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Writing the Comparative Literature Review
Most of you have been writing literature reviews for most of your high school careers. The literature review does not center around proving your own thesis, but provides the basis of your research by ensuring that you are well versed in a topic that you may later expand into a thesis driven paper.
You need to submit in writing:
1. Annotated Bibliography. This may be focused on any topic we have discussed related to the transition from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance through the Reformation (Chapters 11-15).
Ex. Gender roles and relationships in Renaissance England or The Effects of Plague on Commerce
Your AB should include:
20 source minimum,
At least 3 books,
All scholarly, peer reviewed sources,
Annotations that contain an evaluative element
All sources cited in proper MLA format
The completed Literature Review
Your Lit review should include:
3-5 books that are considered seminal/landmark. These may be recent or works that have stood the test of time. (Keep in mind that you must also be able to justify this selection when writing your review).
Relevant journal articles addressing current academic/historical research within your chosen field. (Keep in mind that you must also be able to justify this selection when writing your review).
Discuss a minimum of 6 sources.
It will not be enough to simply look at a bunch of abstracts. You must READ in order to justify your selections and discuss the merits of each. You must also decide on a purpose depending on your topic and the information available.
Your final draft should meet the following criteria:
Be 4-6 pages of finished writing utilizing one of the organizational strategies discussed at http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/literature-reviews/.
Contain a complete works cited list in MLA format. No work will be accepted to be graded without proper citation, and will be considered late.
Contain proper in text citation utilizing parenthetical references or footnotes.
Your paper will be evaluated based on the research writing rubric which will be discussed in class.