A+ Guide to Literature Reviews

Hi! I’m Alison Plus, and I’ve spent many years editing books for publication, teaching writing at the college level, and tutoring students in junior high, high school, college, and graduate school. You know how they say that our education system “teaches to the test” now? As a practical matter, this means that many schools no longer teach students how to write papers. Oh, they still teach basic grammar and reading comprehension because standardized testing can measure that. But if they take valuable classroom time to show you how to organize different kinds of paragraphs, what to stress in different kinds of papers, and how to set up a thesis and support, they are possibly endangering their entire school’s test scores. Therefore, many schools no longer teach these basic writing and organization skills.

This is why I decided to write a series of booklets addressing different kinds of writing assignments. Each booklet starts by examining the nature of the assignment type – short answer essays have different goals from five-paragraph essays, which are organized differently from literature reviews, which are set up in a way very different from an argument paper. After we understand the basic purpose of the paper type, we move methodically through the different types of sentences and paragraphs, building a template that you can follow to write your own papers. Each booklet also includes proofreading tips designed for the particular assignment type and word processing software, as applicable.

Take your time going through each booklet the first time! You’re not only writing a paper, but you’re also learning a method that you will be able to transfer to future assignments. Allot enough time to absorb each step in the process, and in the end, you’ll have more than just a finished essay. You’ll have skills to make you a better writer going forward.