BSED ENG 20: LANGUAGE EDUCATION RESEARCH

MODULE 3
Writing Review of Related Literature and Synthesis

A literature review is a study – or, more accurately, a survey – involving

scholarly material, with the aim to discuss published information about a
specific topic or research question. Therefore, to write a literature
review, it is compulsory that you are a real expert in the object of study.
The results and findings will be published and made available to the
public, namely scientists working in the same area of research.

Lesson 3
Writing Review of Related Literature and Synthesis

Part I: Targeted Course Outcomes and Learning Objectives

Course Outcomes:
Write a good review of related literature and synthesis using the swales move

Learning Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, students should be able to:
1. Discuss the different notetaking skills in writing Literature and Synthesis
2. Write a sample Review of Related Literature and a Synthesis
3. Appreciate the importance of a research matrix in writing the literature and synthesis

Part II: Assessment

Swales Move Related Literature and Synthesis

Rubric for Swales Move Related Literature and Synthesis

Task Description: Swales Move Related Literature and Synthesis

Exemplary Accomplished Developing Beginning
Criteria weight 4 3 2 1
Yes Yes, but No, but No

 Good  Organized;  Some  Poorly

organization; points are organization; points organized; no
points are somewhat jump around; logical
Organization 20% logically ordered; jumpy; sense of beginning and progression;
sharp sense of beginning and ending are unclear beginning and
beginning and ending ending are vague
end
 Supporting  Some details  Details are  Unable to find
Quality of details specific to are non- somewhat sketchy. specific details
25%
Information subject supporting to Do not support
the subject topic
Grammar, Usage, 25%  No errors  Only one or  More than two  Numerous
Mechanics, Spelling two errors errors errors distract
from
 understanding
 Vocabulary is  Vocabulary is  Vocabulary is  Basic
varied; supporting varied; unimaginative; vocabulary;
Interest Level 20%
details vivid supporting details lack “color” needs descriptive
details useful words
 Typed; clean;  Legible  Legible writing,  Illegible
neatly bound in a writing, well- some ill-formed writing; loose
report cover; formed letters, print too pages
Neatness 10% illustrations characters; clean small or too large;
provided and neatly papers stapled
bound in a together
report cover

Assignment Score _________ + Beyonder/Bonus _________ = Final Score _______

Part III: Teaching-Learning Activities (TLA)

A. Engage – Watch and Learn

1. What is the importance of writing a review of related literature?

B. Explore – Think and Learn

1. What are the common problems encountered in writing a review of related literature?

C. Explain? – Read and Learn

1. How do you write a review of related literature and synthesis?

Writing a Review of Related Literature

Writing a literature review requires expertise but also organization. We cannot teach you about your topic
of research, but we can provide a few steps to guide you through conducting a literature review:

1. Choose your topic or research question:

It should not be too comprehensive or too limited. You have to complete your task within a
feasible time frame.
2. Set the scope:
Define boundaries concerning the number of sources, time frame to be covered, geographical
area, etc.
3. Decide which databases you will use for your searches:
In order to search the best viable sources for your literature review, use highly regarded,
comprehensive databases to get a big picture of the literature related to your topic.
4. Search, search, and search: Now you’ll start to investigate the research on your topic. It’s critical
that you keep track of all the sources.
Start by looking at research abstracts in detail to see if their respective studies relate to or are
useful for your own work. Next, search for bibliographies and references that can help you
broaden your list of resources. Choose the most relevant literature and remember to keep notes of
their bibliographic references to be used later on.
5. Review all the literature, appraising carefully it’s content:
After reading the study’s abstract, pay attention to the rest of the content of the articles you deem
the “most relevant.” Identify methodologies, the most important questions they address, if they
are well-designed and executed, and if they are cited enough, etc.

Writing a Synthesis
When you look for areas where your sources agree or disagree and try to draw broader conclusions about
your topic based on what your sources say, you are engaging in synthesis. Writing a research paper
usually requires synthesizing the available sources in order to provide new insight or a different
perspective into your particular topic (as opposed to simply restating what each individual source says
about your research topic).

Note that synthesizing is not the same as summarizing. 

 A summary restates the information in one or more sources without providing new insight or
reaching new conclusions.
 A synthesis draws on multiple sources to reach a broader conclusion.

There are two types of syntheses: explanatory syntheses and argumentative syntheses. Explanatory

syntheses seek to bring sources together to explain a perspective and the reasoning behind it.
Argumentative syntheses seek to bring sources together to make an argument. Both types of synthesis
involve looking for relationships between sources and drawing conclusions.

In order to successfully synthesize your sources, you might begin by grouping your sources by topic and
looking for connections. For example, if you were researching the pros and cons of encouraging healthy
eating in children, you would want to separate your sources to find which ones agree with each other and
which ones disagree.

After you have a good idea of what your sources are saying, you want to construct your body paragraphs
in a way that acknowledges different sources and highlights where you can draw new conclusions.

As you continue synthesizing, here are a few points to remember:

 Don’t force a relationship between sources if there isn’t one. Not all of your sources have to
complement one another.
 Do your best to highlight the relationships between sources in very clear ways.
 Don’t ignore any outliers in your research. It’s important to take note of every perspective (even
those that disagree with your broader conclusions).

D. Elaborate – Adopt and Learn

1. Construct a table of your review of related Literature and synthesis.

Review of Related Literature

Statement of the Problem Theme Source Notes

Ex.
What is the level of students’ Students’ fluency in Ricabalanca, J. Source 1:
fluency in speaking? speaking (2018). Fluency of Paraphrase
students in speaking. Ricablanca (2018)
International Journal stated
of Language
Education.

Indino, A. (2017) …

Source 2:
Summary
 Indino (2017)
reiterated that

(paraphrase,
summary or direct
quotation)

Synthesis

It is probably best to begin your chart by labeling the columns both horizontally and vertically. The
sample chart below illustrates how to do this.

Topic: _______ Source #1 Source #2 Source #3 Source #4 Main Idea A Main Idea B

Label the columns across the top of your chart with the author’s last name or with a few keywords from
the title of the work. Then label the sides of the chart with the main ideas that your sources discuss about
your topic. As you read each source, make notes in the appropriate column about the information
discussed in the work, as shown in the following chart

Topic:
Main Idea ( Theme) Source 1 Source 2 Source 3
Main Idea 1 Ricablanca (2018)
stated
Main Idea 2

E. Evaluate – Create and Grow

1. From the matrix you made, write your complete review of literature and synthesis.

References:

https://case.fiu.edu/writingcenter/online-resources/_assets/synthesis-matrix-2.pdf

https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/conducting_research/research_overview/synthesizing_s
ources.html

https://scientific-publishing.webshop.elsevier.com/research-process/importance-literature-review-
research-writing/

Course Instructor

JOHN CARLO R. PEREZ

Name of Instructor Licensed Professional Teacher
Master of Arts in Education – English Language (pursuing)
 perezjohncarlo2020@gmail.com

Contact Details John Carlo Ricardel Perez

0965-269-5291