Academic Research Booklet

26

Literature review You only need to include a literature review in an essay if you are told to do so. Extended Essays do not include literature reviews. A literature review tells the reader what sources were used and why and covers how the resource has been used in your essay. It identifies what sections of the essay the source(s) relates to and/ or what points it helped you make as well as the perspective a source offered or the information it conveyed In this instance ‘perspective’ and ‘information’ mean summary information rather than literal facts and figures or specific quotes which are better placed in your essay. In the literature review you should only refer to resources you actually used in your essay. Your literature review should include a short introduction and a short conclusion

Introduction (3-5 sentences): What needed to be researched to answer the question?

Starting most likely with a broad understanding before narrowing to more focused reading. What type of sources were best for answering the question? You can state in the introduction that you focused on using credible sources such as academic journal articles, this will avoid needing to state the same for each source throughout your literature review and becoming repetitive.