Abstract – One paragraph
This week, you will also learn about the abstract for your literature review. The abstract is your opportunity to summarize your work for the reader before they read the full paper. The average abstract is typically 100-300 words. It includes the following components:
- First, introduce the topic of your literature review.
- Second, describe the research methods used for gathering literature for your review.
- Third, present what you concluded from the literature review investigation.
- Fourth, provide any keywords the reader should look out for.
Introduction – Approx. 2-3 pages
Step 1: The first paragraph of the introduction should introduce the topic to the reader.
For instance, it is recommended to make the first sentence of your introduction a strong one. You can typically do this by using a statistic that grabs your readers attention. An example of this would be,
- Seventy-five percent of first-year students who enter college report feeling anxious about their college courses.
This statistic informs the reader that the topic is relevant and important to consider.
Step 2: The next set of paragraphs (2-3) should provide background information on the topic. You’ll want to provide enough context for your reader to understand the research including the definition of important terms/terminology.
Step 3: After providing the background information. You’ll want to create a header (left-justified and bolded) and label it “Research Problem.” Then, outline the research problem your literature review plans to address.
Step 4: After that, create another header (left-justified and bolded) and label it “Purpose Statement.” The purpose statement should be approximately two-three sentences that explain why the research is relevant. Underneath the purpose statement sentence include, the research question(s). It is essential to outline the research question for the reader so that the literature review (body of the paper) can answer the question.
Step 5: Lastly, create a final header (left-justified and bolded) and label it “Relevancy of the Research.” For this section, provide a short paragraph discussing why the research is important and to who your paper is for (policy makers, educators, researchers, everyday individuals, etc).
Conclusion – Approx. 2 pages
This week, you will learn about writing the conclusion of your paper. The conclusion is the closing of your literature review paper. This section of the paper is 2 pages.
The conclusion is your opportunity to do the following:
- First, clearly answer the research question(s) presented in the introduction of your paper.
- Remind the reader/audience of the research questions and provide an answer for each based on the findings from the literature review. **You should still be using a paragraph format. Consider one-paragraph for each research question.
- Second, summarize and reflect on the literature review research process used.
- Discuss the search process used to find scholarly literature to write the literature review.
- Third, provide recommendations for future research.
- Discuss what new information your future researchers should consider if conducting research on the same (or similar) topic.
- Discuss the gap in information your literature review will fill.
- Share how the information uncovered through critical analysis of the literature provides a new perspective or consideration.
- Wrap up any final details.
In addition to the above, you also need to:
- Cite any and all reference material using APA format.
- **Please note that you do not need to have any sub-headers. All you need is one header, bolded and center justified, that states “Conclusion“