What you DO with language in a Literature Review… Mirjaliisa Charles 2016 Adapted from https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/588/03/

You use language to … 1 Be Critical 2 Compare and Contrast 3 Be Cautious 4 Classify and List 5 Define Terms 6 Describe Trends 7 Explore Causality 8 Give Examples 9 Write about past developments … and a lot more …

Being critical means… questioning what you read not necessarily agreeing with it just because the information has been published looking for reasons why we should not just accept something as being correct or true identifying problems with / referring to other people’s criticisms of a writer’s arguments / methods Trying to be constructive: suggesting ways in which a piece of research or writing could be improved.

Being critical: Introducing criticism in a Lit Review Examples: ‘These ideas have been vigorously challenged in recent years by a number of writers. The most important of these criticisms is that …’ ‘Many analysts now argue that the strategy of X has not been successful. Jones (2003), for example, argues that ….’ ‘More recent arguments against X have been summarised by Smith and Jones (2012):’ ‘Critics have also argued that …’

Introducing the critical stance of particular writers Examples: ‘Jones (2013) questioned why …. / is critical of … / argues that …’ ‘The authors challenge the widely held view that ….’ ‘He points out that ….’ ‘Other authors (see Harbison, 2013; Kaplan, 2014) question the usefulness of …’ ‘Smith’s analysis has been criticised by a number of writers. Jones (2013), for example, points out that ….’

Introducing questions, problems and limitations ‘One of the problems with / Another problem with this approach is that…’ ‘Difficulties arise, however, when an attempt is made to implement the policy.’ ‘However, there are limits to how far the idea of/concept of X can be taken.’ ‘However, such explanations tend to overlook the fact that ….’

More examples: ‘The main weakness of the study is the failure to address how ….’ ‘… the research does not take into account pre-existing ….’ ‘… the author offers no explanation for the distinction between X and Y.’ ‘Smith makes no attempt to differentiate between different types of X.’ ‘… the author overlooks the fact that X contributes to Y.’

Using evaluative adjectives to comment on research Examples: ‘In her/their/this excellent/comprehensive/detailed/useful/ thorough/ground breaking / timely / important/ impressive… limited/ small-scale analysis (of X) / examination (of X), / study (of X), survey (of X), investigation (into Y), Smith (2012) found …. / was able to show that …./ concluded that …. ’

Offering constructive suggestions Examples: ‘Smith’s paper / The study / Her conclusions / The findings … … would have been / might have been … … more / much more / far more / useful / relevant/ convincing / interesting / persuasive … … if he/she had / if the author had included / considered / assessed / addressed / adopted /used ….’ ‘A more comprehensive study would include ….’

Comparing and Contrasting May be a preliminary stage of evaluation. For example, by comparing specific aspects of A and B, you can decide which is more useful / valuable. Paragraphs whose function is to compare or contrast often begin with an introductory sentence expressed in general terms:

Introductory Sentences: Differences Examples: X is different from Y in a number of respects. X differs from Y in a number of important ways. There are a number of important differences between X and Y. Women and men differ not only in physical attributes but also in the way in which …

More … Smith (2013) found / observed distinct / significant / notable / considerable / major / dramatic / only slight differences between X and Y Areas where significant differences have been found include … The nervous systems of X are significantly different from those of Y in several key features.

Introductory Sentences: Similarities Examples: The mode of processing used by the right brain is similar to that / is comparable to that / is comparable in complexity to that used by the left brain. There are a number of similarities between X and Y. Both X and Y generally take place in a ‘safe environment’. Numerous studies have compared Xs in humans and animals and found that they are essentially identical.

Comparison within one sentence (a) Examples: Oral societies tend to be more concerned with the present whereas/ while literate societies have a very definite awareness of the past.  Whereas/While oral societies tend to be more concerned with the present, literate societies have a very definite awareness of the past. In contrast to oral communities, it is very difficult to get away from calendar time in literate societies. Compared with people in oral cultures, people in literate cultures organise their lives around clocks and calendars. This interpretation contrasts with / differs from / is different from that of Smith and Jones (2004), who argue that …. 

Comparison within one sentence: Using Comparative forms Examples: Women are faster/slower than men at certain precision manual tasks, such as ….. Women tend to perform better/worse than men on tests of perceptual speed. Further, men are more/less accurate in tests of target-directed motor skills. Women tend to have greater/less verbal fluency than men. Women are more/less likely than men to suffer aphasia when the front part of the brain is damaged. Men learned the route in fewer trials and made fewer errors than did women.

Indicating difference/similarity across two sentences Examples: It is very difficult to get away from calendar time in literate societies. By contrast, / In contrast, / On the other hand, many people in oral communities have little idea of the calendar year of their birth.  Young children learning their first language need simplified input. Similarly, / Likewise, / In the same way, low level adult learners need …

As you can see, you only need very easy language to … Be Critical Compare and Contrast Be Cautious Classify and List Define Terms Describe Trends Explore Causality Give Examples Write about the Past