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A Literature Review is NOT AN ESSAY!

  • Tom

  • April 21, 2025

A comprehensive literature review is often essential for any dissertation or research project. However, many students struggle with the literature review due to lack of experience with writing one before they get to their final year project.

A literature review is NOT AN ESSAY! I’ve lost count of how many students have tried to write their literature review as if it’s an essay. The only similarity between a literature review and an essay is that both contain an introduction, middle and conclusion. Other than that, they are completely different!

Please note that some dissertations/research projects may just be a long literature review. In this case you may need to think about how to theme your chapters/sections. What we are focusing on here is a literature review that is part of a research study.

It’s also worth noting that there is a huge difference between a narrative literature review, which is what we are discussing here, and a systematic review. A systematic review is a research study in itself and you can read more about those here.

What is it?

The goal of a narrative literature review is to tell the back story leading up to your project. Throughout the literature review it is very important to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of the key theories, concepts and terminology relating to your topic. By the end of your literature review the reader needs to have answers to the following questions:

  • What has been written already on your topic or related topics?
  • What are the similarities and differences between previous studies on your topic?
  • Are there any key debates, controversies or inconsistencies on your topic?
  • What are the gaps in knowledge on your topic and which of these will your study address?
  • What is the relationship between the research that exists and your study?
  • Why is your study needed?

How do I do it?

A literature review is NOT just a list of sources that are simply described one after the other. It must be written critically and identify the shortcomings of previous research on your topic. It’s worth remembering throughout that the main aim is to provide a convincing case for the need for your study. For this reason, it’s good to think about the literature review as a story:

  1. Introduction (10%): provide an outline for your literature review.
  2. Middle (80%): discuss the main aspects from relevant literature on your topic and identify any gaps that your study will address. Make sure you relate the literature to your research question.
  3. Conclusion (10%): summarise the main gaps in previous research you have identified and use them to provide a clear rationale for the need for your study and your research question.

What’s the best way to structure the middle part?

There are a few different options when it comes to structuring the main body or middle section of your literature review so that it tells a logical and coherent story. These can either be used on their own or in combination with one another:

  • Thematic (most common): look at themes in existing literature that are relevant to your study and discuss each in turn.
  • Broad to specific: start with the ‘bigger picture’ themes (usually theoretical literature) and progressively focus on the studies most similar to yours (usually these are more empirical research studies).
  • Chronological: chart the development of research on your topic over time.

How should my paragraphs look in the middle part?

It’s usual to think of each of your paragraphs like a mini essay. I always suggest using the WEED model for writing clear paragraphs in the literature review. This also works for other kinds of academic writing, but I think it works particularly well for a literature review:

  • WHAT - topic sentence – what is the topic of the paragraph? Each paragraph should only cover one topic.
  • EVIDENCE/EXAMPLE 1 – what literature supports what you are saying?
  • EVIDENCE/EXAMPLE 2 – what other literature supports your topic or disagrees with it?
  • DO - sum up – so what? – what is the relevance of this literature to your topic? This is very important as it is your commentary on the evidence.

Here’s an example of a paragraph based on the WEED model:

By its very nature, motivation requires a degree of individual satisfaction or narcissism. Robbins et al (1998) suggest that motivation has as its basis the need to focus on, and please the self. This is supported by Shaw, Shapard and Waugaman (2000) who contend that this narcissistic drive is based upon the human effort to find personal significance in life. It can be argued that the desire to improve one’s status is a highly motivational force, and is central to the idea of narcissistic motivation. The narcissistic motivational strategies put forward by Shaw et al (2000) are concerned with motivation for life in general, but may also have applications in the context of work. These strategies, with their focus on personal needs, demonstrate that narcissism is an essential component of motivation

  1. The first sentence is the topic sentence, outlining your main claim or key point for that paragraph.
  2. The second sentence is the first statement of evidence from the literature.
  3. The third sentence is the second statement of evidence from the literature.
  4. The fourth and fifth sentences are the student analysis.
  5. The final sentence is the conclusion.

Whilst the example paragraph above is good, it could be improved by the use of further citations. This can be achieved by grouping studies together and listing them in brackets like this: (Georgini & Nathanaelos 2024; Sittingbourne, 2020; Tabs and Gabb, 2022). Grouping studies like this is useful for three reasons:

  1. It helps you to avoid simply describing one study after another;
  2. It helps you demonstrate your understanding of the similarities and differences between studies;
  3. It saves those precious words!

Get help from Gibbons Academic with your literature review NOW by booking an online session or sending your draft work for review and detailed written or verbal feedback with suggestions for improvement from an expert.

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