In your Topic Exploration and Analysis Assignment in Week 2, you selected a social issue, analyzed its background information, developed a problem statement, and provided an explanation about why the social issue is important to investigate. This week, you examine multiple perspectives regarding potential solutions to that social issue.

Note: Even though you may have selected an issue about which you have strong feelings, it is important to work from as neutral a perspective as possible and try not to let your personal values and perceptions cloud your objectivity. In writing a literature review, your goal is to present information about a topic that already exists in the scholarly literature – not to share personal opinions. You will be expected to use evidence to support your statements by citing resources from the Walden Library.

Write a 2- to 3-page synopsis (not including the cover page or references) of your resource findings. Address the following in your review of the scholarly literature and be sure to use evidence to support your statements for each component:

• Describe at least two potential solutions to the social issue. What are the key steps involved with each potential solution?
• Are the potential solutions feasible? Explain.
• Are there any conflicts among the various perspectives regarding potential solutions to the social issue? What are the conflicts that exist? If you do not believe there are any conflicts, explain how you arrived at this conclusion.
• What are the interests, rights, and values of all parties (stakeholders) involved with the potential solutions to the social issue?
• Are there ethical dilemmas involved with the potential solutions the social issue? Explain. If you do not believe there are any ethical dilemmas, explain how you arrived at this conclusion.

Be sure to include an introduction, body, conclusion, and reference page, using APA format to cite each of your sources in the body of your paper.

1. Include an introduction and conclusion. Even if the literature review will be part of a longer document, these paragraphs can act as bookends to your material. Provide background information for your reader, such as including references to the pioneers in the field in the beginning and offering closure in the end by discussing the implications of future research to the field.
2. Avoid direct quotations. Just like in an annotated bibliography, you will want to paraphrase all of the material you present in a literature review. This assignment is a chance for you to demonstrate your knowledge on a topic, and putting ideas into your own words will ensure that you are interpreting the found material for your reader. Paraphrasing will also ensure your review of literature is in your authorial voice.
3. Organize by topic or theme rather than by author. When compiling multiple sources, our tendency as writers can be to summarize each source and then compare and contrast the sources at the end. Instead, organize your sources by your identified themes and patterns. This organization helps demonstrate your synthesis of the material and inhibits you from creating a series of book reports.
4. Use headings. APA encourages the use of headings within longer pieces of text to display a shift in topic and create a visual break for the reader. Headings in a literature review can also help you as the writer organize your material by theme and note any layers, or subtopics, within the field.
5. Use comparative terms. A literature review can be lengthy and dense, so you will want to make your text appealing to your reader. Transitions and comparison terms will allow you to demonstrate where authors agree or disagree on a topic and highlight your interpretation of the literature.