Literature Review Template and Rubric
In this review, provide a careful, critical, and thorough explanation of relevant prior work on your project. It should be divided into two parts: background and previous work. The background is the basic material that you need to know to begin your research. Previous work builds on the background and is research that is directly relevant to your project. Your focus should be on the previous work. Do not simply list previous work; critically evaluate it and explain how your work is different and better.
Here is the grading rubric for the literature review. It will be graded on a 10 point scale, distributed as below.
- Use of Previous Work (3 points)
- Work is cited properly — formatting, proper attribution of knowledge, etc. (1 point)
- 1 point: mostly or all correct citation
- 0 points: little or no correct citation
- Work is critically analyzed and shown to be relevant — its contribution to the field and to the problem at hand is mentioned and qualified (2 points)
- 2 points: most or all of the work is given adequate treatment
- 1 point: some of the work is given adequate treatment, most or all of the work is partially addressed
- 0 points: work is mentioned, little or no critical thought or framing is attached to the mentions
- Evidence of an argument built into the review (7 points)
- Argument is well-structured — similar points xgrouped, logical progression, showcases relevant sides of the issue; the dimensions mentioned in the problem statement should be tackled here, and vice versa (2 points)
- 2 points: the argument mostly flows logically and transitions between points are handled
- 1 point: the argument is there but there is little flow or transitioning
- 0 points: no evidence of organization of the argument
- Work referenced supports the argument — each work cited makes a clear point about the state of knowledge in this area, the established procedure for investigating it, and so forth, and the utility of each work in characterization of the problem or solution is apparent. (3 points)
- 3 points: the point is clear for all or almost all works
- 2 points: the point is clear for most works, or a little more effort is needed on the clarity or justification
- 1 point: some works, or quite a bit of effort is needed on clarity or justification
- 0 points: most works are not given any reason to be mentioned
- Argument supports the proposed work — each step in the proposed work is supported by precedence in literature or a demonstrated and noted lack of precedence in literature. (2 points)
- 2 points: evidence is clear and clearly stated for most or all steps
- 1 point: statement or justification is not clear, and/or some steps are not justified
- 0 points: literature review seems to have little to do with justification for proposed work
Examples
