quotes about literature review

17 strong academic phrases to write your literature review (+ real examples)

A well-written academic literature review not only builds upon existing knowledge and publications but also involves critical reflection, comparison, contrast, and identifying research gaps. The following 17 strong academic key phrases can assist you in writing a critical and reflective literature review.

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Academic key phrases to present existing knowledge in a literature review

Academic key phrases to contrast and compare findings in a literature review, academic key phrases to highlight research gaps in a literature review, the topic has received significant interest within the wider literature..

Example: “ The topic of big data and its integration with AI has received significant interest within the wider literature .” ( Dwivedi et al. 2021, p. 4 )

The topic gained considerable attention in the academic literature in…

Example:  “ The relationship between BITs and FDI gained considerable attention in the academic literature in the last two decades .” ( Amendolagine and Prota, 2021, p. 173 )

Studies have identified…

Example: “ Studies have identified the complexities of implementing AI based systems within government and the public sector .” ( Dwivedi et al. 2021, p. 6 )

Researchers have discussed…

Example: “ Researchers have discussed the ethical dimensions of AI and implications for greater use of the technology. ” ( Dwivedi et al. 2021, p. 6)

Recent work demonstrated that…

Example: “Recent work demonstrated that dune grasses with similar morphological traits can build contrasting landscapes due to differences in their spatial shoot organization.” ( Van de Ven, 2022 et al., p. 1339 )

Existing research frequently attributes…

Example:  “Existing research frequently attributes these challenges to AI’s technical complexity, demand for data, and unpredictable interactions.” ( Yang et al., 2020, p. 174 )

Prior research has hypothesized that…

Example:  “Prior research has hypothesized that racial and ethnic disparities may be mitigated if the patient and provider share the same race due to improved communication and increased trust” ( Otte, 2022, p. 1 )

Prior studies have found that…

Example:  “ Prior studies have found that court-referred individuals are more likely to complete relationship violence intervention programs (RVIP) than self-referred individuals. ” ( Evans et al. 2022, p. 1 )

You may also like: 26 powerful academic phrases to write your introduction (+ real examples)

While some scholars…, others…

Example: “On the sustainable development of microcredit, some scholars emphasize the effect of its poverty alleviation, while some scholars emphasize the factors such as institutional innovation and government support.” ( Huang et al., 2021, p. 2117 )

The findings of Scholar A showcase that… . Scholar B , on the other hand, found…

Example: “ The findings of Arinto (2016) call for administrators concerning the design of faculty development programs, provision of faculty support, and strategic planning for online distance learning implementation across the institution. Francisco and Nuqui (2020) on the other hand found that the new normal leadership is an adaptive one while staying strong on their commitment. ” ( Asio and Bayucca, 2021, p. 20 )

Interestingly, all the arguments refer to…

Example:  “Interestingly, all the arguments above refer to daily role transitions—more specifically: role transitions on teleworking days—as an important explanatory mechanism for both the possible conflict-reducing effect and the potential conflict enhancing effects of telework.”  ( Delanoeije et al., 2019, p. 1845 )

This argument is similar to…

Example: “The third argument against physician involvement in lethal injection is that physicians are prohibited from deliberately harming patients or the argument from nonmaleficence. This argument is similar to the argument from healing but has different implications and must therefore be considered independently.” ( Sawicki, 2022, p. 22 )

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Yet, it remains unknown how…

Example: “Yet, it remains unknown how findings from aeolian landscapes translate to aquatic systems and how young clonally expanding plants in hydrodynamically exposed conditions overcome these establishment thresholds by optimizing shoot placement.” ( Van de Ven, 2022 et al., p. 1339 )

There is, however, still little research on…

Example:  “There is, however, still little research on what integrated STEM approaches require from schools and teachers, and on the potential obstacles that may prevent teachers from running this kind of teaching.”  ( Bungum and Mogstad, 2022, p. 2 )

Existing studies have failed to address…

Example: “ University–industry relations (UIR) are usually analysed by the knowledge transfer channels, but existing studies have failed to address what knowledge content is being transferred – impacting the technology output aimed by the partnership.”  (Dalmarco et al. 2019, p. 1314 )

Several scholars have recommended to move away…

Example: “Several scholars have recommended to move away from such a stable-level approach (i.e. using a global judgment of work-home conflict) to a dynamic episodes approach ” ( Delanoeije et al., 2019, p. 1847 )

New approaches are needed to address…

Example:  “ Accurate computational approaches are needed to address this gap and to enable large-scale structural bioinformatics. ” ( Jumper et al. 2021,p. 583 )

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Literature Quotes and Sayings

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We see, enjoy, and criticize the end result of writers' work, but there's so much more to these pieces than what the public consumes. After all, millions of books get published every year, joining the vast libraries that have been built up over time, but we regard few as classics, greats or masterpieces. So what makes the difference between just another piece of writing and a literary success ? Often, it's the writer.

Here's a collection of thoughts from world-famous writers on what literature means to them and why they pursued the written word as a means to express themselves.

Quotes About Writing and Literature

• Henry Miller : "Develop an interest in life as you see it; the people, things, literature, music-the world is so rich, simply throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls, and interesting people. Forget yourself."
• Ezra Pound : "Great literature is simply language charged with meaning to the utmost possible degree."
• Joseph Heller : "He knew everything about literature except how to enjoy it."
• John Steinbeck : "I hold that a writer who does not passionately believe in the perfectibility of man has no dedication nor any membership in literature."
• Alfred North Whitehead : "It is in literature that the concrete outlook of humanity receives its expression."
• Henry James : "It takes a great deal of history to produce a little literature."
• C. S. Lewis : "Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies that daily life requires and provides; and in this respect, it irrigates the deserts that our lives have already become."
• Oscar Wilde : "Literature always anticipates life. It does not copy it but molds it to its purpose. The nineteenth century, as we know it, is largely an invention of Balzac."
• G. K. Chesterton : "Literature is a luxury; fiction is a necessity."
• Virginia Woolf : "Literature is strewn with the wreckage of those who have minded beyond reason the opinion of others."
• Salman Rushdie : "Literature is where I go to explore the highest and lowest places in human society and in the human spirit, where I hope to find not absolute truth but the truth of the tale, of the imagination and of the heart."
• William Somerset Maugham : "The crown of literature is poetry."
• Johann Wolfgang von Goethe : "The decline of literature indicates the decline of a nation."
• Robert Louis Stevenson : "The difficulty of literature is not to write, but to write what you mean."

Like a Woman Who Gives Herself Without Preference

• Anatole France : "The duty of literature is to note what counts and to light up what is suited to the light. If it ceases to choose and to love, it becomes like a woman who gives herself without preference."
• E. M. Forster : "What is wonderful about great literature is that it transforms the man who reads it towards the condition of the man who wrote."
• Samuel Lover : "When once the itch of literature comes over a man, nothing can cure it but the scratching of a pen. But if you have not a pen, I suppose you must scratch any way you can."
• Cyril Connolly : "While thought exists, words are alive and literature becomes an escape, not from, but into living."
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28 powerful literary quotes to inspire you in 2020

Whether it’s chimamanda ngozi adichie’s observations on race in ‘americanah’ or jules verne on solitude in ‘the mysterious island’ – the best works of fiction contain important and perpetually relevant truths, article bookmarked.

