Helping students transverse the borderlands between informal and formal literacies

As part of their studies students with which the author works often experience difficulties in understanding the importance of undertaking a literature review as part of research projects. This lack of understanding is often compounded by confusion as to the mechanics of doing a literature review, which then leads to poor student performance in subsequent research work. Upon asking some students why this was often the case, ad hoc feedback given indicated that a literature review was something quite often alien to the students before being asked to do research at university, and something that they had never done before. This therefore seemed to be a ripe target for curriculum redesign whereby informal literacies could be usefully employed to help enhance student performance in undertaking, and benefiting from, a literature review.