How to write a literature review

Group sources by theme, state the gap, and keep every section tied to the research question.

8 min read · Updated 2026-11-13

Do not list papers

A literature review synthesises. Each paragraph should put two or more sources in relation: they agree, they conflict, or one extends the other.

1. Research question and why the field matters.

2. Themes or debates, not a chronological dump of every paper.

3. The gap your project addresses.

4. A short close that points into your method or argument.

Every in-text citation needs a reference. A review with a long list and broken matches looks careless even when the synthesis is good.