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“The truth isn’t going to bend itself to suit you” – Malorie Blackman

“Life is to be lived, not controlled; and humanity is won by continuing to play in face of certain defeat” – Ralph Ellison

“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye” – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

As we reach the conclusion of another year – and another decade – many of us take this time to contemplate the past, and think about the future.

And in these tumultuous and fast-moving times, it can be useful to turn to the great writers of history, but also those still with us, for words of wisdom and inspiration.

Whether it’s Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie ’s observations on race in Americanah , Fyodor Dostoevsky on truth in The Brothers Karamazov​ or Jules Verne on solitude in The Mysterious Island – the best works of fiction contain important and perpetually relevant truths.

For 2020 and beyond, here are 28 of the most powerful literary quotes to inspire you:

28 of the most powerful literary quotes

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Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

Writing a Literature Review

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A literature review is a document or section of a document that collects key sources on a topic and discusses those sources in conversation with each other (also called synthesis ). The lit review is an important genre in many disciplines, not just literature (i.e., the study of works of literature such as novels and plays). When we say “literature review” or refer to “the literature,” we are talking about the research ( scholarship ) in a given field. You will often see the terms “the research,” “the scholarship,” and “the literature” used mostly interchangeably.

Where, when, and why would I write a lit review?

There are a number of different situations where you might write a literature review, each with slightly different expectations; different disciplines, too, have field-specific expectations for what a literature review is and does. For instance, in the humanities, authors might include more overt argumentation and interpretation of source material in their literature reviews, whereas in the sciences, authors are more likely to report study designs and results in their literature reviews; these differences reflect these disciplines’ purposes and conventions in scholarship. You should always look at examples from your own discipline and talk to professors or mentors in your field to be sure you understand your discipline’s conventions, for literature reviews as well as for any other genre.

A literature review can be a part of a research paper or scholarly article, usually falling after the introduction and before the research methods sections. In these cases, the lit review just needs to cover scholarship that is important to the issue you are writing about; sometimes it will also cover key sources that informed your research methodology.

Lit reviews can also be standalone pieces, either as assignments in a class or as publications. In a class, a lit review may be assigned to help students familiarize themselves with a topic and with scholarship in their field, get an idea of the other researchers working on the topic they’re interested in, find gaps in existing research in order to propose new projects, and/or develop a theoretical framework and methodology for later research. As a publication, a lit review usually is meant to help make other scholars’ lives easier by collecting and summarizing, synthesizing, and analyzing existing research on a topic. This can be especially helpful for students or scholars getting into a new research area, or for directing an entire community of scholars toward questions that have not yet been answered.

What are the parts of a lit review?

Most lit reviews use a basic introduction-body-conclusion structure; if your lit review is part of a larger paper, the introduction and conclusion pieces may be just a few sentences while you focus most of your attention on the body. If your lit review is a standalone piece, the introduction and conclusion take up more space and give you a place to discuss your goals, research methods, and conclusions separately from where you discuss the literature itself.

Introduction:

• An introductory paragraph that explains what your working topic and thesis is
• A forecast of key topics or texts that will appear in the review
• Potentially, a description of how you found sources and how you analyzed them for inclusion and discussion in the review (more often found in published, standalone literature reviews than in lit review sections in an article or research paper)
• Summarize and synthesize: Give an overview of the main points of each source and combine them into a coherent whole
• Analyze and interpret: Don’t just paraphrase other researchers – add your own interpretations where possible, discussing the significance of findings in relation to the literature as a whole
• Critically Evaluate: Mention the strengths and weaknesses of your sources
• Write in well-structured paragraphs: Use transition words and topic sentence to draw connections, comparisons, and contrasts.

Conclusion:

• Summarize the key findings you have taken from the literature and emphasize their significance
• Connect it back to your primary research question

How should I organize my lit review?

Lit reviews can take many different organizational patterns depending on what you are trying to accomplish with the review. Here are some examples:

• Chronological : The simplest approach is to trace the development of the topic over time, which helps familiarize the audience with the topic (for instance if you are introducing something that is not commonly known in your field). If you choose this strategy, be careful to avoid simply listing and summarizing sources in order. Try to analyze the patterns, turning points, and key debates that have shaped the direction of the field. Give your interpretation of how and why certain developments occurred (as mentioned previously, this may not be appropriate in your discipline — check with a teacher or mentor if you’re unsure).
• Thematic : If you have found some recurring central themes that you will continue working with throughout your piece, you can organize your literature review into subsections that address different aspects of the topic. For example, if you are reviewing literature about women and religion, key themes can include the role of women in churches and the religious attitude towards women.
• Qualitative versus quantitative research
• Empirical versus theoretical scholarship
• Divide the research by sociological, historical, or cultural sources
• Theoretical : In many humanities articles, the literature review is the foundation for the theoretical framework. You can use it to discuss various theories, models, and definitions of key concepts. You can argue for the relevance of a specific theoretical approach or combine various theorical concepts to create a framework for your research.

What are some strategies or tips I can use while writing my lit review?

Any lit review is only as good as the research it discusses; make sure your sources are well-chosen and your research is thorough. Don’t be afraid to do more research if you discover a new thread as you’re writing. More info on the research process is available in our "Conducting Research" resources .

As you’re doing your research, create an annotated bibliography ( see our page on the this type of document ). Much of the information used in an annotated bibliography can be used also in a literature review, so you’ll be not only partially drafting your lit review as you research, but also developing your sense of the larger conversation going on among scholars, professionals, and any other stakeholders in your topic.

Usually you will need to synthesize research rather than just summarizing it. This means drawing connections between sources to create a picture of the scholarly conversation on a topic over time. Many student writers struggle to synthesize because they feel they don’t have anything to add to the scholars they are citing; here are some strategies to help you:

• It often helps to remember that the point of these kinds of syntheses is to show your readers how you understand your research, to help them read the rest of your paper.
• Writing teachers often say synthesis is like hosting a dinner party: imagine all your sources are together in a room, discussing your topic. What are they saying to each other?
• Look at the in-text citations in each paragraph. Are you citing just one source for each paragraph? This usually indicates summary only. When you have multiple sources cited in a paragraph, you are more likely to be synthesizing them (not always, but often
• Read more about synthesis here.

The most interesting literature reviews are often written as arguments (again, as mentioned at the beginning of the page, this is discipline-specific and doesn’t work for all situations). Often, the literature review is where you can establish your research as filling a particular gap or as relevant in a particular way. You have some chance to do this in your introduction in an article, but the literature review section gives a more extended opportunity to establish the conversation in the way you would like your readers to see it. You can choose the intellectual lineage you would like to be part of and whose definitions matter most to your thinking (mostly humanities-specific, but this goes for sciences as well). In addressing these points, you argue for your place in the conversation, which tends to make the lit review more compelling than a simple reporting of other sources.

