Define the review's analytical frame
A literature review explains the state of knowledge relevant to a research decision. Choose an organising frame before drafting: competing theories, methodological families, populations, settings, outcomes, time, or patterns of agreement and disagreement. The frame should help the reader understand why studies can or cannot be compared.
Create an evidence table with study design, sample, measure, estimate, limitation, and relevance. This prevents a polished synthesis from merging results that address different questions.
Write relations among studies
Across [group of studies], estimates consistently indicate [shared pattern], although [design or population difference] limits direct comparison.
Whereas [study group A] reports [finding], studies using [method B] find [contrasting finding], suggesting that [bounded source of variation] warrants examination.
Each pattern requires more than multiple citations. The cited studies must support the relation expressed by across, consistently, whereas, or contrasting. Use academic hedging when evidence is mixed or indirect.
Move from synthesis to the research problem
End a thematic unit by stating what the synthesis establishes and what remains uncertain. A gap should follow from the reviewed evidence, not appear as an unsupported pivot. Link the limitation to the present aim only when the study can address it.
Use the Phrase Explorer to retrieve comparison and synthesis patterns. Keep every citation attached to the proposition it supports.