9 things you need to know about Literature Reviews

1. Literature Reviews are written in humanities, however, it is in science and social science where they are written the most. 
2. A literary review is not just a “summary,” it is a balanced combination of summary and synthesis, where the information obtained from the chosen sources is organized. 
3. Never be confused between a literature review and a research paper, because they are quite different. The first is about summarizing and synthesizing other’s ideas without adding new information; the second, research paper, is about developing an argument and using sources to support the argument being developed.
4. Literature reviews come handy when one does not have much time for research, because they provide a clear understanding of the literature of the chosen topic. 
5. Before writing a literature review you need to choose a topic and make sure this is very specific otherwise you will have too much material to cover. 
6. Make sure you cite and include sources that oppose to your perspective, you need to have different points of view in your literature review.
7. Evaluate your sources: make sure your authors are experts and their arguments are supported by their evidence.
8. Do not cite a source at the beginning of every paragraph, cite when presenting themes and theories.
9. Every literature review needs to have an introduction, body and conclusion. 

• Introduction= topic + thesis statement + importance
• Body= you should discuss the research and organize your sources; make sure you include more than one source in each paragraph.
• Conclusion= provide a summary of your sources/findings and explain where your analysis lead you.