How to Write a Literature Review: A Step-by-Step Guide

A literature review is a focused piece of academic writing that examines existing literature on a specific subject to show what is already known, how ideas connect, and where gaps remain. Steps for writing a literature review include establishing a clear research focus, engaging critically with relevant academic sources, identifying key themes and gaps across the literature, and shaping those insights into a structured discussion that explains how existing research fits together.

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What Is the Purpose of a Literature Review?

The purpose of a literature review is to explain how your research fits into what is already known and why it is worth studying. You usually write it when working on a research paper, thesis, or dissertation, after settling on a topic and research question. A strong literature review helps:

• Show what researchers have already said about the topic
• Point out patterns, disagreements, and recurring ideas
• Explain where your study adds something new
• Connect your work to existing theories and findings
• Justify the direction and focus of your research
• Give readers the background they need to follow your paper

For a clearer look at how explanation-driven writing works in practice, see our guide on how to write an informative essay.

Literature Review: Take a Quiz and See How Well You Actually Understand It

Literature Review Format

A literature review doesn’t come with a single standard layout. How it’s structured depends on the discipline and the citation style your course or journal requires. In most cases, the review is written as a section of a larger paper, so it follows the same formatting rules throughout. APA and MLA are the formats students encounter most often, and each one affects how the review is presented on the page.

APA Literature Review Format

APA is widely used in psychology, education, nursing, and other health-related fields. A literature review written in APA follows the same structure and formatting rules as the rest of the paper. Key elements include:

• Title page: Presents the paper title, author’s name, and institutional affiliation.
• Introduction: Sets up the topic, explains the purpose of the review, and outlines why the research area matters.
• Body: Organized around themes or shared ideas, using clear headings to highlight trends, patterns, or debates in the research rather than individual sources.
• In-text citations: Use the author’s last name and year of publication, with page numbers included when referring to specific details.
• References: Lists all cited sources alphabetically on a separate page, following APA citation rules exactly.

MLA Literature Review Format

MLA is most commonly used in humanities disciplines such as literature, history, and cultural studies. A literature review written in MLA follows the same formatting rules as the rest of the paper. Key elements include:

• First page: Includes the student’s name, instructor’s name, course, date, and a centered title. A separate title page is used only if required.
• Introduction: Establishes the topic, scope, and focus of the literature review.
• Body: Organized around shared ideas, themes, or interpretations across texts rather than individual sources.
• In-text citations: Use the author’s last name and page number, without publication dates.
• Works Cited: Lists all referenced sources alphabetically, formatted according to MLA guidelines.

Literature Review Outline

A literature review outline shows what you’ll cover in the introduction, how the main discussion is organized, and how everything wraps up. A clear outline keeps you from drifting into summaries and helps you stay focused on ideas, patterns, and gaps instead of individual sources.

Here’s a basic outline:

Introduction

• A brief background of the topic
• Explanation of why the topic matters
• Clear research question or focus
• Scope of sources included

Body

• Key concepts or definitions
• Major themes or trends in the literature
• Comparison of findings across studies
• Discussion of disagreements or debates
• Gaps, limits, or weaknesses in existing research

Conclusion

• Summary of the main patterns and insights
• Restatement of key gaps in the literature
• Connection to future research or the larger paper

Harvard format is another widely used academic style, and you can learn its key citation rules and examples with our guide. 

Literature Review Outline Example

For a clearer sense of structure, hierarchy, and formatting, see the visual example that breaks it all down.

How to Write a Literature Review

To write a literature review, start by clarifying your research focus, then locate and evaluate academic sources that genuinely support your topic. As you read, shift your attention toward recurring themes, debates, and gaps rather than individual studies, and use those patterns to plan a structure that lets you write with intention and analytical purpose.

The steps below break down this process in detail, showing how each stage builds upon the last and helps turn sources into a clear discussion.

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Step 1: Start with a Focused Search Strategy

Writing literature reviews begins with knowing what you’re looking for. Before opening databases, define your topic in a sentence or two and list the key terms connected to it. This keeps your search targeted instead of overwhelming.

Search broadly at first, then narrow as you notice which terms scholars use most often. Follow citation trails in useful articles and check reference lists to find additional studies. If the results feel scattered, revisit your topic statement and tighten it before continuing.

Step 2: Choose Sources that Earn Their Place

This is where judgment comes into play. You’re not trying to collect everything ever written on the topic. You’re choosing the sources that actually help you think more clearly.

Stick with studies that speak directly to your research focus and come from reliable academic publications. Pay attention to which works keep showing up in other papers, which ones offer solid data, and which help explain the background without drifting off topic. As you read, ask yourself what each source is doing for you. Some will strengthen your main idea, and others will challenge it or frame the debate. If a source doesn’t serve a clear purpose, it probably doesn’t belong.

Step 3: Find Themes, Debates, and Gaps

A literature review becomes meaningful when you stop reading sources in isolation. Look across your notes and ask what patterns are forming.

Group studies that reach similar conclusions, then look for disagreements or unanswered questions. Pay attention to areas where the evidence feels thin or where authors call for further study. These gaps often point directly to the value of your own research.

Step 4: Plan the Literature Review Structure

Once themes are clear, decide how the review should unfold. A strong structure of your literature review helps readers follow your thinking without getting lost.

The structure usually follows a simple pattern. The review opens with a brief introduction that sets the scope, moves into body sections organized by key themes or debates, and ends with a conclusion that highlights patterns and gaps in the research. This layout helps readers follow the discussion without getting lost in individual studies.

Step 5: Write Your Literature Review with Synthesis in Mind

When writing a literature review, think in terms of ideas first, not authors. Open each paragraph with the point you want to make, then bring in studies to back it up. Let the research talk to each other. Show where results line up, where they clash, and what those connections reveal.

After drafting, slow down and reread with fresh eyes. Imagine someone new to the topic following your argument for the first time. If the section starts sounding like one summary after another, pause and step back. Look for the pattern you’re really describing and build around that. 

If you’re moving from a literature review into a larger research project, support is available to keep you on track. Explore professional dissertation help. 

Literature Review Examples

The examples below show what that looks like in practice, using the same topic but formatted and written to match APA and MLA expectations.

The following APA Style Literature Review example shows how academic sources can be synthesized into a focused discussion that meets formal research and citation standards.

The MLA Style Literature Review example below demonstrates how scholarly sources can be integrated into a clear, text-focused discussion that follows this specific formatting conventions.

Wrapping It Up

A literature review works best when it does one central thing well. It pulls scattered studies into a clear picture and shows how ideas connect, where they fall apart, and what still needs attention. When done right, it gives your paper direction and helps readers understand why your research matters.

That process can be time-consuming, especially when you’re balancing sources, structure, and formatting. Tools and support from EssayPro can make that work easier by helping you stay organized, sharpen your analysis, and move forward with confidence instead of second-guessing every step.

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