Writing a theoretical review

The objective of this assignment is to write a review article to convey to your reader about
what knowledge and ideas (state of the arts) have been established on a topic, what their
strengths and weaknesses are, and the identification of the research gaps. As a piece of
writing, the literature review must be defined by a guiding concept (e.g., your research
objective, the problem or issue you are discussing, or your argumentative thesis). It is not
just a descriptive list of the material available, or a set of summaries. A literature review
must do these things: be organized around and related directly to the thesis or research
question you are developing, synthesize results into a summary of what is and is not known,
identify areas of controversy in the literature, and formulate questions that need further
research. The report should be no longer than 7,000 words in content and should include the
following information: title, abstract and keywords, introduction, main body (analysis and
synthesis), conclusion, and references.

Students name
:

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Title
:

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Date
:

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Please fill in the table below with numbers by following the score range.
No.

1.

2.

3.

Criteria

Fail
<50

Score (0-100)
Pass
Merit
50-65
66-79

Distinction
80+

Introduction (10%)
The introduction should include: the nature of the
topic under discussion (the topic of your thesis);
your research question; the parameters of the topic
(what does it include and exclude)?; the basis for
your selection of the literature
Content (30%)
Showing familiarity about body of knowledge of
the field in terms of concepts, theory,
constructs, variables
Showing familiarity about research methodology
and empirical findings
Comparing areas of agreements and
disagreements and supporting up-to-date
papers
Synthesis (30%)
Main conclusion about concepts, theory,
constructs, variables, and position including how
to deal with disagreements and other
alternatives

Main conclusion about research gaps, direction,

4.

5.

and further research

The structure of the article is logical (10%).
This implies that research is guided by the rules of
logical reasoning and the logical process of
induction and deduction. Induction is the process of
reasoning from a part to the whole whereas
deduction is the process of reasoning from the
premise.
The article is written in systematic (10%). It means
that research is structured with specified steps to
be taken in a specified sequence in accordance with
the well defined set of rules.

Average Score ( scorei x weighti)

Criteria for marking articles:

Overall
Distinction

Equivalent
80+

Merit

66-79

Pass

50-65

Fail

<50

Description
Advanced and comprehensive article. Logical,
organized and systematic answer, covering all the
major aspects of the topic. Evidence of independent
study, originality and critical evaluation
demonstrated by selection and presentation of
relevant material. Excellent standard of presentation
and analysis.
Good knowledgeable, logical, organized and accurate
answer covering most of the major aspects of the
topic. Some evidence of independent study.
Demonstrates a clear and accurate understanding.
High standard of presentation and analysis.
Accurate answer covering most of the major aspects
of the topic, and some evidence of independent
study or critical evaluation.
A weak, superficial essay. Incomplete coverage of the
subject or with important omissions and mistakes.
Poor standard of presentation and analysis.

Comments ( Please indicate how the work might be improved. Your comment will be
graded based on how useful they are)

You can use additional page if necessary.