Writing Readable Research - A Guide for Students of Social Science - Beverly Lewin
Review of the Literature
Writing Readable Research - A Guide for Students of Social Science - Beverly Lewin
Beverly Lewin [+]
Tel Aviv University
Beverly A. Lewin has extensive experience in teaching scientific writing to Ph.D. students from non - English speaking backgrounds, in various social sciences, as well as in fields ranging from astronomy to zoology. Her research focuses on scientific discourse, especially genre analysis and managing interpersonal relations in texts (hedging and criticism). Publications include Expository Discourse: A Genre-Based Approach to Social Science Texts (co-authored with Jonathan Fine and Lynne Young, Continuum, 2001) and The Sword and the Word: Criticism in the Academy (co-edited with Françoise Salager-Meyer, Peter Lang, forthcoming).
Description
A key feature of academic writing is the literature review. This chapter discusses the different formats this make take and provides guidelines for the readers own review. Topics Covered: What Constitutes a Review of the Literature; Giving Credit Where Credit is Due; How Extensive Should a Review of the Literature Be; Why Do We Incorporate Other People's Ideas; The Psychological Force of References; Criteria for Selecting References; References and Rhetorical Moves; What is the Focus in References; What Verbs are Used; Patterns of Organization; Before Writing the Review of the Literature; Guidelines for Writing the Review