Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.
- View all journals
- Explore content
- About the journal
- Publish with us
- Sign up for alerts
- CAREER FEATURE
- 04 December 2020
- Correction 09 December 2020
How to write a superb literature review
Andy Tay is a freelance writer based in Singapore.
You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar
Literature reviews are important resources for scientists. They provide historical context for a field while offering opinions on its future trajectory. Creating them can provide inspiration for one’s own research, as well as some practice in writing. But few scientists are trained in how to write a review — or in what constitutes an excellent one. Even picking the appropriate software to use can be an involved decision (see ‘Tools and techniques’). So Nature asked editors and working scientists with well-cited reviews for their tips.
Access options
Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals
Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription
24,99 € / 30 days
cancel any time
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
185,98 € per year
only 3,65 € per issue
Rent or buy this article
Prices vary by article type
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-03422-x
Interviews have been edited for length and clarity.
Updates & Corrections
Correction 09 December 2020 : An earlier version of the tables in this article included some incorrect details about the programs Zotero, Endnote and Manubot. These have now been corrected.
Hsing, I.-M., Xu, Y. & Zhao, W. Electroanalysis 19 , 755–768 (2007).
Article Google Scholar
Ledesma, H. A. et al. Nature Nanotechnol. 14 , 645–657 (2019).
Article PubMed Google Scholar
Brahlek, M., Koirala, N., Bansal, N. & Oh, S. Solid State Commun. 215–216 , 54–62 (2015).
Choi, Y. & Lee, S. Y. Nature Rev. Chem . https://doi.org/10.1038/s41570-020-00221-w (2020).
Download references
Related Articles
- Research management
Overcoming low vision to prove my abilities under pressure
Career Q&A 28 MAR 24
How a spreadsheet helped me to land my dream job
Career Column 28 MAR 24
Maple-scented cacti and pom-pom cats: how pranking at work can lift lab spirits
Career Feature 27 MAR 24
Superconductivity case shows the need for zero tolerance of toxic lab culture
Correspondence 26 MAR 24
Cuts to postgraduate funding threaten Brazilian science — again
The beauty of what science can do when urgently needed
Career Q&A 26 MAR 24
The corpse of an exploded star and more — March’s best science images
News 28 MAR 24
How papers with doctored images can affect scientific reviews
Nature is committed to diversifying its journalistic sources
Editorial 27 MAR 24
Expression of Interest – Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions – Postdoctoral Fellowships 2024 (MSCA-PF)
Academic institutions in Brittany are looking for excellent postdoctoral researchers willing to apply for a Marie S. Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship.
France (FR)
Plateforme projets européens (2PE) -Bretagne
Tenure-track Assistant Professor in Ecological and Evolutionary Modeling
Tenure-track Assistant Professor in Ecosystem Ecology linked to IceLab’s Center for modeling adaptive mechanisms in living systems under stress
Umeå, Sweden
Umeå University
Faculty Positions in Westlake University
Founded in 2018, Westlake University is a new type of non-profit research-oriented university in Hangzhou, China, supported by public a...
Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
Westlake University
Postdoctoral Fellowships-Metabolic control of cell growth and senescence
Postdoctoral positions in the team Cell growth control by nutrients at Inst. Necker, Université Paris Cité, Inserm, Paris, France.
Paris, Ile-de-France (FR)
Inserm DR IDF Paris Centre Nord
Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine on Open Recruitment of Medical Talents and Postdocs
Director of Clinical Department, Professor, Researcher, Post-doctor
The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University
Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.
Quick links
- Explore articles by subject
- Guide to authors
- Editorial policies
IMAGES
VIDEO