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http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Criollo-LitReview.html

Teaching TESOL Undergraduates

to Organize and Write Literature
Reviews
Roberto Criollo
rcriollo [at] hotmail.com
Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (Puebla, Pue., Mexico)
This paper presents an application of Genre Analysis on academic writing instruction.
More specifically, techniques and steps for enabling ESF/EFL learners to organize
and develop literature reviews are presented and explained.

Introduction
Academic writing is usually regarded as one of the most demanding and complicated
tasks in higher education. The problem becomes doubled when the writing needs to be
done in a language that is not our own (Almeida, 1984; Aghbar, 1990; Atatri, 1984a;
Belcher, 1990; Cruickshank and Yates, 1990). In fact, most institutions in the United
States comprise Language Centers where international and bilingual students are
placed for remedial work in the language, especially in writing (Collier 1987 and
1989, Cummins 1981 and 1994). Academic writing is more difficult for nonnative
undergraduate students because, unlike creative writing, academic writing is highly
conventionalized and it comprises specific genres such as summaries, critiques, and
research papers. These genres require knowledge of specific skills, vocabulary and
discourse (Atkinson and Hedgcock, 1990; Bhatia, 1993; Belcher and Braine, 1994;
Connor and Johns, 1989; Swales 1990).

Academic writing problems may be partly due to language proficiency. Studies on the
performance of bilingual students by Collier (1987 and 1989) and Cummins (1981),
suggest that while conversational skills can be acquired within two years of exposure
to the language, academic skills may take from four to nine years. The fact is,
however, that neither students nor teachers can wait for so long. For that reason, it is
important to use an approach to academic writing instruction that maximizes students'
knowledge and capacities and enables them to write academically and successfully.
The approach and techniques that will be presented below are based on the concept of
genre analysis (Swales 1990) and they have proven to be effective with undergraduate
EFL learners.
Previous Considerations: American
Psychological Association (APA) Style
Before writing, students should be aware that they will probably be required to use
APA Style in their literature review. The term "APA style" refers to a standardized
way of citing references in the text and in the list of references at the end of a research
paper. As the purpose of this paper is not to explain APA conventions, the
reader/teacher should refer to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological
Association. If a style other than APA is used, this should also be taught first.

Developing the Literature Review from an

Outline
Students must be aware that the main communicative function of a Literature Review
is to present the theoretical framework of a study, based on the information that has
been collected about a problem. In other words, they need to write about:

• Specific theories related to the problem.

• What is known about the problem from other empirical studies.
• What needs to be done to advance knowledge concerning the problem.

In order for them to be able to collect and organize all the information necessary,
students can start from this outline (Ask them to arrange items in three or four
columns):

1. Specific concepts, theories, and variables related to the problem.

2. heir point of view about the topic.
3. Different authors' points of view about the topic (either supporting or refuting
students' points of view)
4. What is known about the problem from other empirical studies (i.e. results of
research, also supporting or refuting own points of view).

Developing the Outline

It is very easy to have students develop paragraphs for the literature review from the
outline that they wrote. The first step towards this is to show them the model below.

Structure of a Paragraph in the Literature Review

A concept is introduced / A point is made (topic sentence) + It is supported with

references or previous research results + More support is added + If there is
information refuting (contradicting) the point made, it is added + More negative
evidence is added, if there is + The different points of view are compared and
contrasted + A conclusion (restating the topic sentence) is drawn.
To illustrate this paragraph model, teachers can show the following example.
Exercise: Read the following paragraph and try to find the structure above.
Determine to what extent they follow this model and state whether you see some
differences.

