A literature review is a piece of discursive writing, which seeks to persuade the reader. It should be structured as a conversation that synthesises the literature around concepts and ideas, rather than a simple description of each author's findings in list form.
Organise your literature review in a way that helps readers make sense of the studies you are reporting on:
Include an introduction with an overview of the topic, in conjunction with the objectives of the literature review.
Decide on a structure for your review and divide the texts under review into categories; some common approaches to literature reviews are:
Begin each section of your review with a sentence that introduces the concept; then provide an analysis of the relevant studies.
Incorporate brief summaries throughout the review and include an explanation of how each text is similar to and how it varies from the others.
Use language that explicitly describes the scope of research within the topic, the studies under review, and the relationship to your own research.
Draw conclusions as to which texts are most considered and convincing in their argument, and make the greatest contribution to the understanding and development of the topic.