Tuesday, December 2, 2025

Feeling Overwhelmed by Your Literature Review? This January 2026 Workshop Is For You

The Holiday Season Is Approaching Fast!

The winter break is nearly here. Classes finish soon, the marking will eventually be completed – if you’re doing any – your admin tasks will stay done for a while, and the meeting invites will slow to a trickle. At least for a bit (!!) 

And you’ll have what every research writer wants: clear, unbroken time to sit down and finally make some progress. It's the perfect opportunity to dig into your literature review, to ‘locate your work in the context of your field’ and all that. 

“There’s plenty of training for methodology and methods. But for the literature review? Somehow, you’re just supposed to know about that, without much training.” 

Excellent! But how will you go about doing that, exactly? You start going through your notes. You’ve got piles of stuff on methodology and methods, pages and pages on analysis, and a whole separate notebook on ethics. But for your literature review? Hmm. There was an assigned chapter from one of the textbooks, and a self-study tutorial with a handy checklist: Don’t describe studies. Critically evaluate. Sectionise your review. Don’t summarise, synthesise. 

Not bad advice, as far as it goes. You should be critically evaluating instead of describing, synthesising instead of summarising, and eventually your literature review will need subheadings. But there’s not much how in the how-to here. There's plenty of material and help to be had on methodology and methods. But the literature review? Somehow, you’re just supposed to know that – without much actual training. 

How to Really Write Your Literature Review: A Lifeline 

That’s why I created How to Really Write Your Literature Review, for researchers just like you who may be feeling overwhelmed and confused by this thing called ‘the literature review’.

“If you like the content of this blog, now you can get even more great advice in my workshop, 'How to Really Write Your Literature Review.' Join me and dig into what the guidebooks leave out.” 

In this workshop, I cut through all the confusion and show you what you really need to know to write your literature review. You’ll learn how to: 

  • Break out of the description trap
  • Turn a pile of notes into a case for your research question 
  • Move from critiquing single studies to analysing a body of scholarship 
  • Identify patterns and trends in previous research (spotting that mysterious ‘gap’) 
  • Use these patterns and trends as evidence in your argument 
  • Organise and rhetorically craft your review 

“The approachable, informal delivery meant that we moved from basic concepts to tackling review ourselves without a bump in the road” – Iain Rowan, Academic Registrar

Spaces are Limited So Book Your Place Now 

Don’t let frustration derail your dissertation. Book your place now and keep your work on track with How to Really Write Your Literature Review. You can book a session in the morning or the evening, whichever suits your schedule or time zone. 

Lasting Value 

For the price of the workshop, you also get a bundle of freebies to support you as you put what you've learned into practice. 

  • Access to up to 3 Zoom drop-in sessions with me for follow-up questions
  • A PDF with answers to FAQs, such as 'How do I know when I’m finished?' 
  • A learners’ pack outlining the techniques introduced for future reference

🔗Know anyone else who might be interested? Please share this blog to your network. 

Your Blog Author and Workshop Deliverer 

Dr Susan Mandala is founding director of Writing Works Consulting. She holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge and was for many years an academic at the University of Sunderland, where one of her favourite roles was training PhD candidates to write literature reviews. A specialist in the study of language, writing, and style, she has 30 years of experience as an educator, trainer, and workshop facilitator. 

“Susan is a great teacher and this clear and well-structured workshop really helped to give me the confidence to move forward with my research” – Jane Pickthall 

Want More Information Before You Book? 

I look forward to hearing from you! 😊

at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Feeling Overwhelmed by Your Literature Review? This January 2026 Workshop Is For You

The Holiday Season Is Approaching Fast! The winter break is nearly here. Classes finish soon, the marking will eventually be completed – if ...