How long is a mini-essay? – Mini literature review length

If you are writing a dissertation, there are many sections that you need to add like introduction, objectives, etc. A literature review is one such section that is necessary for writing up a dissertation. It is the foundation of writing your dissertation. When you are writing your dissertation you do a lot of research. All the papers, articles, and journals which you have used for reference are to be mentioned in your literature review. But with change in time, a new concept has come up i.e. Mini Literature. Thus it is important to know what is the length mini-literature review.

Quick Takeaways

• Mini literature includes information that is related to a single problem.
• The traditional literature review is long and can take more than 5 pages. 
• Whereas, the mini-literature review is one which is shorter and generally one page longer.

However, you must read till the end so that you do not miss any important facts related to the length of the mini-literature review.

What is mini literature?

Mini literature includes information that is related to a single problem. It involves arguments that support the problem. A literature review is a summary of the work done by others. It compares different discoveries done by people and may include work that may be related to your main topic.

However, in the mini literature review, you need to include things that are specific to your topic. They are short and help you to submit your work faster. Writing mini literature will help your audience to know which papers and articles you have considered for your research paper. While writing the mini literature, you can always have a look at online resources like academia.edu to get more education. Another form of the literature review is a comic-research paper.

Why is mini literature written?

Mini-literature is important as it acts as a short and quick way of representing the issues that are related to the problems of your topic. Unlike book reports, mini literature includes summaries of articles and research papers that help to determine various factors and solutions related to your thesis problem.

Writing mini literature helps to give a foundation for the problem related to your research paper. It also helps us to know what is the need for additional research. Also, when you are writing a proper literature review, it can go up to more than five pages. But when you are writing mini literature then you do not need to write it as long. You have to keep it short and brief.

How long should a mini literature review be? – How long is a mini-essay?

The general length of writing a research paper is generally above 8000 words which also involves a literature review. The detailed literature review of any research paper is more than 5 pages. It includes details of research done by various authors and publishers that are related to your thesis. But when we are talking about mini literature, you do not need to include such large and deep details. You may keep it only up to 1 page.

You will only add those research papers which are very much important for your research paper. There is no need to write more than five papers. You should keep it brief and reliable. When you are writing a mini literature review you should also make sure to add data that is relevant and well-grounded. Sources that you can involve in it are various journals, theses, annual reviews, etc.

How is mini literature different from literature review?

A traditional literature review is long and includes every primary resource that is related to your topic. It will include details that help us to know what are the problems that are related to it and how they were being treated in the previous time. It involves great research and provides information in great dept. On the other hand, if we talk about mini literature, it is a very recent concept. In it, we do not need to add a lot of detailed research but we need to give information and the work of publishers very briefly. 

What is the format of writing the mini literature review?

There are various tones in which a mini literature review is written. However, the format of writing is almost the same for every tone. When you are writing a review following things must be taken care of –

1. Introduction

Every section of writing always starts with the introduction paragraph. As a reader, you just want to know what to expect from the particular section and therefore you must add the introduction paragraph to it. Mention and describe the problem that you have chosen to create your thesis.  

2. Context

The next step is to add relevant context related to your thesis. You should not go out of your topic. You could include different types of problems that you think are related to your thesis. Set up a base for your readers to get a basic idea.

3. References

A literature review is a section of any research work that includes references. Once you created the base for your reader, you need to add the references that you have used for your study. You need to add their names along with what they have already concluded.

Suppose you have considered the research paper of author A, then you only need to cover the factors, solutions, and models used for his problem according to his research. But remember when you are writing a mini-review you do not need to add what model they have used in their research paper.

4. Ending up

Your research paper revolves around the references that you have taken. So it becomes important to give a concluding paragraph at the end of the mini literature. It shows what you have concluded from it. This will help your audience to know what is the relevance of your study.

Conclusion

Every dissertation includes a literature review in it. With the changing time, many scholars and writers have started adding mini literature rather than a traditional detailed literature review. Mini literature is generally shorter than the literature reviewer and is not more than 5 pages. It only includes the solutions suggested by various authors for your thesis problem. This article also acts as your helping hand to know how you can write effective mini literature.