writing at level 6 nursing

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Academic writing: what you need to know

10 top tips to help with your studies

Don’t worry, it's a new skill

Start reading, take your time, consider tone.

Nursing is an evidence-based discipline

Think about specialised language

Ask a librarian for help, critical thinking isn’t about criticising.

Use the skills you’ve already developed in other areas

Learn from feedback

Ditch the imposter syndrome, remember your end goal, useful information .

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Writing Tips for Nursing School Students

• Nursing School Writing Types
• Writing a Nursing Essay
• Citations Guide
• Common Writing Mistakes
• Writing Resources

Are you ready to earn your online nursing degree?

Writing is an essential skill nurses should achieve proficiency in early in their career. It is a crucial part of the profession, as nurses need to be able to effectively communicate with patients, families, and other healthcare professionals.

While verbal communication also plays a vital role in nursing, being able to write well builds the nurse’s ability to provide better care.

Being able to accurately detail a patient’s personal history, symptoms, and diagnosis allows for the execution of a precise treatment plan that is clearly communicated to all parties involved, both professional and personal.

From registered nurses to clinical nurses and beyond, being able to communicate effectively and efficiently is a critical soft skill that will help nurses in any role increase their ability to treat their patients.

This guide provides an overview of the types of writing nurses will experience throughout their educational training. Utilize the following tips and tricks to help strengthen your writing skills, which will ultimately help in the development of transferable career skills .

Types of Writing Nurses Will Do in School

Personal statements for nursing school.

Nursing schools want candidates who meet academic and professional requirements. They also want a candidate who demonstrates a sincere passion for patient care and individual connections. You should always craft a personal statement, even when the application doesn’t explicitly require one. Personal statements allow you to describe your goals, characteristics, credentials, volunteer work, and meaningful life experiences. A well-crafted essay can help you stand out among other qualified applicants. And, as with any piece of writing, you must take the time to revise.

In your personal statement, you should portray yourself as determined and empathetic, with characteristics, goals, work ethic, and healthcare philosophy that align with a program’s values. Some nursing schools ask for a general personal statement, while others require a specific prompt. Colleges commonly ask students to describe a hardship they overcame, a difficult task they accomplished, or a professional goal they hope to achieve through the program. Many schools also ask students to detail previous experiences in healthcare. You may decide to write about how you connect with patients or how you provide practical and emotional support to loved ones.

You will also encounter writing prompts during examinations, including standardized tests like the GRE or MCAT, nursing school entrance exams , and course-specific evaluations. You may also take exams to get state licensure or professional certification. In most of these instances, you will need to write one or several long-form essays. Proper planning is key. Though you won’t know what specific prompt the test will require, you can expect certain common topics. You can search online or use study guides to determine which prompts usually appear on each test.

On test day, you should begin by creating an outline that lists three main points in response to the prompt. Using these points, work backwards to write a central thesis to guide the essay’s structure. Review what you’ve written to ensure that the essay actually responds to the prompt at hand. Be sure to leave time to correct spelling, grammar, and stylistic errors.

Research Papers

Like essays, research papers follow a long-form structure. Unlike an essay, which heavily relies on the writer’s point of view, a research paper presents an in-depth investigation of a topic using data, expert opinions, and insights. While an essay evaluates general critical thinking and writing skills, a research paper tests your knowledge, research skills, and original contributions. Research papers also allow you to prove you understand what has been argued and discovered about a topic. Research papers, especially at the graduate and doctoral levels, require independent research and analyses. These papers sometimes take months or years to complete.

To write a successful research paper, you should pick a topic relevant to your interests and the nursing field. Possibilities include elderly care challenges, patient safety and ethics, mental health treatment and regulations in the U.S., and nursing shortages and possible solutions. Whatever your choice, you must plan accordingly. Advanced papers such as dissertations may require funding or help from professors. Research papers often consist of the following sections: abstract, introduction, literature review, methods, results, discussion, conclusion, and references. You should keep this general structure in mind as you prepare notes and outlines.

