Stop Writing a Book Report! Start Synthesizing Your Literature Review

By Nicole Dhanraj, Ph.D.

“Your Literature Review Needs to Be Rewritten.”

Those five words can break your spirit.

You’ve spent late nights surrounded by journal articles, the smell of stale coffee and printer ink filling the room, highlighting until the ink fades, only to see your chair’s feedback: “Too descriptive.” “Needs more synthesis.” “Rewrite this section.”

You don’t know what else to do. Other than cry and curse perhaps. You’ve read everything. You’ve summarized every study. You’ve followed the examples in the writing guides. So why isn’t it enough?

Let me reassure you: you’re not failing. You are simply applying the wrong tool for the job. You’ve mastered summary, but your committee is grading you on synthesis.

Once you learn the difference, you’ll never approach your dissertation the same way again.

The Problem: You’re Summarizing, Not Synthesizing

Summarizing is telling your reader what each study found. Synthesizing is showing how the studies connect, where they conflict, and what those relationships reveal.

Think of it this way: a summary is a stack of bricks. A synthesis is a finely woven tapestry, showing how all those individual parts connect to form a cohesive pattern.

When your literature review reads like a list of summaries, it might look “complete” on paper but to your committee, it feels disconnected and shallow. They’re looking for flow, logic, and critical insight, just not a series of article recaps, and this is what I often see.

A summary tells the story of other scholars. A synthesis tells the story of the field.

The Fix: Synthesize Like a Scholar

Let’s talk about what synthesis actually looks like, step by step.

1. Group by Idea, Not Author
   Instead of giving each study its own paragraph, group them around shared ideas or patterns. For example, in a quantitative dissertation): “Across multiple studies, leadership support has been linked to improved job satisfaction (Adams, 2021; Roberts, 2023). However, when autonomy is low, this relationship weakens (Lee, 2020; Zhang, 2022), suggesting that supportive leadership only enhances satisfaction when employees also feel empowered.”
   

   In a qualitative dissertation, it would look like; “Participants in several studies described a strong sense of belonging when leaders actively communicated (Smith, 2019; Carter, 2021). In contrast, those in remote teams without regular contact expressed feelings of invisibility, revealing a gap in how connection is sustained in virtual environments.”

   Here, you’re showing readers how studies speak to each other, not just what each one said.

2. Compare, Contrast, and Explain
   After grouping, analyze how each study adds to (or complicates) the story. Ask yourself:

   Where do researchers agree?

   Where do they disagree?

   What explains the differences?

   These answers create intellectual tension and tension is what makes your review engaging.

   Take for example: “While Smith (2020) found emotional intelligence predicted leadership effectiveness, Jones (2021) argued that organizational culture played a more significant role. This suggests that leadership success may rely as much on environment as individual skill; a nuance this dissertation explores.”

3. End Each Section With a “So What”
   Finish every section with a clear takeaway or gap statement. That’s what links your literature review to your research purpose. For example: “Taken together, these studies reveal a consistent recognition of burnout’s impact on employee retention but little exploration of how peer relationships buffer that effect. This gap frames the focus of the current study.”

   These transitions turn your review into a cohesive narrative one that naturally leads to your research question. The payoff is more confidence and clarity with your literature review!

   When you synthesize instead of summarize, everything clicks. Your literature review starts to read like you belong in the field. Your chair will see flow, argument, and purpose and not a patchwork of summaries.

   And perhaps most importantly, you’ll finally understand why your literature review matters. It’s not just an assignment; it’s the intellectual foundation of your dissertation.text

You’re Not Behind You’re Just at the Turning Point

If you’ve been told to “rewrite” your literature review, you don’t need to start from scratch. You need guidance to reshape what you already have into something structured, purposeful, and persuasive.

That’s where I come in. As a dissertation mentor and coach, I help students like you move from overwhelmed to clarity, turning red-ink feedback into strong, confident scholarship.

Next Steps

This article is the first in a 7-part series on the most common literature review mistakes doctoral students make and how to fix them.

In my next article, we’ll dive into Mistake #2: Writing Without a Clear “Why.” You’ll learn how to give your literature review purpose and direction so your readers immediately understand the reason behind every paragraph.

Check back for future articles or visit my blog for all previous and upcoming posts in the “Literature Review Rescue” series.

Ready to stop rewriting and start defending? Schedule your consultation today.