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Medical Sciences Library

Literature Reviews for Medical Sciences

Literature Reviews from start to finish: a guide on structure, best practice guidelines, and citations

Body

This is the most important part of your paper AND the largest. It should be structured as follows:

  • Do not begin on a new page (begin where the Introduction ends)
  • Start with Level 1 Headings* before moving down to Level 2 and 3
  • All paragraphs should start on a new line
  • Use the guidelines in Headings and Subheadings to guide you on indentation

*For more information on Level 1 headings see the tab Headings and Subheadings. 

The main focus of the body portion of your literature review is to:

  • Explore main arguments using evidence from the texts
  • Add analysis and insight to evidence from the literature
  • Compare and contrast your sources
  • Critically evaluate (What makes your sources strong? What makes them weak? How do they compare to other sources you have found?)

You can organize your literature in one of three different ways:

  • Chronological: tracking the development of your topic over a certain period of time (good for: analyzing turning points, exploring change or developments over time)
  • Thematic: organize according to recurring themes across the literature (good for: comparing and contrasting, highlighting patterns)
  • Methodological: arrange according to the methodologies used in your sources (good for: comparing different research and discipline methods, dividing into sociological, historical, or cultural sources, looking at how the research was conducted instead of the results)

For more information on organizational structures, visit this Link from Purdue OWL. 

When writing the body section of your literature review, remember PASE:

PRESENT your evidence (quotes, citations, examples from the text)

ANALYZE your findings (Why is this important? What does it mean?)

SYNTHESIZE your examples (compare/contrast to your other sources)

EVALUATE your sources (What makes it strong? What are its weaknesses?)