How Do You Write a Nursing Essay?

In nursing school, essay writing includes academic papers, personal narratives, and professional compositions. You should become familiar with each of the five major forms below. There are many similarities between these essay types, such as an overarching thesis and a supportive, logical structure. You should support claims with factual, statistical, anecdotal, and rhetorical evidence. However, each form requires distinct skills to achieve specific results.

Comparative

Cause and effect, citations guide for nursing students.

Citations allow readers to know where information came from. By citing sources, you avoid plagiarizing or stealing another person’s ideas, research, language, and analyses. Whether intentional or unintentional, plagiarism is one of the most egregious errors one can make. Consequences for plagiarism include automatic course failure, disciplinary actions from the university, and even legal repercussions. You should take special care to ensure you properly cite sources.

American Psychological Association (APA) Style

APA is the most commonly used style among natural scientists, social scientists, educators, and nurses. Like other citation styles, APA emphasizes clarity of font style, font size, spacing, and paragraph structure. APA citations focus on publication date, and in most cases, the date comes right after the author’s name. This order makes the style particularly useful for scientists, who value new research and updates on current findings. For more information on APA style, visit this official website .

(Author and year of publication, page number) “Punishment, then, will tend to become the most hidden part of the penal process” (Foucault, 1977, p. 9).

Chicago Manual of Style (CMS)

CMS (also known as CMOS or, simply, Chicago) features two citation systems, the notes and bibliography, and the author and date. This style is used primarily by historians, who place high importance on a text’s origin. The notes and bibliography include a superscript number with a corresponding footnote or endnote. Scientific professionals use the author and date citation, a generic parenthetical system with similarities to other citation styles. The CMS official website provides additional information, including changes to citation systems in the current edition.

“Punishment, then, will tend to become the most hidden part of the penal process”. 1 1. Michel Foucault, trans. Alan Sheridan, Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison (New York: Pantheon Books, 1977), 9.

(Author and year of publication, page number) “Punishment, then, will tend to become the most hidden part of the penal process” (Foucault 1977, 9).

Modern Language Association (MLA) Format

MLA format traces its history to 1951 when it was first published as a thin booklet. Today, MLA is the primary format used by academics and professionals in humanities, English, literature, media studies, and cultural studies. To adapt to the rapid growth of new mediums over the past few decades, MLA updates its citation system. Visit the MLA Style Center for in-depth information on new guidelines and ongoing changes. In general, in text citations consist of author and page number, or just page number if the author’s name appears in the text.

(Author and page number) “Punishment, then, will tend to become the most hidden part of the penal process” (Foucault 9).

Associated Press (AP) Style

Published in 1952, the original AP Stylebook was marketed to journalists and other professionals related to the Associated Press. AP now stands as the go-to style for professionals in business, public relations, media, mass communications, and journalism. AP style prioritizes brevity and accuracy. The style includes specific guidelines regarding technological terms, titles, locations, and abbreviations and acronyms. Unlike the previous styles, AP does not use parenthetical or in-text citations. Rather, writers cite sources directly in the prose. For more information, including style-checking tools and quizzes, visit the Associated Press Stylebook .

In the book, “Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison,” first published in English in 1977, philosopher Michel Foucault argues that “Punishment, then, will tend to become the most hidden part of the penal process”.

Which Style Should Nursing Students Use?

Because nurses rely on scientific terms and information, professionals in the field usually use APA style. Regardless of the purpose and specific genre of your text, you should always strive for concise, objective, and evidenced-based writing. You can expect to learn APA style as soon as you enroll in a major course. However, you should also prepare to learn other styles as part of your academic training. For example, freshman composition classes tend to focus on MLA guidelines.

Common Writing Mistakes Students Make

Active vs. passive voice.