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Literature Review: The What, Why and How-to Guide: Writing Literature Review

• Literature Reviews?
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Literature Review Writing Tips

Synthesize your findings. Your findings are your evaluation of the literature reviewed: what you consider the strengths and weakness of the studies reviewed; the comparison you did between studies; research trends and gaps in the research that you found while researching your topic, etc...

Across the articles that you read, pay attention to what are the:

• Common/contested findings
• Important trends
• Influential theories

Keep this in mind when writing your literature review:

• Do not over-quote:  If you only quote from every single author you found, then you are not showing any original thinking or analysis. Use quotes judiciously. Use quotes to highlight a particular passage or thought that exemplifies the research, theory or topic you are researching.
• Instead, use paraphrasing:  Restate the main ideas of a paragraph or section to highlight, in your own words, the important points made by the author.
• Summarize findings, important sections, a whole article or book: This is different from paraphrasing since you are not re-stating the author's words but summarizing the main point of what you are reading in a concise matter for your readers.
• Citation Styles by Teaching & Learning Last Updated Apr 25, 2024 6434 views this year

Literature Reviews: Useful Sites

The majority of these sites focus on literature reviews in the social sciences unless otherwise noted. For systematic literature reviews, we recommend you to contact directly your subject librarian for help.

• How to Write a Literature Review Nice and concise handout on how to write a literature review
• Six Steps to Writing a Literature Review This blog, written by a successful Ph.D., offers good advice about reviews from the point of view of an experienced professional. This blog is written by Tanya Golash-Boza, an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of California at Merced.
• How to Write a Historiography (Literature Review for History) This is an excellent site to learn how to write this particular literature review in History.

Writing Tutorials & other Resources

• Literature Review Online Tutorial (North Carolina State University Libraries)
• Literature Review Tutorial (CQ University-Australia)
• Paraphrase: Write it in Your Own Words (OWL Purdue Writing Lab)
• Quoating and Paraphrasing (UW-Madison's Writing Center)
• How to Synthesize Excellent explanation about how to synthesize your findings for a Literature Review
• << Previous: Organizing for Writing
• Next: Other Academic Writings >>
• Last Updated: Mar 5, 2024 11:44 AM
• URL: https://guides.library.ucsb.edu/litreview

Literature Reviews

What this handout is about.

This handout will explain what literature reviews are and offer insights into the form and construction of literature reviews in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences.

Introduction

OK. You’ve got to write a literature review. You dust off a novel and a book of poetry, settle down in your chair, and get ready to issue a “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” as you leaf through the pages. “Literature review” done. Right?

Wrong! The “literature” of a literature review refers to any collection of materials on a topic, not necessarily the great literary texts of the world. “Literature” could be anything from a set of government pamphlets on British colonial methods in Africa to scholarly articles on the treatment of a torn ACL. And a review does not necessarily mean that your reader wants you to give your personal opinion on whether or not you liked these sources.

What is a literature review, then?

A literature review discusses published information in a particular subject area, and sometimes information in a particular subject area within a certain time period.

A literature review can be just a simple summary of the sources, but it usually has an organizational pattern and combines both summary and synthesis. A summary is a recap of the important information of the source, but a synthesis is a re-organization, or a reshuffling, of that information. It might give a new interpretation of old material or combine new with old interpretations. Or it might trace the intellectual progression of the field, including major debates. And depending on the situation, the literature review may evaluate the sources and advise the reader on the most pertinent or relevant.

But how is a literature review different from an academic research paper?

The main focus of an academic research paper is to develop a new argument, and a research paper is likely to contain a literature review as one of its parts. In a research paper, you use the literature as a foundation and as support for a new insight that you contribute. The focus of a literature review, however, is to summarize and synthesize the arguments and ideas of others without adding new contributions.

Why do we write literature reviews?

Literature reviews provide you with a handy guide to a particular topic. If you have limited time to conduct research, literature reviews can give you an overview or act as a stepping stone. For professionals, they are useful reports that keep them up to date with what is current in the field. For scholars, the depth and breadth of the literature review emphasizes the credibility of the writer in his or her field. Literature reviews also provide a solid background for a research paper’s investigation. Comprehensive knowledge of the literature of the field is essential to most research papers.

Who writes these things, anyway?

Literature reviews are written occasionally in the humanities, but mostly in the sciences and social sciences; in experiment and lab reports, they constitute a section of the paper. Sometimes a literature review is written as a paper in itself.

Let’s get to it! What should I do before writing the literature review?

If your assignment is not very specific, seek clarification from your instructor:

• Roughly how many sources should you include?
• What types of sources (books, journal articles, websites)?
• Should you summarize, synthesize, or critique your sources by discussing a common theme or issue?
• Should you evaluate your sources?
• Should you provide subheadings and other background information, such as definitions and/or a history?

Find models

Look for other literature reviews in your area of interest or in the discipline and read them to get a sense of the types of themes you might want to look for in your own research or ways to organize your final review. You can simply put the word “review” in your search engine along with your other topic terms to find articles of this type on the Internet or in an electronic database. The bibliography or reference section of sources you’ve already read are also excellent entry points into your own research.

Narrow your topic

There are hundreds or even thousands of articles and books on most areas of study. The narrower your topic, the easier it will be to limit the number of sources you need to read in order to get a good survey of the material. Your instructor will probably not expect you to read everything that’s out there on the topic, but you’ll make your job easier if you first limit your scope.

Keep in mind that UNC Libraries have research guides and to databases relevant to many fields of study. You can reach out to the subject librarian for a consultation: https://library.unc.edu/support/consultations/ .

And don’t forget to tap into your professor’s (or other professors’) knowledge in the field. Ask your professor questions such as: “If you had to read only one book from the 90’s on topic X, what would it be?” Questions such as this help you to find and determine quickly the most seminal pieces in the field.

Consider whether your sources are current

Some disciplines require that you use information that is as current as possible. In the sciences, for instance, treatments for medical problems are constantly changing according to the latest studies. Information even two years old could be obsolete. However, if you are writing a review in the humanities, history, or social sciences, a survey of the history of the literature may be what is needed, because what is important is how perspectives have changed through the years or within a certain time period. Try sorting through some other current bibliographies or literature reviews in the field to get a sense of what your discipline expects. You can also use this method to consider what is currently of interest to scholars in this field and what is not.

Strategies for writing the literature review

Find a focus.

A literature review, like a term paper, is usually organized around ideas, not the sources themselves as an annotated bibliography would be organized. This means that you will not just simply list your sources and go into detail about each one of them, one at a time. No. As you read widely but selectively in your topic area, consider instead what themes or issues connect your sources together. Do they present one or different solutions? Is there an aspect of the field that is missing? How well do they present the material and do they portray it according to an appropriate theory? Do they reveal a trend in the field? A raging debate? Pick one of these themes to focus the organization of your review.

