1. What to write and how to write it!
Honors Bio Lit Review
What to write and how to write it!

2. What is a scientific lit review?
A literature review summarize others research, synthesis existing research, and analyzes that research.
It looks at what others have done so that future work can be done on a topic.
It keeps scientist up to date as to what’s happening in a particular field of science.
Remember, this is not just a summary or a book report.
It should Describe, Evaluate, and Critique a variety of different scientific sources.
You next question may then be, “But how do I do those things?”
Discusses a published information in a particular subject area. A research paper does field and lab research. It contains lit review at the beginning which summarizes what others have done. A lit review summarize others research, synthesis existing research, and analyzes that research. It looks at what others have done so that future work can be done on a topic. It keeps scientist up to date as to what’s happening in a the field of science. It shows that we have looked at what has been done before.

3. 3Articles from scientific or academic journals.
Today you will start to Evaluate and Critique your sources.
You have already written a summary for each source.
In your Lit class, this summary may get turned into an annotated bibliography.
Please get out those summaries!

4. Writing your Introduction
The next step is to process these 3 summaries into your paper.
The introduction should define and identify your general topic.
What was your first news article about?
“According to CNN on April 23, 2016, there was evidence of microscopic organisms found on Mars.”
Then, describe the rest of the article
Fact 1
Fact 2
Fact 3

5. Writing your Introduction
Finally, end your introduction by
Stating your reason for reviewing the literature
“This topic is very interesting and leads to a better understanding of how viruses may be transmitted.”
Explain the criteria you plan to use for analyzing the articles.
“This paper will present the research in a chronological order of discoveries.”
(which shows how the topic has changed over time)
And, if necessary, state why you included certain articles.
“This particular paper changed the way that all scientist think about this disorder.”

6. The Body
Most of your papers will follow one of the following organization principles.
Chronological – Present the information from your scientific articles in order that the events happened. This style is good to use if you are explaining how our understanding of the topic has changed over time.
Thematic –Present the information from your scientific articles as it describes a central theme. This style is best if your articles are about a topic that hasn’t changed.

7. The Body The most important thing is to write something!
It is all too easy to sit staring at a blank computer screen.
If you find yourself “stuck”, try making bullet points about what you want to write about.
“I want to write about the two new methods for detecting breast cancer.”
“I want to write about how doctors are educating patients about these methods.”
“I want to talk about how these new methods are improving the health of patients.”

8. The Body Next, take those bullets and use them to guide your paper.
Two new methods of detection of breast cancer are……. The first method was discovered by Doctor Smith. In the research article by Dr. Smith (2011), she explains how the new method was discovered. First, the research team worked with patients that exhibited certain characteristics.
Finish describing the type of work explained in your article.
Next, move on to the next article.
Another detection techniques include _____________. This technique was discovered by the research team at Emory University (Jones, 2013).
From here the body of your paper will start to make more sense.

9. The Conclusion
Tie it all together! “From this research it can be concluded that the original CNN article was true.” Finish by summing up the main findings and give suggestions of what future research should focus on.
Note how both authors are cited and listed in alphabetical order.

10. Format of the paper (APA or MLA)
You have learned MLA in your literature classes.
MLA is used for literature and other humanities fields.
We covered APA on this PowerPoint.
APA is used for scientific papers and research.
Use the format that you feel the most comfortable using.

11. Format of the paper (APA)
Remember to look at the example paper found here:
Yes this is a 14 page college paper.
No I do not expect yours to be that long or have that much detail.
Then why am I showing it to you?
It is a great example that show you in text citations and formating.
It is a great example that shows you common student errors and explains how to fix them.
If you are confused by any of it, then you should…….
ASK YOUR TEACHER FOR HELP!

12. Honors Biology Lit Review
Use your time wisely in class today.
Ask for help and feedback from your teacher.
Our main goal today is the introduction. (A good solid paragraph)
We will go over directions for the body & conclusion next week, but we will not have class time for writing.
Our next check in will be Mar. 7th. Papers are Due Mar. 24.
Lit Review Dos
Lit Review Don’ts
Do use Times New Roman 12 pt font
Do not use contractions
Do single or double spacing
Do not use first person
Do have someone else read your paper to catch errors
Do not start sentences with a number (24 Twenty-Four)