语言教学 | 普渡大学写作教学系列Teacher&Tutor Resource29-Teaching Resources(2)

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1. Writing Workshops for Graduate Students

（3）Literature Reviews

About This Handout

The literature review, whether embedded in an introduction or standing as an independent section, is often one of the most difficult sections to compose in academic writing. A literature review requires the writer to perform extensive research on published work in one’s field in order to explain how one’s own work fits into the larger conversation regarding a particular topic. This task requires the writer to spend time reading, managing, and conveying information; the complexity of literature reviews can make this section one of the most challenging parts of writing about one’s research. This handout will provide some strategies for revising literature reviews.

Organizing Literature Reviews

Because literature reviews convey so much information in a condensed space, it is crucial to organize your review in a way that helps readers make sense of the studies you are reporting on. Two common approaches to literature reviews are chronological—ordering studies from oldest to most recent—and topical—grouping studies by subject or theme. Along with deliberately choosing an overarching structure that fits the writer’s topic, the writer should assist readers by using headings, incorporating brief summaries throughout the review, and using language that explicitly names the scope of particular studies within the field of inquiry, the studies under review, and the domain of the writer’s own research. When revising your own literature review, or a peer’s, it may be helpful to ask yourself the some of the following questions:

Questions for Revision

1) Is the literature review organized chronologically or by topic? Is the writer clear about which approach is being used in the review?

2) Does the writer use headings or paragraph breaks to show distinctions in the groups of studies under consideration?

3) Does the writer explain why certain groups of studies (or individual studies) are being reviewed by drawing a clear connection to his or her topic?

4) Does the writer make clear which of the studies described are most important?

5) Does the writer cover all important areas of research related to his or her topic?

6) Does the writer use transitions and summaries to move from one study or set of studies to the next?

7) By the end of the literature review, is it clear why the current research is necessary?

Showing the Gaps

The primary purpose of the literature review is to demonstrate why the author’s study is necessary. Depending on the writer’s field, it may or may not be clear that research on a particular topic is necessary for advancing knowledge. As the writer composes the literature review, he or she must construct an argument of sorts to establish the necessity of his or her research. Therefore, one of the key tasks for writers is to establish where gaps in current research lie. The writer must show what has been overlooked, understudied, or misjudged by previous studies in order to create space for the new research within an area of academic or scientific inquiry.

Questions for Revision

1) Does the review mentions flaws, gaps, or shortcomings of specific studies or groups of studies?

2) Does the author point out areas that have not yet been researched or have not yet been researched sufficiently?

3) Does the review demonstrate a change over time or recent developments that make the author’s research relevant now?

4) Does the author discuss research methods used to study this topic and/or related topics?

5) Does the author clearly state why his or her research is necessary?

WORKS CONSULTED

Galvan, Jose L. Writing Literature Reviews: A Guide for Students of the Social and Behavioral Sciences. Los Angeles: Pyrczak Publishing, 1999. Print.

（4）Style

About This Handout

When we write, we spend much of our energy on developing our ideas, making sure that we include all necessary information and that our ideas flow together logically. While the content and structure of our papers are crucial for ensuring communication, we also need to spend time developing the style of our writing to increase clarity and understanding. Though each discipline will have its own specifications for its preferred style of writing, several principles of style are widely accepted in academic writing contexts in the U.S.

Subjects

In grammar, a subject of a sentence is described as the thing in the sentence doing the action. One key to a clear writing style is to make open sentences with short concrete subjects that make it easy for readers to understand who or what is responsible for the action in the sentence. Consider the difference in the following two sentences:

The obtaining of more consistent data was achieved by modifying the process.

More consistent data was obtained by modifying the process.

By rewriting the sentence to use a shorter, more concrete subject, we can shorten the length of our sentences and make our writing easier to understand. Shortening the subjects of our sentences also lets readers get to the verb faster, helping them to see the sentence’s action more quickly.

Verbs

In general, it’s helpful to use strong, specific verbs. Try to stay away from conjugations of the verb “to be” (am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been), as well as the verbs “has,” “have,” and “had”. Though it often feels natural to use these verbs, they don’t offer much concrete information about what’s happening in a sentence. Consider the following two examples:

The difference in the two studies is their methods.

The two studies employ different methods.

Again, we can create shorter, more direct sentences by using a strong, concrete verb. Further, the use of a verb like “employ” gives readers more information about the differences between the two studies.

Wordiness

In general, wordiness means to use more words than necessary to convey a thought. Especially in scientific and business writing contexts, concision is considered to be important because it adds clarity while saving readers time. We can avoid wordiness by deleting excess words and condensing our language. Look at the two sets of examples below to see wordy phrases (and their revisions):

The results basically occurred because of the various different approaches that were implemented in an accurate manner.

The results occurred because of the different approaches that were accurately implemented.

The company’s response to the problem was unusual in nature.

The company responded unusually to the problem.

Again, avoiding wordiness can shorten the length of writing, making it easier for readers to understand our points.

Questions for Revision

1) What do the subjects of the sentences in this paper look like? Are they able to be condensed in any way?

2) Is it possible to combine sentences in order to use fewer subjects?

3) Are there any places where a pronoun (he, she, it, they) could be used to shorten a subject?

4) Are there many forms of “to be” used in this paper (am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been)? Are they used heavily or sparingly?

5) Are the verbs “has,” “have,” and “had” used heavily or sparingly?

6) Are the verbs located near to their subjects?

7) Are excess words or phrases used?

8) Are there any redundant words?

9) Are there any nominalizations (using verbs as a noun), e.g. “realization” for “realize” or “decision” for “decide”?

WORKS CITED

Williams, Joseph M. and Gregory G. Colomb. Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace. 10th ed. Pearson Education: Boston, 2010. Print.

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