Convey it to your reader

A literature review may not have a traditional thesis statement (one that makes an argument), but you do need to tell readers what to expect. Try writing a simple statement that lets the reader know what is your main organizing principle. Here are a couple of examples:

The current trend in treatment for congestive heart failure combines surgery and medicine. More and more cultural studies scholars are accepting popular media as a subject worthy of academic consideration.

Consider organization

You’ve got a focus, and you’ve stated it clearly and directly. Now what is the most effective way of presenting the information? What are the most important topics, subtopics, etc., that your review needs to include? And in what order should you present them? Develop an organization for your review at both a global and local level:

First, cover the basic categories

Just like most academic papers, literature reviews also must contain at least three basic elements: an introduction or background information section; the body of the review containing the discussion of sources; and, finally, a conclusion and/or recommendations section to end the paper. The following provides a brief description of the content of each:

• Introduction: Gives a quick idea of the topic of the literature review, such as the central theme or organizational pattern.
• Body: Contains your discussion of sources and is organized either chronologically, thematically, or methodologically (see below for more information on each).
• Conclusions/Recommendations: Discuss what you have drawn from reviewing literature so far. Where might the discussion proceed?

Organizing the body

Once you have the basic categories in place, then you must consider how you will present the sources themselves within the body of your paper. Create an organizational method to focus this section even further.

To help you come up with an overall organizational framework for your review, consider the following scenario:

You’ve decided to focus your literature review on materials dealing with sperm whales. This is because you’ve just finished reading Moby Dick, and you wonder if that whale’s portrayal is really real. You start with some articles about the physiology of sperm whales in biology journals written in the 1980’s. But these articles refer to some British biological studies performed on whales in the early 18th century. So you check those out. Then you look up a book written in 1968 with information on how sperm whales have been portrayed in other forms of art, such as in Alaskan poetry, in French painting, or on whale bone, as the whale hunters in the late 19th century used to do. This makes you wonder about American whaling methods during the time portrayed in Moby Dick, so you find some academic articles published in the last five years on how accurately Herman Melville portrayed the whaling scene in his novel.

Now consider some typical ways of organizing the sources into a review:

• Chronological: If your review follows the chronological method, you could write about the materials above according to when they were published. For instance, first you would talk about the British biological studies of the 18th century, then about Moby Dick, published in 1851, then the book on sperm whales in other art (1968), and finally the biology articles (1980s) and the recent articles on American whaling of the 19th century. But there is relatively no continuity among subjects here. And notice that even though the sources on sperm whales in other art and on American whaling are written recently, they are about other subjects/objects that were created much earlier. Thus, the review loses its chronological focus.
• By publication: Order your sources by publication chronology, then, only if the order demonstrates a more important trend. For instance, you could order a review of literature on biological studies of sperm whales if the progression revealed a change in dissection practices of the researchers who wrote and/or conducted the studies.
• By trend: A better way to organize the above sources chronologically is to examine the sources under another trend, such as the history of whaling. Then your review would have subsections according to eras within this period. For instance, the review might examine whaling from pre-1600-1699, 1700-1799, and 1800-1899. Under this method, you would combine the recent studies on American whaling in the 19th century with Moby Dick itself in the 1800-1899 category, even though the authors wrote a century apart.
• Thematic: Thematic reviews of literature are organized around a topic or issue, rather than the progression of time. However, progression of time may still be an important factor in a thematic review. For instance, the sperm whale review could focus on the development of the harpoon for whale hunting. While the study focuses on one topic, harpoon technology, it will still be organized chronologically. The only difference here between a “chronological” and a “thematic” approach is what is emphasized the most: the development of the harpoon or the harpoon technology.But more authentic thematic reviews tend to break away from chronological order. For instance, a thematic review of material on sperm whales might examine how they are portrayed as “evil” in cultural documents. The subsections might include how they are personified, how their proportions are exaggerated, and their behaviors misunderstood. A review organized in this manner would shift between time periods within each section according to the point made.
• Methodological: A methodological approach differs from the two above in that the focusing factor usually does not have to do with the content of the material. Instead, it focuses on the “methods” of the researcher or writer. For the sperm whale project, one methodological approach would be to look at cultural differences between the portrayal of whales in American, British, and French art work. Or the review might focus on the economic impact of whaling on a community. A methodological scope will influence either the types of documents in the review or the way in which these documents are discussed. Once you’ve decided on the organizational method for the body of the review, the sections you need to include in the paper should be easy to figure out. They should arise out of your organizational strategy. In other words, a chronological review would have subsections for each vital time period. A thematic review would have subtopics based upon factors that relate to the theme or issue.

Sometimes, though, you might need to add additional sections that are necessary for your study, but do not fit in the organizational strategy of the body. What other sections you include in the body is up to you. Put in only what is necessary. Here are a few other sections you might want to consider:

• Current Situation: Information necessary to understand the topic or focus of the literature review.
• History: The chronological progression of the field, the literature, or an idea that is necessary to understand the literature review, if the body of the literature review is not already a chronology.
• Methods and/or Standards: The criteria you used to select the sources in your literature review or the way in which you present your information. For instance, you might explain that your review includes only peer-reviewed articles and journals.

Questions for Further Research: What questions about the field has the review sparked? How will you further your research as a result of the review?

Begin composing

Once you’ve settled on a general pattern of organization, you’re ready to write each section. There are a few guidelines you should follow during the writing stage as well. Here is a sample paragraph from a literature review about sexism and language to illuminate the following discussion:

However, other studies have shown that even gender-neutral antecedents are more likely to produce masculine images than feminine ones (Gastil, 1990). Hamilton (1988) asked students to complete sentences that required them to fill in pronouns that agreed with gender-neutral antecedents such as “writer,” “pedestrian,” and “persons.” The students were asked to describe any image they had when writing the sentence. Hamilton found that people imagined 3.3 men to each woman in the masculine “generic” condition and 1.5 men per woman in the unbiased condition. Thus, while ambient sexism accounted for some of the masculine bias, sexist language amplified the effect. (Source: Erika Falk and Jordan Mills, “Why Sexist Language Affects Persuasion: The Role of Homophily, Intended Audience, and Offense,” Women and Language19:2).

Use evidence

In the example above, the writers refer to several other sources when making their point. A literature review in this sense is just like any other academic research paper. Your interpretation of the available sources must be backed up with evidence to show that what you are saying is valid.

Be selective

Select only the most important points in each source to highlight in the review. The type of information you choose to mention should relate directly to the review’s focus, whether it is thematic, methodological, or chronological.

Use quotes sparingly

Falk and Mills do not use any direct quotes. That is because the survey nature of the literature review does not allow for in-depth discussion or detailed quotes from the text. Some short quotes here and there are okay, though, if you want to emphasize a point, or if what the author said just cannot be rewritten in your own words. Notice that Falk and Mills do quote certain terms that were coined by the author, not common knowledge, or taken directly from the study. But if you find yourself wanting to put in more quotes, check with your instructor.

