Most students understand what a literature review is supposed to do long before they can picture what one looks like on the page. This guide closes that gap with a literature review example you can study paragraph by paragraph, a reusable outline, and a fill-in template.
The example is built on a fictional topic, and its sources are labeled Source A, Source B, and so on instead of real citations. That keeps the focus on structure and synthesis, which transfer to any field, rather than on findings you might be tempted to cite.
What a Literature Review Needs to Do
A literature review is not a list of summaries. It organizes existing research around ideas, shows where studies agree and disagree, and ends by identifying the gap your study will address. A strong review does four things:
- Defines the scope: which topic, populations, years, and types of evidence it covers.
- Synthesizes: groups sources by theme, method, or finding and compares them.
- Evaluates: notes strengths and limitations, such as sample size, setting, or design.
- Builds toward a gap: shows what remains unknown and why your research question matters.
To see where the review fits in your whole document, use our thesis outline template. For the full process from search strategy to final draft, see our step-by-step guide to writing a literature review.
Literature Review Outline
Most reviews in a thesis, dissertation, or research article follow this outline. Your program's template or the target journal's instructions take precedence.
- Introduction
- The topic and why it matters
- Scope: years, populations, settings, types of sources
- How the review is organized
- Body, organized by theme (usually two to five themes)
- Theme 1: what the studies show, where they agree, where they differ
- Theme 2: same pattern
- Theme 3: same pattern, often covering methods or limitations across studies
- Conclusion
- Summary of what is known
- The gap or unresolved question
- How your study addresses it
A thematic structure is the most common choice. Chronological and methodological structures also work when the field's history or its research designs are the main story.
Fill-In Literature Review Template
Use this template to draft each section before you polish the prose.
| Section | Prompt to answer | Length guide |
|---|---|---|
| Introduction | What is the topic, why does it matter now, and what does this review cover and exclude? | 1 to 3 paragraphs |
| Theme paragraph: claim | What is the main pattern across these sources? | 1 to 2 sentences |
| Theme paragraph: evidence | Which sources support it, and how do their findings compare? | 3 to 6 sentences |
| Theme paragraph: evaluation | What limits these studies (sample, setting, design, measures)? | 1 to 3 sentences |
| Theme paragraph: link | How does this theme connect to the next one or to your question? | 1 sentence |
| Conclusion | What is known, what is not, and how will your study help? | 1 to 3 paragraphs |
If you are tracking many sources, a literature review matrix makes the theme and evidence columns much faster to fill.
Annotated Literature Review Example
The following sample is fictional. The topic is telehealth follow-up care for adults with type 2 diabetes in rural areas. Notes after each part explain why it works.
Example introduction
Rural adults with type 2 diabetes face longer travel times to clinics and fewer specialists than urban adults, which can make regular follow-up care difficult. Telehealth follow-up visits have expanded quickly, raising the question of whether they can support blood glucose control in rural settings as well as in-person visits do. This review examines studies published over the past ten years on telehealth follow-up for adults with type 2 diabetes in rural areas of the United States. It is organized around three themes: clinical outcomes, patient engagement, and barriers to access. It excludes studies of type 1 diabetes and of telehealth used only for initial diagnosis.
Why it works: the first sentence establishes the problem, the second names the issue the review addresses, and the remaining sentences state the scope, the organization, and what is excluded. A reader knows exactly what follows.
Example body paragraph (one theme)
Studies comparing telehealth and in-person follow-up report broadly similar changes in hemoglobin A1c, though the size of the effect varies with program design. Source A, a randomized trial in two rural health systems, found comparable A1c reductions between groups at 12 months, while Source B, a retrospective cohort study, reported slightly greater reductions when telehealth visits were paired with remote glucose monitoring. Source C found no advantage for video visits alone, suggesting that monitoring and frequent contact, rather than the video format itself, may drive improvement. However, most studies in this theme drew on patients who already had reliable internet access, which may overstate effectiveness for rural residents without it. This limitation leads directly to the question of who can use telehealth at all, the focus of the next theme.
Why it works: the paragraph opens with a claim about the pattern across sources, not with a single study. It compares sources against each other ("while," "found no advantage"), evaluates a shared limitation, and ends with a transition. Notice that no sentence is a standalone summary of one article.
Example conclusion
Across the reviewed studies, telehealth follow-up appears to support blood glucose control for rural adults with type 2 diabetes when it includes regular monitoring and contact, and patients report convenience as a major benefit. Yet the evidence comes mostly from patients with dependable broadband and from health systems with established telehealth programs. Little is known about outcomes for rural adults with limited internet access, who may stand to gain the most from reduced travel. The present study addresses this gap by examining follow-up outcomes among rural patients who use audio-only telehealth visits.
Why it works: this literature review conclusion example summarizes what is known in one or two sentences, names the gap precisely, and connects it to the study's purpose. It does not introduce new sources or restate every finding.
How Long Should a Literature Review Be?
Length depends on the document. A literature review in a journal article may run a few pages, while a dissertation literature review chapter is often much longer. Check your program's guidelines and recently approved dissertations in your department; our literature review guide covers length in more detail.
Common Mistakes in Literature Reviews
- Summarizing one source per paragraph. Organize by theme and compare sources inside each paragraph.
- Missing the gap. If the conclusion does not name what is unknown, the review has no destination.
- Quoting instead of synthesizing. Paraphrase and compare; save direct quotes for exact definitions or language that matters.
- Ignoring quality. Note design limitations, small samples, or narrow settings rather than treating all studies as equal.
- Unclear scope. State your inclusion and exclusion criteria so readers know why some studies are absent.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a literature review look like?
It looks like an essay organized by themes, with headings for each theme in longer reviews. Each paragraph makes a claim, supports it with several sources, evaluates them, and connects to the next idea. It ends with a conclusion that names the research gap.
Is a literature review written in APA format?
Many social science, education, nursing, and public health programs require APA Style for citations, headings, and references. APA governs presentation, not the review's structure, so follow your program's template for sections.
What is the difference between a literature review and an annotated bibliography?
An annotated bibliography summarizes and evaluates sources one at a time. A literature review synthesizes sources across themes and builds an argument toward a research gap.
Key Takeaway
A literature review moves from scope, to themed synthesis, to a clearly stated gap. Use the outline to plan, the template to draft each paragraph, and the annotated example to check that every paragraph compares sources rather than summarizing them.
To organize your sources first, try the free Literature Review Matrix and the Research Gap Identifier. If you want one-on-one help building your literature review outline and proposal, Dissertation Proposal Prep includes a structured literature review outline with source mapping.
Written by Angel Reyes, DrPH (c), PMP, PMI-ACP, MPH, MCHES, founder of Subthesis.