Active and passive voice represent two different ways to present the same piece of information. Active voice focuses on the subject performing an action. For example, the dog bites the boy. This format creates clear, concise, and engaging writing. Using active voice, nurses might write, I administered patient care at 11:00. Passive voice, on the other hand, focuses on the object of the sentence or the action being performed. For example, the boy was bitten by the dog. A passive sentence is usually one that contains the verb “to be.” Using passive voice, you might write, patient care was administered at 11:00.

Professionals in the sciences often use passive voice in their writing to create an objective tone and authorial distance. Passive voice can prioritize specific terms, actions, evidence, or research over the writer’s presence. Additionally, nurses use passive voice because it is usually clear that the reported thoughts, actions, and opinions come from them. However, you must also learn how to use active voice.

Punctuation

There are 14 punctuation marks in the English language, each with multiple and sometimes overlapping uses. Additionally, certain punctuation marks only make sense in highly specific and nuanced grammatical instances. To master punctuation, you must learn through practice, particularly by revising your own writing.

For example, colons and semicolons are often used interchangeably, when they actually serve distinct purposes. Generally used before itemized lists, colons stand in for the phrases “here is what I mean” or “that is to say.” For example, I am bringing three things to the picnic: applesauce, napkins, and lemonade. Semicolons separate two independent clauses connected through topic or meaning. For example, It was below zero; Ricardo wondered if he would freeze to death. Comma splices, which create run on sentences, are another common mistake. You can identify a comma splice by learning the differences between an independent and dependent clause.

Grammar refers to the rules of a particular language system. Grammar determines how users can structure words and form sentences with coherent meaning. Aspects include syntax (the arrangement of words to convey their mutual relations in a sentence) and semantics (how individual words and word groups are understood). Unless you major in writing, literature, etymology, or another related field, you generally won’t examine English grammar deeply. Through years of cognitive development and practice, native users implicitly understand how to effectively employ the language.

Distinct grammatical systems exist for each language and, sometimes, even within a single language. For example, African American Vernacular English uses different syntactic rules than General American English. You should learn grammatical terms and definitions. Common errors include subject/verb agreement, sentence fragments, dangling modifiers, and vague or incorrect pronoun usage. Hasty writers can also misuse phonetically similar words (your/you’re, its/it’s, and there/their/they’re).

Writing Resources for Nursing Students

Apa style central, reviewed by:.

Shrilekha Deshaies, MSN, RN

Shri Deshaies is a nurse educator with over 20 years of experience teaching in hospital, nursing school, and community settings. Deshaies’ clinical area of expertise is critical care nursing and she is a certified critical care nurse. She has worked in various surgical ICUs throughout her career, including cardiovascular, trauma, and neurosurgery.

Shri Deshaies is a paid member of our Healthcare Review Partner Network. Learn more about our review partners here .

Page last reviewed November 30, 2021

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CIPPET Study Support: Writing at level 6

• University jargon-buster
• 2. Library resources
• 3. Literature searching
• University policy and penalties
• How to avoid plagiarism
• Using EndNote
• Developing your ideas and argument
• Structuring your work and paragraphing
• Writing at level 7
• Writing at level 6
• Reflective models and language
• 8. Understanding feedback
• 9. Preparing for exams and OSCEs
• 10. Presentations

Introduction

Actually neither of these are what good academic writing is about. Rather you will need to be able to communicate complicated ideas clearly, know how to support the things you say with evidence, and explain your thinking.

Academic rigour means checking and testing information to assess whether it is free of errors and is backed by accurate and appropriate evidence. It needs to be strong so that it can support your arguments - like making sure foundations will hold a building up. 

Whether you are writing about someone else's ideas or your own, you will be expected to support the points you wish to make with evidence, perhaps from your own primary research or observations, or from your reading. When this evidence is taken from someone else's work (a book, journal article or website, for instance), you need to provide a reference or citation to show the source.

The full marking criteria for bachelor's study can be found at the link below, the information in this section of the guide interprets this information to the context in which you are doing your studies.