Summarize and synthesize

Remember to summarize and synthesize your sources within each paragraph as well as throughout the review. The authors here recapitulate important features of Hamilton’s study, but then synthesize it by rephrasing the study’s significance and relating it to their own work.

Keep your own voice

While the literature review presents others’ ideas, your voice (the writer’s) should remain front and center. Notice that Falk and Mills weave references to other sources into their own text, but they still maintain their own voice by starting and ending the paragraph with their own ideas and their own words. The sources support what Falk and Mills are saying.

Use caution when paraphrasing

When paraphrasing a source that is not your own, be sure to represent the author’s information or opinions accurately and in your own words. In the preceding example, Falk and Mills either directly refer in the text to the author of their source, such as Hamilton, or they provide ample notation in the text when the ideas they are mentioning are not their own, for example, Gastil’s. For more information, please see our handout on plagiarism .

Revise, revise, revise

Draft in hand? Now you’re ready to revise. Spending a lot of time revising is a wise idea, because your main objective is to present the material, not the argument. So check over your review again to make sure it follows the assignment and/or your outline. Then, just as you would for most other academic forms of writing, rewrite or rework the language of your review so that you’ve presented your information in the most concise manner possible. Be sure to use terminology familiar to your audience; get rid of unnecessary jargon or slang. Finally, double check that you’ve documented your sources and formatted the review appropriately for your discipline. For tips on the revising and editing process, see our handout on revising drafts .

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Anson, Chris M., and Robert A. Schwegler. 2010. The Longman Handbook for Writers and Readers , 6th ed. New York: Longman.

Jones, Robert, Patrick Bizzaro, and Cynthia Selfe. 1997. The Harcourt Brace Guide to Writing in the Disciplines . New York: Harcourt Brace.

Lamb, Sandra E. 1998. How to Write It: A Complete Guide to Everything You’ll Ever Write . Berkeley: Ten Speed Press.

Rosen, Leonard J., and Laurence Behrens. 2003. The Allyn & Bacon Handbook , 5th ed. New York: Longman.

Troyka, Lynn Quittman, and Doug Hesse. 2016. Simon and Schuster Handbook for Writers , 11th ed. London: Pearson.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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Literature Reviews

• What is a literature review?
• Steps in the Literature Review Process
• Define your research question
• Determine inclusion and exclusion criteria
• Choose databases and search
• Review Results
• Synthesize Results
• Analyze Results
• Librarian Support

What is a Literature Review?

A literature or narrative review is a comprehensive review and analysis of the published literature on a specific topic or research question. The literature that is reviewed contains: books, articles, academic articles, conference proceedings, association papers, and dissertations. It contains the most pertinent studies and points to important past and current research and practices. It provides background and context, and shows how your research will contribute to the field. 

A literature review should: 

• Provide a comprehensive and updated review of the literature;
• Explain why this review has taken place;
• Articulate a position or hypothesis;
• Acknowledge and account for conflicting and corroborating points of view

From  S age Research Methods

Purpose of a Literature Review

A literature review can be written as an introduction to a study to:

• Demonstrate how a study fills a gap in research
• Compare a study with other research that's been done

Or it can be a separate work (a research article on its own) which:

• Organizes or describes a topic
• Describes variables within a particular issue/problem

Limitations of a Literature Review

Some of the limitations of a literature review are:

• It's a snapshot in time. Unlike other reviews, this one has beginning, a middle and an end. There may be future developments that could make your work less relevant.
• It may be too focused. Some niche studies may miss the bigger picture.
• It can be difficult to be comprehensive. There is no way to make sure all the literature on a topic was considered.
• It is easy to be biased if you stick to top tier journals. There may be other places where people are publishing exemplary research. Look to open access publications and conferences to reflect a more inclusive collection. Also, make sure to include opposing views (and not just supporting evidence).

Source: Grant, Maria J., and Andrew Booth. “A Typology of Reviews: An Analysis of 14 Review Types and Associated Methodologies.” Health Information & Libraries Journal, vol. 26, no. 2, June 2009, pp. 91–108. Wiley Online Library, doi:10.1111/j.1471-1842.2009.00848.x.

Meryl Brodsky : Communication and Information Studies

Hannah Chapman Tripp : Biology, Neuroscience

Carolyn Cunningham : Human Development & Family Sciences, Psychology, Sociology

Larayne Dallas : Engineering

Janelle Hedstrom : Special Education, Curriculum & Instruction, Ed Leadership & Policy ​

Susan Macicak : Linguistics

Imelda Vetter : Dell Medical School

For help in other subject areas, please see the guide to library specialists by subject .

Periodically, UT Libraries runs a workshop covering the basics and library support for literature reviews. While we try to offer these once per academic year, we find providing the recording to be helpful to community members who have missed the session. Following is the most recent recording of the workshop, Conducting a Literature Review. To view the recording, a UT login is required.

• October 26, 2022 recording
• Last Updated: Oct 26, 2022 2:49 PM
• URL: https://guides.lib.utexas.edu/literaturereviews

Literature Reviews and Annotated Bibliographies

• What is a Literature Review?

Best Practices: Components, Resources Sites

Best practices: quoting, paraphrasing, etc..

• Graduate Research and the Literature Review
• What is an Annotated Bibliography?
• How to Evaluate Sources?
• Citation & Avoiding Plagiarism

How to write a Literature Review?

Components:

• Introduction: State your research topic
• Body/Presentation of Sources Used: A research topic have different angles/viariables/themes. Organize your finding based of those categories.
• Discussion/Analysis of Literature: Summarize/synthesize major literature that deal with your research topic. Discuss common themes, gaps, etc...
• Conclusion: Re-state your topic and explain if it has changed after the review and what are the next steps for your research
• Do not over "quote." If you only quote from every single author you found, then you are not showing any original thinking or analysis. Use quotes judiciously. Use quotes to highlight a particular passages or thought that is exemplary of the research, theory or topic you are researching.
• Instead use paraphrasing to report, in your own words, what the author was reporting or theorizing.
• Summarize findings, important sections or a whole article--this is different from paraphrasing since you are not re-stating the author words but identifying the main points of what you are reading in a concise matter for your readers.
• When synthesizing your findings for the literature review (this is when make comparison, establish relationships between authors' works, point out weakness, strenghts and gaps among the literature review, you still need to give credit to these sources.

Definitions:

Quoting* : "(a) to speak or write (a passage) from another usually with credit acknowledgment. (b) to repeat a passage from especially in substantiation or illustration."

Paraphrasing* : Paraphrase is the “ restatement of a text, passage, or work giving the meaning in another form.”  

Summarize *: It’s the process of summarizing a text or paragraph to its the main points succinctly.

Synthesize *: “1. (a) the composition or combination of parts or elements so as to form a whole."

