The content of a literature review will vary depending upon your particular assignment or topic, but a literature review is generally an account of what has been published on a specific subject by scholars and researchers. A literature review may be a stand-alone document, but most often it is part of the introduction to an essay, research report, thesis, or dissertation. It is organized around and related directly to the thesis or research question being developed in the document. When writing the literature review, your purpose is to convey to your reader the significant works that have been published on a topic, and what their strengths and weaknesses are. Literature reviews provide the reader with a handy critical guide to a particular topic.

The links below provide more information about what a literature review is, highlight the key features of a literature review, and offer strategies and tips on writing your own.

•An Introduction to the Literature Review

•Literature Review Tutorial

•The Literature Review

•What is a Literature Review?

•Guidelines for Writing a Literature Review

•Write a Literature Review

•Literature Reviews: An Overview for Graduate Students
Instructions: Write a Literature Review on the topic of Affordable Care Act: The Prevention of Chronic Disease and Improving Public Health. I have downloaded my introduction paper that I have already submitted so you can see what you need to base the Literature Review off of.