Writing Assignment #2
Synthesis Literature Review
Assignment Summary
You must gather research sources for the topic you chose and presented in WA #1, the Proposal Memo. Using these research sources, you must compose a Literature Review that Synthesizes what your sources say about your topic. Your Synthesis Literature Review should be at least 1000 words long and use at least seven (7) sources.
How Your Synthesis Literature Review (WA #2) relates to the Proposal Memo (WA #1) and the Research Report (WA #4)
The Synthesis Literature Review is the “middle step” in the sequence of assignments in WRTG 394. In the Proposal Memo, WA #1, you chose your topic by identifying a problem in your workplace or community (neighborhood) and proposing one or more possible solutions. In the Synthesis Literature Review, WA #2, you will write a paper that looks at what your sources say about your topic and reports that information to readers discussing how sources agree, disagree, add to each other’s work, and diverge from your topic(this is what is called synthesis – you synthesize – bring together by showing relationships between – your sources in relation to their themes and your topic). This kind of reporting on and reviewing your sources will help you understand the sources you have found better and help you do a better job of using them to identify your problem and offer one or more possible solutions in the Research Report, WA #3.
What You Must Provide for WA #2, the Synthesis Literature Review
- Your review has a clear thesis that explains to readers that you will report on and review the sources you have gathered based on themes you have identified in those sources.
- Your review uses headings for every section (see below for a template).
- In each section that discusses a theme you have identified in the sources, you report what each source has to say about the theme and discuss how sources agree, disagree, add to each other’s work on the theme, and where any sources diverge from other sources in exploring the theme.
- Your review meets word length requirements and follows correct business style.
- Your review uses American Psychological Association (APA) 7th edition citation style for citing sources within the text of your paper and in providing a reference page.
A Helpful Template for Structuring Your Synthesis Literature Review
For this assignment you will want to follow an assignment template (a template is a frame or format that you will use for completing your memo. Such templates are common in business writing).
Note: Please adapt the format presented below, adapting the headers provided, for the synthesis literature review. Be aware that you should identify 2-5 themes within your research sources concerning the topic you are researching. Not all sources will have information about all the themes you identify. For a successful review, you should only discuss themes which you find in at least two (2) sources.
Introduction
In this section of your review, you introduce your topic, mention why it’s important, and present a thesis statement that identifies the themes you have discovered in your sources’ treatment of the topic.
Theme I
Report what your sources say about the theme and then discuss how they agree, disagree, add to each other’s work, or diverge from the theme.
Theme II
Report what your sources say about the theme and then discuss how they agree, disagree, add to each other’s work, or diverge from the theme.
Theme III
Report what your sources say about the theme and then discuss how they agree, disagree, add to each other’s work, or diverge from the theme.
(You may find that you have as many as five themes to discuss in your review. Three is an average number.)
Conclusion
In this final section of your review, you remind readers of the themes you have identified and discussed and summarize what your discussion of the themes has been. You might take the opportunity to mention that you have demonstrated why your topic is an important one that needs to be researched and written about. ?
Be sure to review the sample Synthesis Literature Reviews in the Content area of the WRTG 394 classroom for examples of how fellow students have successfully completed this assignment that can offer you guidance and ideas for completing your assignment.
