The dinner-party conversation
A good literature review isn't a stack of book reports — it's hosting a dinner party where you introduce what each researcher said and show how they agree, clash, and build on each other. You synthesize the conversation instead of summarizing guests one by one.
Build a conversation, not a list
A weak review marches through sources one by one ('Author A said… Author B said…'). A strong review synthesizes: it organizes the field by theme, shows where scholars agree and clash, and uses that map to expose the gap your study fills.
The gap
Your contribution lives in the gap — a question the existing literature raises but leaves unanswered. Name it explicitly.
Lab · Summary or synthesis?
- Read: 'Smith (2019) found X. Jones (2021) found Y. Lee (2022) found Z.'
- Ask whether the sources are related to each other or just listed.
- Rewrite it to group the findings by theme and note the tension.
What you should see: Listing each source in turn is summary; relating them around a theme and a gap is synthesis.