How to Write a Literature Review Conclusion
What belongs in the final section of a literature review, how long it should be, and the sentence pattern that turns a summary into a research gap.
The job of the conclusion
A literature review conclusion does three things: it synthesises the themes, it names the gap, and it hands over to the methodology. It runs roughly 5 to 10 percent of the chapter and introduces no new sources.
A sentence pattern that works
Taken together, the literature establishes X. However, Y remains unexamined, particularly in Z context. This study therefore asks... Three sentences, and the research question now looks inevitable rather than arbitrary.
What to leave out
New citations, restated paragraph summaries, and apologetic hedging about the limits of your search. State the gap plainly. Confidence here reads as command of the field.
Linking to methodology
Close with a single sentence that previews the design: the next chapter sets out the approach used to answer these questions. Examiners like chapters that hand over cleanly.