how do you start writing a literature review

• Identifies areas of prior scholarship
• Places each source in the context of its contribution to the understanding of the specific issue, area of research, or theory under review.
• Describes the relationship of each source to the others that you have selected
• Identifies new ways to interpret, and shed light on any gaps in, previous research
• Points the way forward for further research.

Further information on the literature review process may be found below:

The introduction should clearly establish the focus and purpose of the literature review.
Like any other academic text, your literature review should have an introduction, a main body, and a conclusion. What you include in each depends on the objective of your literature review.

Use journal articles: They normally have the most up-to-date research and you will be expected to refer to them in your literature review. The Library has a guide on finding journal articles.
A literature review is not a straightforward summary of everything you have read on the topic and it is not a chronological description of what was discovered in your field.

You can use our free citation generator to quickly create correct and consistent APA citations or MLA format citations.
Try to analyze patterns, turning points and key debates that have shaped the direction of the field. Give your interpretation of how and why certain developments occurred.

by Helen Mongan-Rallis. Last updated: April 19, 2018
[Note: For these guidelines, in some sections I have quoted directly some of the the steps from: Galvan, J. (2006). Writing literature reviews: a guide for students of the behavioral sciences (3rd ed.). Glendale, CA: Pyrczak Publishing.]
Read through the links provided below on APA guidelines so that you become familiar with the common core elements of how to write in APA style: in particular, pay attention to general document guidelines (e.g. font, margins, spacing), title page, abstract, body, text citations, quotations.

References:

http://www.scribbr.co.uk/thesis-dissertation/literature-review/
http://libguides.reading.ac.uk/literaturereview/starting
http://www.scribbr.com/dissertation/literature-review/
http://www.d.umn.edu/~hrallis/guides/researching/litreview.html
http://www.scribbr.co.uk/thesis-dissertation/literature-review/