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I have a pretty methodical way of writing that helps keep writers block at bay. I am a huge fan of making notecards, outlining, brainstorming - all those pre-writing things that make actually writing a lot easier.
I use NoodleTools to help organize everything. It helps you create APA citations, then it uses those citations to help create notecards, and has a place to organize those notecards into outlines. My school pays for my subscription, but it's only about $15 per year if you are interested in getting it yourself! It's a lifesaver for me.

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NoodleTools: Student research platform with MLA, APA and Chicago/Turabian bibliographies, notecards, outlining.

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This is my first lit review, so I am a bit uneasy heading forward, but I did get a good start on the paper yesterday.

I took the table provided (synthesis matrix) and put the major questions that my literature addresses in as the "Main Ideas".

I then started with the resource that was the most valuable to me when I did the annotated bibliography, read through it again, and added points it covered for my various questions AND THE PAGE NUMBERS, (because I hate the stress of trying to locate that later.)

Then I grabbed the chapter of the text I am using, because I do not want to forget that requirement and did the same.

I feel the table is going to be a huge help for synthesizing, so I recommend giving it a try.

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To help me combat stress and manage my time I work in 2 hour increments. After 2 hours I usually find that my writing and ideas are kind of stale and I just need to take a brain break. I take about an hour to do a chore, run an errand, play with my dog etc. then I get back to work! This helps me keep ideas flowing and helps manage my stress. If I don't take breaks I find myself stressed, hard on myself and anxious about all the other stuff I need to get done.

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I just need to have a thorough understanding of my sources and topic, first and foremost, and it flows from there. Basically, a wise person once told me the key to writer's block is just to write, and that usually works for me! Once the intro is on the page, it serves as enough of a frame/motivation to continue.

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I just need to have a thorough understanding of my sources and topic, first and foremost, and it flows from there. Basically, a wise person once told me the key to writer's block is just to write, and that usually works for me! Once the intro is on the page, it serves as enough of a frame/motivation to continue.

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I always like to start with first things first: open up a document and commit it to my hard drive.  I make a name for it and put it in the pertinent folder.  Once I do this, it allows me the freedom to start writing.  If writing a  lit review, I will put the topic sentence or research question in a place I can easily see so I am able to make sure what I am writing is relevant to what I am trying to uncover.  While reading/researching for an academic paper, it helps me to highlight or jot down notes about pertinent information, which I can easily reference once the writing process begins.  I find the more I commit to reading and researching, the easier the writing becomes.

Writer’s block is real and it can be very hard to overcome at times.  I find that just letting my fingers move across the keyboard and typing out thoughts is helpful to get started.  It is like putting together a puzzle - slow going at first, but starts to flow and make more sense once the image starts to fill the frame.  I have watched this video a couple of times and it has been helpful:

https://www.lib.ncsu.edu/tutorials/litreview/

All the best, everyone.  Happy writing!

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The last time I wrote a lit review, I determined my sources and then took notes for each one. As I did this, I noticed certain themes that stuck out as similarities and contrasts throughout the sources. Once I finished taking all of my notes, I went through and highlighted similar ideas from each source. For example, When three sources all presented a similar idea, I would maybe highlight all of those notes in green. If 4 of my sources had a contrast to that idea, I would highlight all of the contrasts in blue. It was then really easy to create my outline and write the paper.

I also like to use the Pomodoro method when I do literally anything (studying, cleaning, etc). If you don't know what it is, you work for 25 minutes then take a 5 minute break. You do this 4 times and then you get a longer break. I find that this helps me keep my focus. There are apps that will do this. I like Focus Keeper (it's free!).

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Sometimes it is simply the first sentences that are the hardest for me. Since returning to school 2 years ago after a long break from academics, it has been challenging to write scholarly papers. I have started re-reading some of my former work just to remind myself that I have done it before (and can do it again) and to remember what my "voice" sounds like on paper.

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Whenever I feel like my assignment is daunting or I don't even know where to start, sometimes it helps for me to just start writing, even without an outline or plan! I try not to focus too much on trivial things my first time getting words on paper. I find that when I start, I can reorganize later and rephrase later, but what's important is that I get my big ideas and themes on paper.

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Some of the strategies that have helped me with writing literature reviews include using reading guides then outlining key similarities and differences of the arguments made by each author.
I have found the reading guides provided in prior courses and by Dr. Godfrey to be quite helpful in highlighting and keeping track of the key research questions, findings, and implications for every research paper/article which then become useful references during the writing process.

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There are so many helpful resources here I would never have considered! I personally like using a messy outline. As long as it's organized by topic or subtopic, I paste in quotes I want to weave in later, then add some of my thinking (maybe criticisms I've thought of), etc. just to get it DOWN. Later, I use that to guide my first draft of the paragraph. I also ask friends to look over it if they have time. It helps reassure me that what I've written makes sense or follows a logical order.

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I have started to use outlines when constructing larger writings, especially when I am working off of a rubric. This way, I make sure I meet all the expectations, and I can organize my writing through outlining and rearranging if needed. This way, I can see where my thoughts on the subject can fit into each section and remain logical.

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I like to have physical copies of things and use a pen, so I have everything printed out and then take a highlighter and start reading my sources, with a pen nearby. I highlight key points and make notes in the margin and then go and add that to either an outline or something like the table LeeAnne gave us.

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I tend to do my best work under pressure. I often over think everything I do, even the most simple task so I try not to dwell on a paper too much or it becomes this dark shadow constantly looming over me. I do, however, at the very least do a lot of research and decide upon three major points I want to discuss. I then write my opening paragraph which mentions my three main topics. I also draft my closing paragraph. I then go back and take a day to write on each of the three main points I want to highlight which were mentioned in the opening paragraph. This writing method will have to be tweaked slightly to fit the format of a lit review but I believe some of the same practices would definitely be helpful.

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I definitely feel like I need to perfect my transitions and make sure that I’m not repeating myself, just using different words. I catch myself doing these things, even if there minor. To me, I have to reread my writing a million times out loud just so I can read where my mistakes are happening. I also don’t want to contradict myself in my writing so that’s another thing I look for while reading my work.

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Has anyone here used the writing center?

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Has anyone here used the writing center?

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I haven't used it, but was curious if you had any tips or suggestions before using it.

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Despite my best efforts in changing it, I have always been a procrastinator. The biggest cure to my writer's block is a deadline so I set fake deadlines along the way and pretend the paper is due before it really is. My mom as always been my paper proofer and she is really good at hassling me until she gets something to read.

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One issue I have come across so far in my research is that my topic of English-Spanish code switching is too general and that I should focus in on one discrete aspect of my topic as a whole. This can be difficult when most scholarly articles aren't so neatly organized and go for more of a comprehensive understanding of the benefits of code switching. I have been learning how to use only what's absolutely relevant from articles and how to discard (or save for a future lit review) the information that touches on a different aspect of code switching.