Paragraph Topic: Learning Styles

In order to understand best the importance of learning styles in the language

classroom, it is first important to provide a definition of what learning styles are. Reid
(1995) defines learning style as "an individual's natural, habitual, and preferred
way(s) of absorbing, processing, and retaining new information ands skills". In a
similar way, Brown (2000) states that every person has their own natural way to
perceive, transform, learn, and possess knowledge and information in their
environment. Using a narrower concept, Larsen-Freeman & Long (1991, p. 192)
define ‘cognitive style' as "the preferred way in which learners process information or
address a task". Their definition is limited in that, as will be seen when a classification
of learning styles is given (Reid 1995), there are learning styles that do not depend on
cognitive processes. Finally, it is important to mention that learning styles will not
vary across teaching methods and content areas, they will persist (Reid 1995 and
1998); and, even though they develop gradually in children, they are supposed to be
more or less permanent in adults (Brown 2000). It can then be concluded that learning
styles are the somewhat permanent ways in which learners perceive, process, and
understand the information around them.

After having introduced to learners to the rhetorical organization of literature review

paragraph, the next step is to have them do a guided writing exercise.

Paragraph Writing Practice: Look at the sample outline below. Read the
information carefully and develop it into a paragraph. Remember to use the structure
outlined above.

CONCEPTS
YOUR POINT OF
FROM NOTES FROM BOOKS
VIEW
OUTLINE
2.2 Defining "Description of the contents of a course of A syllabus is useful
Syllabus instruction and the order in which they are to because it specifies
be taught" (Richards et al. 1992, p. 368). the content of the
course to be taught.
Nunan (1988a) "syllabus is seen as being
concerned essentially with the selection and
grading of content, while methodology is
concerned with the selection of learning tasks
and activities".

Widdowson (1984, p. 26) defines syllabus as a

general plan of activities that can be applied in
a class to facilitate the learning process.

Yalden (1984, p. 14): syllabus is considered as

 an instrument by means of which the teacher
can achieve a degree of accomplishment
between needs and social or individual actions
in the class.

Learners can then compare their work with the model paragraph below:

Paragraph: Defining Syllabus

A second term of interest for this project is that of syllabus. Broadly, syllabus has
been defined as the "description of the contents of a course of instruction and the
order in which they are to be taught" (Richards et al. 1992, p. 368). Nunan (1988a)
agrees with this view, stating that "syllabus is seen as being concerned essentially
with the selection and grading of content, while methodology is concerned with the
selection of learning tasks and activities". From these definitions, it is apparent that
syllabus is the part of a curriculum that deals with the content and sequencing of the
courses within the program. Thus, syllabus is subordinated to curriculum. On the
other hand, according to Yalden (1984, p. 14), syllabus is considered as an instrument
by means of which the teacher can achieve a degree of accomplishment between
needs and social or individual actions in the class. In yet a further definition,
Widdowson (1984, p. 26) defines syllabus as a general plan of activities that can be
applied in a class to facilitate the learning process. In general, it can now be
concluded that syllabus is a part of the curriculum that concerns the selection and
sequencing of content to be taught in a language program.

Expressing One's Point of View & Achieving

Coherence
One of the most important things learners have to consider in their literature review
has to do with having a point of view. The outline will help them develop and clearly
state their main points, but they need much more than that. They will need to use
words that express relationships between different items of information. Swales and
Feak (1994) provide the following list of connectors and their meanings (modified to
show punctuation).

Sentence Connectors

Table 1: Academic English Connectors and Their Meaning (Adapted from

Swales and Feak 1994)
Subordinators Sentence Connectors Phrase Linkers
Addition Furthermore, ... In addition to..., ...
In addition, ...
Moreover, ...
Adversative ..., although However, ... Despite ..., ...
Although ..., ... Nevertheless, ... In spite of ..., ...
 Even though ____, ...
Despite the fact that..
Cause and Effect ...because... Therefore, ... Because of...
Since..., ... As a result, ... Due to...
..., since ... Consequently, ... As a result of...
..., hence...
Thus, ...
Clarification In other words, ...
That is, ...
i.e., ...
Contrast While ..., ... In contrast, ... Unlike ... , ...
..., whereas ... However, ...
On the other hand, ...
Conversely, ...
Illustration For example, ...
For instance, ...
Intensification On the contrary, ...
As a matter of fact, ...
In fact, ...

Uses of Connectors

Different points of view can be taken and different arguments can be built from any
given piece of information, depending on which part is emphasized or de-emphasized.
This is a matter of deciding on one's stance and then using the appropriate logical
connectors that help express this position. This can be demonstrated by showing them
the example below.
Information: John is very old and ugly, John is filthy rich. No point of view ? John
is very old, ugly, and filthy rich.