*Definitions from Merriam Webster Dictionary Online, http://www.m-w.com <Accessed September 1 st , 2011>

   Useful sites with tips on how to write a Literature Review :

• Write a Literature Review (UC Santa Cruz)
• Online Tutorial (North Carolina State University Libraries)
• Write a Literature Review ( Virginia Commonwealth University)
• The Literature Review: A Few Tips on Conducting it (University of Toronto)
• Write a Review of Literature (UW-Madison's Writing Center)
• Write a Literature Review (Johns Hopkins University)
• Doing your Undergraduate Project: The Literature Review (ASU Access only): Sage Research Methods
• << Previous: What is a Literature Review?
• Next: Graduate Research and the Literature Review >>
• Last updated: Jan 8, 2024 2:52 PM
• URL: https://libguides.asu.edu/LiteratureReviews

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Literature Review - what is a Literature Review, why it is important and how it is done

• Strategies to Find Sources
• Evaluating Literature Reviews and Sources

Literature Review Writing Tips

• Writing Literature Review: Useful Sites
• Citation Resources
• Other Academic Writings
• Useful Resources

Synthesize your findings. Your findings are your evaluation of the literature reviewed: what you consider the strenghts and weakness of the studies reviewed; the comparison you did between studies; research trends and gaps in the research that you found while researching your topic, etc...

Across the articles that you read, pay attention to what are the:

• Common/contested findings
• Important trends
• Influential theories
• Do not over quote. If you only quote from every single author you found, then you are not showing any original thinking or analysis. Use quotes judiciously. Use quotes to highlight a particular passage or thought that exemplifies the research, theory or topic you are researching.
• Instead, use paraphrasing. Restate the main ideas of a paragraph or section to highlight, in your own words, the important points made by the author.
• Summarize findings, important sections, a whole article or book: This is different from paraphrasing since you are not re-stating the author words but summarizing the main point of what you are reading in a concise matter for your readers.
• << Previous: Evaluating Literature Reviews and Sources
• Next: Writing Literature Review: Useful Sites >>
• Last Updated: Apr 10, 2024 3:27 PM
• URL: https://lit.libguides.com/Literature-Review

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Writing: Literature Review Basics

• What is Synthesis?
• Organizing Your Research
• Paraphrasing, Summary, or Direct Quotation?
• Introductions
• Conclusions
• All Writing Guides: Home
• CORE Library Home

Direct Quotations v Summary v Paraphrasing

• Introduction
• Direct Quotations
• Paraphrasing
• Common Knowledge

THE BASICS:

• Cite when referencing a source and stating someone else's ideas, research, opinions, or thoughts
• Cite when using an image, media file, document, or just about anything you did not create yourself.

• Direct quotation

IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO CITE THE FOLLOWING:

• Your thoughts, explanations, and interpretations
• Common knowledge

This Libguide section was inspired by one at Butler University, who graciously agreed to share their work. 

Source:  Butler University (2015).  Academic Integrity @ Butler.   Retrieved from http://libguides.butler.edu/c.php?g=34302&p=218280

" Quotations must be identical to the original, using a narrow segment of the source. They must match the source document word for word and must be attributed to the original author" (Driscoll & Brizee, 2013).

This quotation is taken word for word from the Purdue Online Writing Lab. Since the OWL's exact words are being used, credit is given to the authors, Driscoll & Brizee, using an in-text citation.  An entry would also be made in the paper's reference list as follows:

WHEN IS A DIRECT QUOTE APPROPRIATE?

Most of the time, summarizing or paraphrasing is a better choice.  Direct quotes are best under the following circumstances:

• When the phrasing is unique or strengthens your argument
• When the essence or meaning of the text would be lost if summarized or paraphrased
• When you want to invoke the authority of the author, and that authority is emphasized through the author's exact words.

WHEN USING A  DIRECT QUOTE ...

• Use quotation marks around all words copied from a source.
• Follow formatting guidelines for using short or long (more than 40 words) quotations.
• Provide an in-text citation for the source of the exact words you used immediately after the quotation
• List a complete citation for the source on your references page.

STILL HAVE QUESTIONS?

• Check out the Harvard Guide to Using Sources, " When and How Much to Quote ."

DEFINITION OF SUMMARY

"A summary involves Involves putting the main idea(s) into your own words, including only the main point(s).... Summaries are significantly shorter than the original and take a broad overview of the source material" (Driscoll & Brizee, 2013).

The passage above is a direct quotation from the Purdue OWL.  Now take a look at that same passage, which has been summarized, or which restates the most important ideas in the writer's own words.  A summary is usually much shorter than the original passage:

Summaries are short restatements of main ideas.

WHEN SHOULD SUMMARY BE USED?

• To provide useful background information for your audience
• When concise, general, broad information is all that is needed

HOW TO INCLUDE SUMMARY PROPERLY IN YOUR WRITING

• Since you are not directly quoting an author word-for-word, there is no need for quotation marks around your summary.
• Credit the source with an in-text citation;  be aware that APA requests you provide a page or paragraph number whenever available.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ...

Grounds for Argument:  How to Summarize Accurately

Harvard Guide to Using Sources:  When and How to Summarize

http://www.nwmissouri.edu/library/services/plagtips.htm

https://www.umuc.edu/students/academic-integrity/vail-tutorial.cfm

http://libguides.nl.edu/content.php?pid=16608&sid=5360442

http://libguides.butler.edu/c.php?g=34302&p=218282

DEFINITION OF PARAPHRASE:

"A  paraphrase is a detailed restatement in your own words of a written or sometimes spoken source material. Apart from the changes in organization, wording, and sentence structure, the paraphrase should be nearly identical in meaning to the original passage. It should also be near the same length as the original passage and present the details of the original." University of Houston-Victoria Student Success Center (n.d.). Decide when to Quote, Paraphrase & Summarize.

Paraphrasing is "your own rendition of essential information and ideas expressed by someone else, presented in a new form."   Purdue University Online Writing Lab. (2012).  Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing

Let's look at how a writer would paraphrase the definition from the Purdue OWL.

When you paraphrase, you take a passage from a source and put it into your own words. The original source must still be cited. Usually, the paraphrased version will be shorter than the original (Driscoll and Brizee, 2013).

Even though the paraphrased version isn't exactly the same as the source quotation, the idea is still the same. Therefore, it's important to give credit to the original writers.

Information in this section provided by Butler University http://libguides.butler.edu/c.php?g=34302&p=218282 and by National Louis University http://libguides.nl.edu/content.php?pid=16608&sid=5360442

WHEN PARAPHRASING ...

• Paraphrase an author's words by stating his or her ideas in your own words with your own phrasing.  Be sure to change both the sentence structure and wording.
• Compare your paraphrased writing with the author's exact words to make sure you have not copied phrases or sentences from the author.
• Always provide a citation for the paraphrased ideas.

PARAPHRASING versus SUMMARY:  WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?