• Assessment handbook - marking See Annex 1 and 2 for detailed marking and assessment criteria for undergraduate and postgraduate work. See Annex 1 for detailed marking and assessment criteria for undergraduate work. N.B. for all CIPPET modules offered at level 6, the pass mark is 50% not 40%.

Communicate your ideas clearly

In higher education, you are going to be asked to think about, explain and discuss a complex range of ideas and arguments. You may be bringing together ideas from a number of different scholars that you have read, for instance: or showing what the results of your own primary research mean in the context of a particular problem. In either case, it's important to write clearly so that your reader can be certain that they understand what you're saying, and that you understand what you're writing about.

Longer words don't make your writing more academic... A good piece of advice is to 'write to express, not to impress'. You are looking for words that will best communicate your ideas. Sometimes these will be long complicated words and sometimes they will be shorter. What you need is the most appropriate words for the job they have to do.

Tip: How would you know if you were using specialist terms correctly? Find a good source of definitions for specialist terms in your subject discipline: this might be a dictionary or encyclopaedia of your topic, or a introductory textbook.

Give your reader signposts... If you tell your reader what you are going to say, they will know what to look out for. Include a few sentences in your introduction on how you are going to answer the question: something like, "This essay will discuss the proposition that Brown's thesis is flawed. The proposition will be examined by first considering x, then looking at y, and finally z. Conclusions will then be drawn about the validity of Brown's thesis." Then start each of your sections with a topic sentence (or sub-heading, in a report) that shows what it is you are going to be discussing.

Watch out for informality and vagueness... You are trying to reduce any possibility of your reader misunderstanding what you are trying to say, so aim to avoid the kind of language that might be interpreted differently by different readers. More on writing formally.

• Communicating your ideas clearly Try these exercises on writing style to get you thinking about the way you write.
• Academic writing guide Guide to what you need to know about writing appropriately and correctly for UK higher education, including information on effective proof-reading.

Being original

It is confusing when you are told you need to be original in your thinking - but then you are told that you need more references to other people's work too. In higher education, being original is rarely about having a brilliant idea that no-one has ever had before. Rather it means that you will be expected to take different sources of information and think about how they fit (or do not fit) together so that you can work out your own interpretation and understanding of the topic.  

Your conclusion is for summing up… not for adding speculative ideas with no evidence to support them. If you have a brilliant original idea and can show how you worked it out and how it fits into the evidence you have, then include it in the main body of your work.

Do not worry!... your work will naturally be original if you always think critically and have a bit of confidence in your own interpretations and evaluations. If you and your best friend both read the same books and articles, attended the same lectures, and wrote an answer to the same question, they would still both be different and original, provided you do your own thinking and don't uncritically believe other people's ideas.

• Practise original thinking Try this exercise to see how two people can come up with different arguments, even when they're using the same material.

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Common Assignments: Writing in Nursing

Although there may be some differences in writing expectations between disciplines, all writers of scholarly work are required to follow basic writing standards such as writing clear, concise, and grammatically correct sentences; using proper punctuation; demonstrating critical thought; and, in all Walden programs, using APA style. When writing in nursing, however, students must also be familiar with the goals of the discipline and discipline-specific writing expectations.

Nurses are primarily concerned about providing quality care to patients and their families, and this demands both technical knowledge and the appropriate expression of ideas (“Writing in nursing,” n.d). As a result, nursing students are expected to learn how to present information succinctly, and even though they may often use technical medical terminology (“Writing in nursing,” n.d.), their work should be accessible to anyone who may read it. Among many goals, writers within this discipline are required to:

• Document knowledge/research
• Demonstrate critical thinking
• Express creative ideas
• Explore nursing literature
• Demonstrate understanding of learning activities. (Wagner, n.d., para. 2)

Given this broad set of objectives, nursing students would benefit from learning how to write diverse literature, including scholarly reports, reviews, articles, and so on. They should aim to write work that can be used in both the research and clinical aspects of the discipline. Walden instructors often ask nursing students to write position and reflective papers, critique articles, gather and analyze data, respond to case studies, and work collaboratively on a project. Although there may be differences between the writing expectations within the classroom and those in the workplace, the standards noted below, though more common in scholarly writing, require skills that are transferrable to the work setting.

