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OLENG - Chapter 6
OLENG - Chapter 6
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MODULE: (OLBPENGL01) – STUDY AND THINKING SKILLS
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MODULE: (OLBPENGL01) – STUDY AND THINKING SKILLS
WHEN WRITING A BOOK REVIEW OR ARTICLE CRITIQUE, MAKE SURE TO ASK THE
FOLLOWING:
1. What is the topic of the book or article?
2. What is its purpose?
3. Who are its intended readers?
4. Does the writer explicitly state his/her thesis statement?
5. What theoretical assumptions (i.e., a scientific/logical explanation without evidence) are
mentioned in the book or article? Are they explicitly discuss?
6. What are the contributions of the book or article to the field (e.g., language, psychology) it is
situated in?
7. What problems and issues are discussed in the book or article?
8. What kind of information (e.g., observation, survey, statistics, and historical accounts) are
presented in the book or article? How they are used to support the arguments or thesis?
9. Are there other ways of supporting the arguments or thesis aside from the information used in
the book or article? Is the author silent about these alternative ways of explanation?
10.What is your overall reaction to the work?
Doing a literature review will test your ability to seek literature efficiently and identify useful
scholarly work. It will also test your ability to evaluate studies for their validity and reliability. Hence,
writing a literature review involves research, critical appraisal, and writing. Everything else included, a
student may take 40 hours to finish a well- written literature review.
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MODULE: (OLBPENGL01) – STUDY AND THINKING SKILLS
LITERATURE SEARCH
1. Review the documentation style (e.g., APA, MLA, Chicago) that you will adopt and be familiar with
its format in relation to writing a literature review.
3. Determine the kind and number of sources you will be using. Will your literature review be exclusive
to articles or will it include other documents? Will you focus on experimental studies or will you also
include theoretical papers that explain a theory?
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MODULE: (OLBPENGL01) – STUDY AND THINKING SKILLS
4. Survey the available online databases relevant to your topic. These include Proquest, Science
Direct, JSTOR, or Google Scholar. As much as possible, include only the references published by
top journals and publishers.
5. Use relevant keywords when searching for scholarly documents or article. For example, if your topic
is about the impact of Facebook-based e-portfolios on the writing skills of ESL learners, your
possible keywords are Facebook, ESL writing, e-portfolio, portfolio assessment, Facebook-based
e-portfolio, and social networking site.
6. Always include landmark studies or papers (i.e., studies which had remarkably changed the field)
related to your topic.
7. Always evaluate the sources for coverage and currency. Include only those article directly related
to your topic.
1. State clearly your thesis or main argument and be guided by it accordingly. Below is an example
of a thesis statement for a literature review.
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MODULE: (OLBPENGL01) – STUDY AND THINKING SKILLS
2. If you say that no studies have been conducted on one aspect of your topic, justify it.
3. Direct the readers to other related literature reviews that cover item which you do not intend to
cover. You may use the citation format “(see Author, year)” or follow the format prescribed by
your chosen documentation style.
5. Use headings and subheadings to classify the parts of your topic. For each topic heading,
analyze the differences among studies and look for gaps. Note that each paragraph should focus
on one aspect of the topic.
6. Use effective transitions to make your review easier to read and understand.
https://link.quipper.com/en/organizations/547ffb8dd2b76d00020
02621/curriculum#curriculum
https://www.letters.org/application-letter/sample--college-
application-