By In a law dissertation, one of the most crucial components is a literature review. However, most of the students struggle to write it as it requires a deep understanding of legal concepts, case laws, and many more. As law students have to do internships as well to gain practical experience, they lack enough time to take lengthy lectures again. As a result, they are unable to secure good grades in their dissertations, leading to an overall poor academic performance. Additionally, these dissertations also help law students to stand out from other candidates.
Do you also struggle with literature review in your law dissertation? If so, then you don’t have to worry!
In this blog, we will give you an overview of the literature review. We will also guide you on how to write it, along with the mistakes that you should avoid when writing one.
So, are you ready? Let’s start our guide!
What is a Literature Review?
Firstly, let’s begin by getting an overview of what a literature review actually is.
A literature review helps you get a deep understanding of things that are present in your topic. It involves finding relevant sources( such as books, notes, research papers, articles, case studies, etc), examining if the source is valid and up-to-date, identifying gaps, and showcasing your knowledge by making connections between themes and patterns to support your point.
One main concept in it is filling the research gaps. These are the areas that need more research, and your goal should be to fill these gaps by doing further analysis and research. Additionally, your literature review should give a proper explanation of how you fill these research gaps.
However, in a law dissertation, the literature review allows you to demonstrate your understanding of legal theories, identify gaps in case studies and other legal concepts, and show the importance of your dissertation topic in the law field.
How to Write a Literature Review?
Now, let’s discuss how to write an exceptional literature review for your law dissertation.
Indeed, writing a literature review can be quite hard for law students, as it requires them to have a deep understanding of legal concepts and critical analysis skills.
The following are the key steps to write one:
1. Select a Clear and Focused Topic:
Firstly, you need to start by selecting a clear and focused topic that has potential gaps and requires further research. Moreover, develop research questions for your literature review, and ensure that your questions are not vague. This will help you keep it organized and track your progress. Also, ensure that your chosen topic has significance in the field of law.
After selecting the topic and formulating the questions, you need to gather relevant and reliable sources. Ensure all the sources that you have gathered are valid and up-to-date. However, if you struggle to find trusted sources, you can seek Law Dissertation Writing Help from professionals. These experts will ensure that they provide you with credible and accurate sources for your dissertation.
2. Structure your Literature Review:
In addition to this, you need to structure your literature review just like your other essays and assignments. This will help you write a well-organized literature review for your law dissertation.
- Introduction: First, begin by introducing our literature review’s topic clearly and concisely. Moreover, outline the main points that you will discuss about the literature and state its scope in the law field. Always ensure that everything in your introduction is to the point.
- Body: After introducing your literature review topic, start your body paragraphs. In these body paragraphs, you need to identify gaps, show connections between themes and patterns, and demonstrate your practical learning by linking your theories with real-world law issues. Additionally, mention the methodologies that you have used to drive your conclusion of the literature review. Apart from that, it is vital to understand that your literature review does not require you to summarize your findings and theories. Rather, it requires you to critically analyse the theories or findings to enhance the credibility of your literature review.
- Conclusion: Lastly, conclude everything you have discussed in your literature review. Restate why this literature review is vital in the field of law.
3. Cite your References:
Furthermore, cite your references accurately. In addition to this, ensure that your literature review has a consistent citing style, such as APA, MLA, Harvard, Oxford, etc.
Mistakes to Avoid in Your Literature Review?
When writing a literature review, law students often repeat some common mistakes. Here are some mistakes that you must avoid in your literature review:
1. Providing Either Too Much or Too Little Information:
One of the most common mistakes that students make is providing either too much or too little information. This makes your literature review lose credibility; as a result, it makes an impact on your overall dissertation.
To avoid this, you need to ensure that your review is relevant to your research question.
2. Summarizing Instead of Critically Analysing:
Also, many law students often only summarize their content instead of critically analyzing it. Due to this, their entire dissertation becomes irrelevant, and they lose grades.
However, to avoid losing grades in your dissertation, it is vital to critically analyze your topic.
3. Choosing Invalid Sources:
Moreover, peers often choose sources that are invalid or inaccurate. They mostly rely on blogs and non-scholarly law articles, making their literature review lose potential to stand out from others.
To avoid this, it is crucial to verify if all your sources are credible and accurate.
4. Not Reviewing:
Another common mistake made by law students is that they don’t review their literature reviews. Due to this, their literature review contains errors and plagiarism.
To avoid this, it is essential to proofread your literature review and edit all errors in your writing. Additionally, confirm that you have cited your references correctly to avoid plagiarism.
Wrap up!
If you want to write an exceptional law dissertation, it is crucial to write an outstanding literature review. However, to write a perfect literature review, follow this guide.
This brings us to the end of our discussion!
We hope that this blog will help you have a clearer idea of the literature review. Best of luck with your law dissertation writing!