Part 1 What is a literature review? 

在了解该怎么写文献综述之前，我们应该先了解：什么是文献综述？

A presentation of the literature which provides：

1. A definition of the research problem and the research context.

2. An overview and some detail about previous research related to the topic.

3. Ideas on the methodology.

4. Evaluation/ critique of existing work.

5. General conclusions about work done to date.

Part 2 What a literature review should look like? 

了解文献综述包含哪些内容之后，还需要搞清楚：高质量的文献综述应该是什么样子的？有什么要求？

It should bring clarity and focus to the research topic.

1. The literature review helps define the research problem as the process provides information and helps you to understand the subject better.

2. It should enable you to understand the relationship between your research and existing knowledge in the area.

3. It should broaden your Knowledge in your research area.

Part 3 How to prepare a literature review?  

在弄清楚以上问题后，同学们就可以从以下几个方面着手准备撰写文献综述了。

1. Ensures you read widely around the subject.

2. Know what other researchers have found in regard to the same or similar questions.

3. Know what theories have been put forward.

4. Know what gaps exist in the area.

5. Understand how the potential findings of your study will likely fit into the existing body of knowledge.

下面这段话，Rachel学姐认为是对文献综述最贴切的形容：

The literature review “establishes the framework of significance for the question and evaluation, illustrates the empirical relevance of the subject, and makes disconnected articles, findings, statistics, and arguments or theories connected. By the end of the literature review...a reader should not only be able to predict the question driving a study, but clearly understand why someone would ask this question to begin with” (Atkinson, 2012: 131).