Similarities

• Both involve a restatement of the original author's ideas and words. 
• Both require that you, the writer, give credit to the original source. 
• Both require that what you end up writing sounds more like you than the original author.

Differences 

• A paraphrase is a restatement that accurately represents the ideas in an author's original work, using your unique phrasing and vocabulary.
• A summary condenses the original author's words into just a few main ideas.  It is meant to be short.
• The main difference lies in purpose.   A paraphrase should focus on communicating the source material in a way that sounds uniquely like the writer who is restating the ideas.  Length is not a concern.  A summary is designed to capture the main idea of source material in brief form.
• Purdue Owl:  " Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing ."

Leonard Lief Library and Lehman Studios (2014). Just Because You Put It In Your Own Words... Retrieved from

       https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6T2lZ51iFI&feature=youtu.be

DEFINITION OF COMMON KNOWLEDGE

Common knowledge is information that is considered widely known or can be easily verified. 

Common knowledge does not need to be cited.

EXAMPLES OF COMMON KNOWLEDGE

• Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence.
• Water freezes around 32 degree Fahrenheit.
• The Great Lakes are located in the Midwest.
• Steve Jobs was the inventor of many Apple products.

CONSIDER YOUR AUDIENCE

What seems common to you may not be common to everyone, especially if the common knowledge to which you are referring is based primarily upon culture or geography.   For example, anyone who has taken basic American history knows about Thomas Jefferson's contributions to our nation, but someone who has been raised elsewhere and who immigrated to the US later may not have that same background knowledge.   In those cases, it is helpful to refer readers to outside sources for that information so they may pursue the topics on their own.

How to Quote

• Fewer than 40 Words
• 40 or More Words
• When you need to leave out part of a quotation to make it fit grammatically or because it contains irrelevant/unnecessary information, insert ellipses like this  . . .  to indicate the truncation.
• If you must add or slightly change words within a quotation for reasons of grammar or clarity, indicate the change with square brackets. Exception: It is acceptable to change double quotation marks to single ones when you have a quotation within a quotation; it is also fine to change the first word of a quotation to upper case when needed.

See pages 170-171 of the APA manual for more information.

Because they are an avenue to communicating a specific point, "quotations are effective in research papers when used selectively" (Gibaldi, 2003, p.109).

See pages 170-171 of the manual for more information.

40 Words or More

• Omit the quotation marks.
• Start a block quotation on a new line.
• Indent the entire quotation a half inch from the left margin (but not from the right margin).
• Double space the quotation.
• Place punctuation mark immediately after the quotation.

Quoting - Frequently Asked Questions

• How do I quote when there are no page numbers? If the page numbers are not provided, use paragraph numbers in your citation with abbreviation para . E xample: Research has clearly shown that "dogs drool often" (Jones, 2009, para. 2).  
• How do I indicate I have omitted part of the text?
• Use three spaced ellipsis points like this  . . .  within a sentence when you omit material from the original work.
• Use four points like this  . . . .  when you have omitted material between two sentences.

See page 173 of the manual for more information.

How to Cite

• 1-2 authors
• 3-5 authors

APA Style requires that you cite an author within the body of your paper in addition to having a full citation on the references page. You can directly quote an author or paraphrase an author.

Paraphrasing versus Quoting

It is highly preferred that you use your own words to describe someone else's work, findings, etc. Although paraphrasing is preferred, you can directly quote from an author as long as you include the author's name, the date of publication, and the page number of the quotation. (Look to the right for more information about quoting.)

See pages 174-179 of the manual for more information.

See page 176 Table 6.1 for Basic Citation Styles.

One Author:  

• Paraphrasing: Cite author's last name and publication year.
• Quoting: Cite author's last name, publication year, and the page number(s)*. *On a website? Then cite the paragraph number after para .

Paraphrasing:  Flight is an ability many birds have (Smith, 2011).

Author’s Name is Part of a Sentence: According to Smith (2011), many birds have the ability to fly.

Quoting:  "Many birds can fly" (Smith, 2011, p. 265).

Institutional Author: "For an institutional author, spell out its entire name" (Center for Institutional Authors, 2016, para. 2).

Two Authors:

Use the word and between the authors' last names when citing within the text, and use the ampersand (i.e., &) when citing within the parentheses.

• Paraphrasing: Cite authors' last names and publication year.
• Quoting: Cite authors' last names, publication year, and the page number(s).

Paraphrasing:  The research indicated that weather temperature is positively correlated with crime incidence (Davis & Brown, 1995).

Authors’ Names are Part of a Sentence : David and Brown (1995) suggest that weather temperature is positively correlated with crime incidence.

Quoting:  Davis and Brown (1995) stated, "higher temperatures are correlated with an increase in criminal activity" (p. 180).

See pages 174-175 of the manual for more information.

Three to Five Authors:  

Name all the authors' last names the first time you cite them. Use the word and between the second to last and last authors' last names when citing within the text, and use the ampersand (i.e., &) when citing within the parentheses.

Use et al. for any subsequent citations.

• Quoting: Cite authors' last names, publication year, and the page number(s).

Authors’ Names are Part of Sentence:

First Time:  Research from Lee, Lewis, Taylor, Smith, and Johnson (2015) shows that librarians often have difficulty coming up examples of fake quotes to use in libguides.

All Other Times:  Lee et al. (2015) suggest that librarians often have difficulty creating examples of fake quotes to use in libguides.

Citation at End of Sentence:

First Time:  (Lee, Lewis, Taylor, Smith, & Johnson, 2015).

All Other Times:  (Lee et al., 2015).

***Include the page number after the year if you are using a direct quote.

See page 175 of the manual for more information.

Six or More Authors:  

Only give the first author's last name followed by et al . rather than listing each author's name.

• Paraphrasing: Cite first author's last name, et al., and publication year.
• Quoting: Cite first author's last name, et al., publication year, and the page number(s).

Part of Sentence: Torres et al. (2010) argued...

Citation at End of Sentence: (Torres et al., 2010).

How do I cite it when...?

1. There's no author

If there is no author (be sure it's not an institutional author, like Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), cite  the first few words of the reference list entry (usually the title) and the year. Use double quotation marks around the title or abbreviated title. For example: ("All 33 Chile Miners," 2010). Note: Use the full title if it is short.

2. Authors Have The Same Last Name

If two or more of your sources are written by authors with the same surname, include the first author's initials with the surname in every in-text reference.

Example:  Among studies, we review M. A. Light and Light (2008) and I. Light (2006) ... 

3. No Page Numbers Are Available for a Quotation

If a resource contains no page numbers, as can be the case with electronic sources, then you cannot include a page number in the parentheses. However, if the source indicates paragraph numbers, use the abbreviation “para.” and the relevant number in the parentheses. If the paragraph number is not visible, cite the closest heading and the paragraph number following it.

4 Citing When Quoting a Quote

APA strongly recommends that you cite the direct and original source. So, if you read something that cites an interesting piece of information, it's best to find that original source, read it, and cite it. This will also prevent you from incorrectly interpreting it. Now, if you need to quote and cite something that is quoted in the source you are reading, there is a method.