Different Points of View Using Connectors:

 John is old and ugly. However , he is filthy rich

 John is filthy rich. Nevertheless , he is old and ugly.
 Despite the fact that John is old and ugly, women love him because he is filthy
rich.
 John has some qualities, for example , he is filthy rich. On the other hand , he
has the unwanted characteristics of being old and ugly.
 While Peter is young and handsome, John is old and ugly. In fact , John's
appearance is disgusting.
 Unlike John, who is filthy rich, Peter is an abbreviated piece of nothing. As a
result , women prefer John.
 John is filthy rich and, although he is old and ugly, women love him.
We could come up with endless examples looking at the same information from
different points of view. At this point students will be ready to do some exercises
related to actual theory.

Using Connectors to Express One's Point of View about the Literature

In the following exercises, students are asked to manipulate the information to express
different points of view, using support from sources.

Exercise with Connectors

Point to be made: Explaining the construct of writing ability.

Information from Bibliography:

 Lexico-grammatical ability - the ability to use correct structures and vocabulary

(Hadley 1993).
 Cognitive ability - the ability to self-consciously use linguistic and intellectual
resources (Bartholomae and Petrosky, 1986; Elbow, 1990; Nelson, 1991; Reid, 1993;
Shaughnessy, 1977).
 Discourse ability - The ability to organize one's ideas in a cohesive and coherent
manner (Scarcella and Oxford, 1992)
 Sociolinguistic ability - the ability to use language that is appropriate in a social
context (Scarcella and Oxford 1992)
Additional Information: All these abilities seem to be inextricably linked. Some
people organize them into the broader concept of ‘communicative competence'
(Scarcella and Oxford, 1992).

Task: Using connectors, write several sentences where you take different positions.

 Simply explain the components of the reading ability construct.

 Compare and contrast different abilities, then
 Emphasize the importance of grammatical ability over cognitive ability.
 Emphasize the importance of cognitive ability over grammatical ability.
 Emphasize the importance of discourse and sociolinguistic ability.
 Explain the importance of all the elements and their relations.

Integrating Ideas from Sources

Handling and presenting information from different sources can be really difficult.
Students must know that:

• They must clearly distinguish between their own opinions, ideas, and words,
and those of others (citations, quotations).
• As citing somebody else's work and using their concepts is the main
characteristic of the literature review, reported speech is used very often.

Below is a list of common verbs and expressions students can use to cite the authors'
work.

Verbs:

• State
• Maintain
• Remark
 • Propose
• Observe
• Suggest
• Declare
• Define
• Emphasize
• Comment
• Report
• Assert
• Claim
• Contend
• Point out
• Argue
• Imply
• Explain

Phrases:

• According to _____, ...

• In the opinion of _____, ...
• _____ expresses the view that...
• _____ holds the view that...
• As _____ states, ...
• As reported by _____, ...

Expressions Referring to Previous Research:

• _____'s study shows that ...

• _____'s research suggests that ...
• _____s results demonstrate that ...
• _____s research provides evidence of ...
• From '__s results, it may follow that ...
• As shown in ___'s research, ...

Final Considerations
Finally, students should edit their literature review. Have them revise their paragraphs
for singleness of topic, cohesion, and coherence. Similarly, have them make sure that
there are clear links between the different sentences, paragraphs, and sections of their
literature reviews by providing logical connectors. Students can use some of the
strategies below to ensure coherence:

• Use a pronoun (this, that, these, those) in the first sentence of a paragraph to
refer back to the subject discussed in the last sentence of a preceding
paragraph.
• Repeat a key word from the end of one paragraph to the beginning of the next.
• Repeat a key phrase from the end of one paragraph to the beginning of the
next.
• Use a transitional expression at the beginning of a new paragraph.
• Use synonyms as transitions.

The Internet TESL Journal, Vol. IX, No. 4, April 2003

http://iteslj.org/
http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Criollo-LitReview.html