you will provide a works cited, bibliography, or references page. The format will depend on your field.

The following are brief descriptions of techniques that you might use in your literature review. Choose the approaches that are the most pertinent to your rhetorical situation.



A literature review compiles and evaluates the research available on a certain topic or issue that you are researching and writing about.

Because lit review formats vary greatly, be sure to read your professor’s instructions first and defer to them.

A typical writing process for a literature review follows these steps：