Jackson's study (as cited in Smith, 2009) suggests....

You would only need to cite "Smith" in your references page, since this is the author you have read.

5. Citing Multiple Sources At Once

When citing several sources at once, combine them all within one set of parentheses. List them in alphabetical order (by authors' last names) and date order (if necessary), using semicolons between them.

Example:  Many studies have found a significant correlation between writing papers early and getting a higher grade (Day & Dream, 2010; Light, 2008;  Night, Walker, & Sleep, 2015) .

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Few things are better than reading a good book on your porch on a warm summer night, but sometimes it’s nice to get some encouragement from other readers to get those pages turning. That’s why we’ve pulled some quotes about reading that are sure to satisfy every kind of reader. We even have some quotes about reading for the kids and students in your life. 

Quotes About The Magic Of Books

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• “There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate's loot on Treasure Island.” ― Walt Disney
• “To learn to read is to light a fire; every syllable that is spelled out is a spark.” ― Victor Hugo
• “I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of any thing than of a book! — When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library.” ― Jane Austen
• “Books are the mirrors of the soul.”― Virginia Woolf
• “Reading furnishes the mind only with materials of knowledge; it is thinking that makes what we read ours.” ― John Locke
• “I can survive well enough on my own – if given the proper reading material.” ― Sarah J. Maas
• “Literature is my Utopia” ― Helen Keller
• “If a book is well written, I always find it too short.” ― Jane Austen
• “Some books are so familiar that reading them is like being home again.” ― Louisa May Alcott
• “Books are the plane, and the train, and the road. They are the destination, and the journey. They are home.” ― Anna Quindlen
• “Books are a uniquely portable magic.” ― Stephen King
• “A book is a gift you can open again and again.” ― Garrison Keillor
• “Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing.” ― Harper Lee
• “There is no friend as loyal as a book.”― Ernest Hemingway
• “Never trust anyone who has not brought a book with them.”― Lemony Snicket
• “The reading of all good books is like conversation with the finest (people) of the past centuries.” ― René Descartes
• “A room without books is like a body without a soul.” ― Cicero
• “You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.” ― C.S. Lewis 
• “Read the best books first, or you may not have a chance to read them at all.” ― Henry David Thoreau
• “I think books are like people, in the sense that they’ll turn up in your life when you most need them.” ― Emma Thompson
• “I guess there are never enough books.” ― John Steinbeck
• “For my whole life, my favorite activity was reading. It’s not the most social pastime.” ― Audrey Hepburn
• “Reading is escape, and the opposite of escape; it's a way to make contact with reality after a day of making things up, and it's a way of making contact with someone else's imagination after a day that's all too real.” ― Nora Ephron
• “The reason that fiction is more interesting than any other form of literature, to those who really like to study people, is that in fiction the author can really tell the truth without humiliating himself.”― Eleanor Roosevelt
• “You will learn most things by looking, but reading gives understanding. Reading will make you free.” ― Paul Rand
• “I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of any thing than of a book! -- When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library.” ― Jane Austen
• “I can feel infinitely alive curled up on the sofa reading a book.” ― Benedict Cumberbatch
• "Books are good company, in sad times and happy times, for books are people – people who have managed to stay alive by hiding between the covers of a book." ― E.B. White
• “What I love most about reading: It gives you the ability to reach higher ground. And keep climbing.” ― Oprah
• “Today a reader, tomorrow a leader.” ― Margaret Fuller
• “If we encounter a man of rare intellect, we should ask him what books he reads.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson
• “I’ve always thought that a good book should be either the entry point inward, to learn about yourself, or a door outward, to open you up to new worlds.” ― Taylor Jenkins Reid
• "I'm reading so much and exposing myself to so many new ideas. It almost feels like the chemistry and the structure of my brain is changing so rapidly sometimes,” ― Emma Watson
• "Books are a form of political action. Books are knowledge. Books are reflection. Books change your mind," ― Toni Morrison
• “I have challenged myself that I will read thousands of books and I will empower myself with knowledge. Pens and books are the weapons that defeat terrorism,” ― Malala Yousafzai
• “Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.” ― Joseph Addison
• “Reading is a discount ticket to everywhere.”― Mary Schmich
• “Reading is the sole means by which we slip, involuntarily, often helplessly, into another’s skin, another’s voice, another’s soul.” ― Joyce Carol Oates
• “That is part of the beauty of all literature. You discover that your longings are universal longings, that you’re not lonely and isolated from anyone. You belong.” ― F. Scott Fitzgerald
• “Books can be dangerous. The best ones should be labeled “This could change your life.”― Helen Exley
• “In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get through to you.” ― Mortimer J. Adler
• "One of the many gifts that books give readers is a connection to each other. When we share an affection for a writer, an author or a story, we also have a better understanding of people unlike ourselves. Books cultivate empathy." ― Sarah Jessica Parker 
• "All good books are alike in that they are truer than if they had really happened, and after you are finished reading one, you will feel that all that happened to you and afterwards it all belongs to you; the good and the bad, the ecstasy, the remorse and sorrow, the people and the places and how the weather was." ― Ernest Hemingway 
• "Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing." ― Benjamin Franklin

Quotes About Reading For Children And Students

• “There are many little ways to enlarge your child’s world. Love of books is the best of all.” ― Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
• “I have a passion for teaching kids to become readers, to become comfortable with a book, not daunted. Books shouldn’t be daunting, they should be funny, exciting and wonderful; and learning to be a reader gives a terrific advantage.” ― Roald Dahl
• “A children’s story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children’s story in the slightest.” ― C.S. Lewis
• “Show me a family of readers, and I will show you the people who move the world.” ― Napoléon Bonaparte
• “Any book that helps a child to form a habit of reading, to make reading one of his deep and continuing needs, is good for him.”― Maya Angelou
• “Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.” ― Harry Truman
• "The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go," ― Dr. Seuss 
• "I wouldn't be a songwriter if it wasn't for books that I loved as a kid. I think that when you can escape into a book it trains your imagination to think big and to think that more can exist than what you see." ― Taylor Swift 
• "Reading is the gateway skill that makes all other learning possible," ― Barack Obama 
• “I am so impressed again with the life-giving power of literature. If I were a young person today, trying to gain a sense of myself in the world, I would do that again by reading, just as I did when I was young.” ​​― Maya Angelou
• “Don’t give up reading, the more you practice, the easier it will get.” ― unknown
• “Let children read whatever they want and then talk about it with them.“ ― Judy Blume
• “A child who carries a book with a bookmark in it is in two places at the same time.” ― Tony Abbott
• “When I look back, I am so impressed again with the life-giving power of literature. If I were a young person today, trying to gain a sense of myself in the world, I would do that again by reading, just as I did when I was young” ― Maya Angelou 
• “I kept always two books in my pocket, one to read, one to write in.” ― Robert Louis Stevenson

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