Reflection Activity

Please remove everything from your desk

except a piece of paper and a pen/pencil.
Please do not speak to your classmates or go
on your phone.
In 100-200 words, please legibly answer the
following questions:
1. Why are you taking English 1302? What do
you want to gain from this class?
2. Are you using the approx. $1300 you paid for
this class wisely?
3. Are you being the best student you can be in
this class? Why or why not?

Draft 1.1: The Literature Review

Week 5

Major Concerns

25 students out of 67 did not turn in their BA3

on time.
Out of those 25 students, not all students
have turned in their BA3 at all.
If you do not turn in BA3, then you cannot
complete the literature review. If you do not
complete the literature review, then you
cannot pass the class.
Excessive absences/tardies
Severe lack of participation
Severe lack of respect and time management
and care
Inpreparedness on your part does not

Available Resources

ME! Your instructor.

The examples and detailed handouts
The class blog (has every PP, handout, example,
instructions)
The Writing Center
Open Tutoring Sessions
Library, Librarians
Your classmates
Yourself, your brain, your ability, your motivation
It is up to you to reach out and use these
resources.

Draft 1.1: The Literature Review

What a literature review is NOT:

Summary/analysis of a work of fiction

Literary review

What a literature review IS:

Synthesis/analysis of several scholarly

articles/books about a scholarly question/problem.
You show readers what you have read and now
understand what scholars know about your topic
(the scholarly question/problem)

Brief Overview

Your topic question is the topic of your

literature review.
Use 8 sources (You found 6 for BA3; you need
to find 2 more.)
Must properly cite sources and include Works
Cited/References.
MLA: Works Cited
APA: References
Minimum word count: 1500 words
Maximum word count: Try not to go no more
than 100-200 words over the word count.
Due: Friday, February 26 (This Friday!)

Literature Review Thesis Statement

Your thesis statement and literature review is

NOT argumentative. Your literature review is
objective and neutral.

Discuss common themes found in your

sources in regards to your topic.

Focus on your topic.

Focus on what your sources say about your

topic.

Example Thesis Statements

Inappropriate

Parents should limit

their children to
one hour of
television a day to
help combat the
childhood obesity.

Effective

Current research on childhood obesity

and television focuses on the time
children spend watching television, the
content of the television shows and
commercials, and the food children
typically consume while watching
television. Through previous research
has suggested that limiting television
was the key to helping children
maintain a healthy weight, new
research shows that changing the
content of childrens television shows
and commercials to reflect a healthy
lifestyle is also key.

Literature Review Introduction

Define/identify topic/issue/area of concern

What is the research problem/topic you are writing

about?

Why is this topic important?

Basically you are providing context for your readers.

After context, research/implications for research,

provide your thesis statement.

Example Literature Review Intro

According to the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute,

there are 1.5 million children adopted in the United
States each year. In recent years there has been a shift
in the choice between open or closed adoption.
Researchers are beginning to challenge the idea that
closed adoption is the only effective practice. This
questioning affects 1.5 million children and their
families. Even though many researchers claim closed
adoption is the most traditional and logical choice for
adoption cases, more and more researchers are
encouraging to consider open adoption for all cases.
While some researchers are still against open adoption,
others are discussing how open adoption is becoming
more common and how most people tend to prefer it.

Literature Review Body Paragraphs

Very similar to BA2 body paragraphs.

1. Topic sentence (most important sentence in

your body paragraph)
2. Concise paraphrase and/or quotations
3. Synthesis

2 and 3 are a combination.

Remember, you must discuss more than one

source per body paragraph.

Example Body Paragraph

Because theories of career development were developed from

a male perspective, little scholarly attention has been paid to
the effects of harmful masculine stereotypes on males career
decision-making. Some researchers have recognized that
gender-role stereotyping takes a significant toll on boys as well
as girls (Gysbers et al., 1998). One clear example of this is the
influence of sports as a major socializing experience for boys
(Skovholt, 1990). In football, basketball, baseball, wrestling,
and other sports, there are winners and losers, and boys are
taught to compete and win. Winning in sports is perceived as
necessary to maintain the athletes masculine role (Smith &
Inder, 1993). Therefore, when boys grow up, they translate the
values of the sports field into the workplace and judge their
success by their ability to compete, win, and acquire status. Of
course, not every boy can win, and the research here has
shown that the outcome of failure can be a diminished sense of
self-worth.

Any questions so far?

Example Body Paragraph

Current

research supports change-talk, or dialogue between counselor

and client that is oriented towards the advantages of behavior change,
as one effective technique for therapists to assist clients in exploring
their feelings and thoughts about change. For instance, researchers in
support of change-talk find the technique effective because it provides
many different ways for the client to think about change: In general,
summaries are collection of change statements the person has made:
disadvantages of the status quo, reasons for change, optimism about
change, and desire to change (Miller & Rollnick, 2002, p. 90). Barron
(2007) agrees, arguing that change-talk helps clients sort through their
options so that they can clarify ambivalence and examine each side of
the conflict surrounding change. Changing ones behavior requires selfefficacy or belief in ones ability to enact change. These researchers
illustrate the importance of change-talk as a viable technique in helping
clients increase their own self-efficacy so that they can make
meaningful changes to their lives. Specifically, they show that changetalk is useful in helping clients examine all possible consequences of
their desired change so that clients can make informed decisions.

Literature Review Conclusion

Do not begin with in conclusion or to

conclude.
Restate your thesis statement. Not verbatim.

Succinctly summarize the big picture ideas.

Tell your readers the consequence/results of

this research.

Basically, how has this research, as a whole,

changed the way that we think about your
topic?

Example Literature Review Conclusion

Adoption has become very common in the

U.S. Traditionally, closed adoption was the
only practice. Now most researchers are
advocating the open adoption should be
evaluated and considered for all adoption
cases, and open adoption is becoming a
more common practice. Even though there
is very little data about the benefits of
open adoption collected to set standards
on the practice, open adoption is
continually growing, which indicates that
the research discussed in this essay is
valuable in helping us understand how

Any questions?

Once again available resources

Open tutoring session: Tuesday, February 23

Office hours: Rm 456

Rm 352/353
6-8 p.m.
Tuesday 10-12
Thursday 12-3

The Handout
Student Examples in the back of your
textbook
The Writing Center
ME! Your instructor

Before you leave

Please read the following before February 29:

Chapter 4b, Reviewing Your Peers, pages 6676 in The St. Martins Handbook
Chapters 11-12, pages 222-252, in First-Year
Writing

Turn in your Draft 1.1 Literature Review by

February 26 on Raider Writer by 11:59:59 p.m.

Bring a copy of your literature review to class

on Monday!