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IBDP: Extended Essay

Resources to support students as they plan, write, edit, and revise their Extended Essays

What is a Literature Review?

A literature review is a written summary and analysis of the key sources you have found. Think of your literature review as creating a “map” of what other experts or scholars have already discovered about your topic.  

It answers these questions:

  • What is already known about the topic?
  • How have other researchers approached the topic? What are the methodological approaches?
  • What is not known about the topic? What's missing? 

Videos

Watch this series of videos from Scribbr to learn more about doing a literature review.

Other Resources

Click these links to find other resources:

Assignment description:

Literature Review exemplar: