Library: Graduate Studies @ Fontbonne: Putting It All Together

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Oxford English Dictionary
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Organize your sources according to the specific argument or question you're exploring.
Consider how sources are similar and different from one another.
Structure your discussion in light of each source's focus (e.g., those that support a particular position, those against, and those that offer an alternative perspective).
Synthesize your sources into a summary of what is and is not known or what has and has not been done.
Identify gaps or areas of controversy in the existing scholarship.
Evaluate -- which sources are most convincing? Most credible? Most valuable? Whose work has made the greatest contribution to understanding the question or developing the field of study?
Develop a conclusion that explores questions that need more study or areas for further research.

Writing the Review
An Example from York College, CUNY
This document chronicles the entire process, from summarizing sources through the final formatted paper.

They Say / I Say: The Moves that Matter in Academic Writing by Gerald Graff; Cathy Birkenstein; Russel Durst
Call Number: PE1431 .G73 2009
ISBN: 0393931749
This writing classic identifies the key rhetorical moves in academic writing, showing students how to frame their arguments in the larger context of what others have said and providing templates to help them make those moves. And, because these moves are central across all disciplines, the book includes chapters on writing in the sciences and writing in the social sciences.

Writing up Qualitative Research by Harry F. Wolcott
Call Number: T11 .W65 1990
ISBN: 0803937938
Writing for Science by Robert Goldbort
Call Number: T11 .G626 2006
ISBN: 9780300117936