1. ML189 Developing Academic and Employability Skills
Literature Review
Corporate Social Responsibility
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2. Title page One full side of A4 to include:
Module code and name of module
Title of the assignment ‘A Literature Review of …..’
Student name and number
Seminar group
Date
Word Count (actual)

3. Average Grades % A 62 M 53 B N C 57 D 61 P E Q F R G S H T J U K V L W

4. Contents page DON’T USE SHOUTY CAPITALS!!
Headings and sub headings on left side
Page numbers on the right hand side
Don’t use range of pages e.g. 9-11
Don’t write pg/page/PAGE
Check the formatting pre-submission
Word has a facility for including an automatic Table of Contents

5. Content
Introduction
should introduce the work i.e. explain that this is a literature review
that it will be a survey of the published literature on ……
explain the aim/s of the work i.e. to compare and contrast what different authors have written about ... your chosen subject matter
mention relevant theories which will be explored
Should introduce the idea of CSR and which theory you might use for this eg Friedman

6. Content
Methodology
Remember what the point of this is ie that another academic could replicate your research or use your research as a basis for further research
Explain that the literature review will be based on secondary source research
Don’t bother mentioning that you aren’t doing primary research. No one would expect you to in a Lit Review
Explain how the research was undertaken i.e. by using published material from
The Aldrich library,
UoB online library databases: BSP/Emerald,
The Internet (making it clear that only authoritative sources have been used)
Which search engines did you use? Eg Google scholar?

7. Key issues
Explain what the key issues are – what are the main topics that you have identified about your subject as you have been doing your background reading?
Who are the key writers? Whose name/s keeps cropping up as an authority on the subject? Which author/s are cited regularly by others?

8. Critical analysis
Here you are critically analysing what different authors have written about your topic….
If we take Friedman as an example of a CSR theorist:
What do other authors say about his theory?
What other theories are there?
How do they compare/ contrast with Friedman?
Make sure that you don’t talk about any other topic than the assessment brief e.g. motivation, leadership.
This will lose you marks
Also appropriate to consider the authority and currency of the published material you are using and comment on that
Doing this will gain you marks as it evidences criticality
If you are using Apple, child labour as a case study, use the CSR theory to underpin this.
CSR was the theme of the assignment. Failure to mention CSR theory will lose you marks.

9. Conclusion Must be grounded in the literature; it is not your opinion
Cite sources to back up your conclusions
Failure to cite your sources will lose you marks
Do not introduce new material (or authors) in a conclusion – it must relate to what has already been written
Adding new material here shows that you don’t understand the function of the conclusion and will cost you marks

10. References Most of you made a really good attempt at this.
One list, in alphabetical order (based on author surname) using the Harvard referencing conventions
Include all the sources that you have used (cited) in your literature review

11. Bibliography
Laid out in the same manner as References section but does not repeat anything that has already been included in the references
It is a list of the ADDITIONAL reading you have done that has informed your understanding but you have not used in your literature review

12. Appendices (this was a weak area generally)
Please include a list of appendices
Each appendix needs a number, title and page number (if there is more than one) e.g.
Appendix 1: Apple’s Profit and Loss Accounts …... 23
Number the appendices in the order that they appear in the text ie the first one would be appendix 1 and so on.
Each appendix must be referred to in the text (otherwise we won’t look for it!)
If there is just one item in an appendix then the correct heading is Appendix (singular)
If there are two or more items in an appendix then the correct heading is Appendices (plural)
Appendices are only there to support the main text
They are not marked
They are not part of the main submission
Don’t use them to make up for a lengthy word count

13. Other points to remember
Write in the third person, not first person
Using I/we will cost you marks
A literature review is not a person, so it can’t do/say/intend anything. You can’t say:
This literature review aims to…
Your should write something like:
The purpose of this literature review is to compare and contrast the literature of..
In text source references should only include author surname, year AND page number only if you are making a direct quote
Understand where to place the ( ). If the author name is part of the sentence then the ( ) should only contain the year and page number if it is a direct quote
Direct quotes longer than 30 words should be indented in the text
Main text should be in 12 point font using Times New Roman, Arial or a similar, formal, font. Use 1.5 spacing
Keep sentences short; overly long sentences lose their thread and often do not make sense

14. Other points to remember cont.
Quotes should not exceed 5% of the length of your assignment
Use spell check and proof read work before submission to address errors
Even when you are writing reflections, maintain the usual rules of formal academic writing
(your tutor may allow first person in this instance but check first)
Always support statements with the evidence base
Use italics as appropriate re Harvard referencing conventions
Use theory and references to support your reflections eg Belbin, VARK

15. Common spelling errors
There – in that place
Their – belong to them
They’re – they are
It’s – it is
Its – belonging to it
Affect (verb) – to influence or produce an
effect on vs
Effect (noun or verb) to result; to bring about
or accomplish
Do not use contractions e.g. don’t, can’t, aren't write do not, cannot, are not
Correspondents vs correspondence
Mirage vs myriad
Practises vs practices
Attained vs obtained
Program vs programme (suggests that computer language setting is US English rather than UK English)
Asses vs assess
Know vs now
Loose vs lose
Weather vs whether
Waist vs waste

16. Positives
Clear engagement with chosen topics with some very interesting choices of topic
Good use of current, relevant literature, in the main
Good use of real world examples to support the points made
Good layout
Most people included the self – assessment sheet
Most people had done the library quiz
Formal writing used
Clear arguments developed, in the main
Most conclusion sections arose out of arguments developed throughout the work. Best examples gave recommendations for future practice.

17. Include all the sections…
You lost marks for each section that you did not include
For some of you, this has taken you down from a good grade to a referral position

18. Let’s have a look at a good example…..
I’ll also show you how/where to access the assignment feedback
The mark (remember that this assignment is worth 50% of the overall module mark)
Comments on text
Rubric
General comments

19. So….
How will you change your approach to the next assignment?