How to Write a Literature Review for a Project Report

By Vivek Singh · 11 October 2026 · 3 min read

In short

A literature review summarises what others have already studied or built on your topic and ends with the gap your project fills. For each source give the author, the year, what was studied, how, and what was found, then say how it relates to your work. Undergraduate reports commonly review eight to fifteen sources.

Key takeaway

A literature review is not a list of definitions. It is a summary of earlier studies or systems on your topic, each with its author, year, method and finding, ending with the research gap: what they left out that your project covers. It is usually Chapter 2.

Finding sources

Google Scholar: search your topic in plain words, then follow "Cited by" and "Related articles" from a good paper.
Shodhganga: the national repository of Indian theses. Useful for studies done in Indian cities and colleges.
Your college library and the journals and databases it subscribes to.
Reports from regulators, ministries and industry bodies, for figures and background.
For software projects: papers describing similar systems, the documentation of existing products, and published comparisons.

Read at least the abstract, the method and the conclusion of anything you cite. Keep a note for each source as you go: the full reference, the method, the sample and the main finding. It saves hours when you write the references.

How to write one entry

Each source gets a short paragraph that answers five things:

Who and when: author and year
What they studied
How: method, sample, place
What they found
How it relates to your study

A sample entry, with blanks where your source's details go:

[Author] ([year]) studied [what] among [whom] in [place]. Using [method] with a sample of [number], the study found that [main finding]. The study was limited to [limitation], and did not examine [what your study adds].

Write it in your own words. A paragraph copied from the paper's abstract is plagiarism even with the citation attached.

Arranging the review

By theme (recommended): group studies under three or four sub-headings that match your objectives, for example awareness, usage, satisfaction, problems.
Chronologically: oldest to newest, when the topic has changed over time.

Open the chapter with two or three sentences on how it is arranged. Close each theme with a line on what the studies agree on.

Ending with the research gap

The last section is the reason your project exists. In a paragraph, say:

What the reviewed studies covered
What they did not: the place, the group, the period, the variable or the feature
That your study addresses it

Example: "The studies reviewed examine UPI adoption among consumers and in large retail. Few look at small shopkeepers, and none at [your area]. The present study addresses this gap."

For software projects: existing systems

A literature survey in a blackbook usually compares existing systems with yours. A table makes the gap visible:

System or paper	What it does	What is missing
[Existing system 1]	Online complaint form, email to admin	No status tracking for the user
[Existing system 2]	Tracking with ticket numbers	No assignment by category
Proposed system	Tracking, automatic assignment, ratings

Follow the table with a paragraph on each system, and cite where you found it.

Common mistakes

Definitions of terms copied from textbooks in place of studies
Sources listed with no finding stated
Citing papers you have not opened
A review with no research gap at the end
Sources in the review that are missing from the reference list

How BlackBook handles sources

Sources have to be real, and only you can verify them. A report written with BlackBook lays out the review by theme and ends it with the research gap, and marks each place where a source belongs with [Add citation] rather than inventing an author or a study. You add the sources you have read. The full chapter order is in Final Year Project Report Chapters.

Frequently asked questions

How many sources should a literature review have?

For an undergraduate project, eight to fifteen is common; a master’s project is expected to have more. Some departments set a minimum. Ten sources you have read are worth more than thirty you have not.

What is a research gap?

What the earlier studies did not cover: a different place, a different group, a newer period, or a question they left open. Your project is justified by stating the gap at the end of the review.

Can I use websites in a literature review?

Use them sparingly. The review should rest on journal articles, theses, books and reports from recognised bodies. A blog or a company home page is weak evidence.

Does a software project need a literature review?

Yes, usually as a literature survey or a study of existing systems: which systems or papers already address the problem, what each does well, and what is missing that your system provides.

Should the review be in chronological order?

Either oldest to newest, or grouped by theme. Grouping by theme reads better and shows you understood the studies, but follow your guide if the department expects chronological order.

Written by

Vivek Singh

Founder of BlackBook

University of Mumbai graduate and software engineer. He built BlackBook so students can put their time into studies and exams, not months of formatting. More about BlackBook