How Do I Turn a Pile of Notes into a Literature Review?

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Reading. That’s the fun bit when you’re writing a literature review. There’s no hard and fast plan yet, the deadline’s a long way off, and you’re full of optimism and excitement. The start of your PhD. Wow! 

You pick up the first paper in your pile, your shiny new notebook and pen at the ready. More of a screen person? You’ve got that whole new file, labelled and ready. A sip of coffee, a deep breath, and you begin. What a fascinating study! Interesting design. Wonder why they did it this way and not that way? And a finding that surprised them. How about that! 

A few papers later, you notice that everyone seems to refer to that same study from 1992. Definitely one for your reading list. Oh, and there seems to be a bit of tussle over the way data are analysed. A disagreement in the field! Definitely one to record in your notes. 

The Description Trap 

And so it goes through the golden days of September, sitting in coffee shops and sunny library corners,
happily reading, noticing whatever seems interesting, getting familiar with the field. But soon enough, the days get shorter. The leaves turn. The berries ripen. Your notebook is nearly full. Your pen is running out of ink. And the deadline is suddenly much closer. 

You are going to have to DO something with all of these notes. How does this great mass of stuff relate to your study? You go back through your notes. Well, let’s see. There was a study on this, a study on that, and there was that key pioneering study everyone cited … 

Is this where you get stuck? You’re not alone. This is called the description trap, and a lot of people get stuck here, endlessly summarising what they’ve read. 

"You are going to have to DO something with all of these notes. How does this great mass of stuff relate to your study?"

Your Notes are a Net for Your Ideas 

The way forward is to see your notes not as a record of your reading, but as a net. You’ll find that you’ve scooped up all kinds of things in your net – quotes, figures, facts, findings, questions, ideas, speculations. The task now is to sort through it all, take things out one by one, curate them, and to see what you have. What it all adds up to. What is relevant, what is not, what you’re not sure about yet. Sorting through your notes like this may feel mechanical at first, but what you are really doing is engaging in an act of analysis. This is the thinking you need to do before you start writing. What argument is emerging from the material in your notes? What evidence do you have for it? What should you do next? 

 A Workshop for You: How to REALLY Write Your Literature Review 

If these are the questions you are asking, my signature workshop, How to Really Write Your Literature Review, is currently open for registration. You’ll learn to: 

  • Break out of the description trap 
  • Turn a jumble 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 the ‘gap’) 
  • Use these patterns and trends as evidence in your argument 
  • Organise and rhetorically craft your review 

I focus on writerly decision-making, in particular the relationship between drafting and thinking. Rather than concentrating on what a finished literature review should look like or discussing a set of principles, I show you practical ways to make your thinking visible, identify significant relationships across a body of literature, and structure these relationships into a case for research. 

So if you want to: 

  • Clearly identify the case you are trying to make 
  • Structure your thinking logically and effectively 
  • Communicate the originality, rigour, and significance of your contribution more persuasively 

 ➡️ Join me for How to REALLY Write Your Literature Review 

 🌐 Online Via Zoom | 🗓️13 October | 🕔 5-8 pm, BST, UK Time | 🎟️ £85 per person 

 ➡️ Register via this Eventbrite Link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/susan-mandala-113624989001

 Meet Your Blog Author and Workshop Facilitator 

I’m Dr Susan Mandala, founding director of Writing Works Consulting. I hold a PhD from the University of Cambridge and was for many years an academic at the University of Sunderland, where my favourite role was training PhD candidates to write literature reviews. I develop and deliver specialist workshops for researchers focusing on the relationship between writing, thinking, and the strategic use of language. 

 Want to know more before you book a workshop? 

🟣 Book a free video chat: https://calendar.app.google/kwKTRArFjJxhu27r7

🟣 Hop over to my website: www.writingworksconsulting.co.uk

🟣 Connect on LinkedIn and DM me: www.linkedin.com/in/susan-mandala-phd-6a94b7290

 

 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 

"Susan delivered an excellent, well-structured and engaging masterclass, clear, practical and thoughtfully designed. It stimulated valuable discussion and gave colleagues tangible tools, shared language, and confidence in developing high-quality research writing."

 – Professor Claire Bruce-Martin, Northumbria University, U.K.

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