The purpose of the literature review The literature review is the next intellectual exercise after you have a good bibliography, and a concise thesis statement about your topic. The assignment on commented bibliography will be very helpful to conduct the literature review.Remember that the purpose of the literature review is to discuss published information in a particular subject area. It gives an overview of the previous studies, debates, issues and question in this subject area. It combines both summary and synthesis to develop an in-depth understanding of your topic. Although the literature review shares similarities with the commented bibliography, they serve different purposes. The literature review is not just a list of bibliographic data that shows the contribution of each document. It is a text written to consider the critical points of current knowledge, a confrontation of the different studies selected, to contextualize your research and to provide evidence for the arguments you want to make. • Focus on gaps, weaknesses, problems or controversies that emerge in the literature selected in your particular subject area • Show how this literature supports or contradicts your thesis statement • Identify key concepts, theories, definitions, or models that are discussed in the literature and that are useful to understand your perspective How to conduct a literature review? The literature review is divided in 3 parts: 1. Introduction: Gives a quick idea of the topic of the literature review, such as the central theme or organizational pattern.

2. Body: Contains your discussion of sources and is organized either chronologically, thematically, or methodologically 3. Conclusion: Discuss what you have drawn from reviewing literature so far. Where might the discussion proceed?