ENGL 1102 - Abbott (Online) - Spring 2025

Ms. Abbott's Research Essay Information

Issue Overview (Literature Review)

Purpose

Lit reviews are a common first step for research in many disciplines. It is similar to a book report, but it does a bit more than one. Instead of reporting on one book, a lit review reports findings from many sources, and it also identifies the trends, connections, and differences in those sources. It's a report on the current state of the academic conversation happening on the chosen topic. 

Now that you've chosen your issue/challenge to write about, it's time to see what's been said by scholars already. This assignment is your chance to do that. If you want a refresher about lit reviews, go back to Reading 2. 

Task

  1. Identify keywords that you can use to search for this topic. 
  2. Locate the following sources on your topic:
    1. An eBook from GALILEO
    2. A peer-reviewed article from GALILEO
    3. A news article
    4. Another source from GALILEO
    5. Two more sources of your choice 
  3. Use your six sources to write a lit review of 500-700 words that summarizes the sources and identifies the commonalities and/or contradictions between them. Use in-text citations generously and include a Works Cited list. Both should follow MLA formatting rules.
  4. Revise and proofread as needed.
  5. Submit it to this assignment folder.

Criteria for Success

This assignment should:

    • contain a 500-700 word lit review
    • contain organized paragraphs
    • summarize six sources that fit the source requirements listed above
    • include both in-text citations and a Works Cited list in MLA format (Works Cited list should be in the same computer file as the lit review)
    • be written in a formal, academic tone (3rd person point of view only)
    • be an MLA formatted document (Times New Roman, size 12 font, 1 inch margins, double-spaced, author block in top left of first page only, no title page, centered informative title, header and page number in top right,) For more information and a picture of an MLA formatted document, visit "MLA General Format" @ Purdue OWL 
    • be written in readable, carefully proofread standard American English prose
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