Because one cannot say everything there is to say about a particular subject, writers present their work from a particular perspective. For instance, one might choose to examine the shortage of nurses from a public policy perspective. One’s particular contribution, position, argument, or viewpoint is commonly referred to as the thesis and, according to Gerring et al. (2004), a good thesis is one that is “new, true, and significant” (p. 2). To strengthen a thesis, one might consider presenting an argument that goes against what is currently accepted within the field while carefully addressing counterarguments and adequately explaining why the issue under consideration matters (Gerring et al., 2004). The thesis is particularly important because readers want to know whether the writer has something new or worthwhile to say about the topic. Thus, as you review the literature, before writing, it is important to find gaps and creative linkages between viewpoints with the goal of contributing innovative ideas to an ongoing discussion. For a contribution to be worthwhile you must read the literature carefully and without bias; doing this will enable you to identify some of the subtle differences in the viewpoints presented by different authors and help you to better identify the gaps in the literature. Because the thesis is essentially the heart of your discussion, it is important that it is argued objectively and persuasively.

With the goal of providing high quality care, the healthcare industry places a premium on rigorous research as the foundation for evidence-based practices. Thus, students are expected to keep up with the most current research in their field and support the assertions they make in their work with evidence from the literature. Nursing students also must learn how to evaluate evidence in nursing literature and identify the studies that answer specific clinical questions (Oermann & Hays, 2011). Writers are also expected to critically analyze and evaluate studies and assess whether findings can be used in clinical practice (Beyea & Slattery, 2006). (Some useful and credible sources include journal articles, other peer-reviewed sources, and authoritative sources that might be found on the web. If you need help finding credible sources contact a librarian.)

Like other APA style papers, research papers in nursing should follow the following format: title, abstract, introduction, literature review, method, results, discussion, references, and appendices (see APA 7, Sections 2.16-2.25). Note that the presentation follows a certain logic: In the introduction one presents the issue under consideration; in the literature review, one presents what is already known about the topic (thus providing a context for the discussion), identifies gaps, and presents one’s approach; in the methods section, one would then identify the method used to gather data; and in the results and discussion sections, one then presents and explains the results in an objective manner, noting the limitations of the study (Dartmouth Writing Program, 2005). Note that not all papers need to be written in this manner; for guidance on the formatting of a basic course paper, see the appropriate template on our website.

In their research, nursing researchers use quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods. In quantitative studies, researchers rely primarily on quantifiable data; in qualitative studies, they use data from interviews or other types of narrative analyses; and in mixed methods studies, they use both qualitative and quantitative approaches. A researcher should be able to pose a researchable question and identify an appropriate research method. Whatever method the researcher chooses, the research must be carried out in an objective and scientific manner, free from bias. Keep in mind that your method will have an impact on the credibility of your work, so it is important that your methods are rigorous. Walden offers a series of research methods courses to help students become familiar with the various research methods.

Instructors expect students to master the content of the discipline and use discipline- appropriate language in their writing. In practice, nurses may be required to become familiar with standardized nursing language as it has been found to lead to the following:

• better communication among nurses and other health care providers,
• increased visibility of nursing interventions,
• improved patient care,
• enhanced data collection to evaluate nursing care outcomes,
• greater adherence to standards of care, and
• facilitated assessment of nursing competency. (Rutherford, 2008)

Like successful writers in other disciplines and in preparation for diverse roles within their fields, in their writing nursing students should demonstrate that they (a) have cultivated the thinking skills that are useful in their discipline, (b) are able to communicate professionally, and (c) can incorporate the language of the field in their work appropriately (Colorado State University, 2011).

If you have content-specific questions, be sure to ask your instructor. The Writing Center is available to help you present your ideas as effectively as possible.

Beyea, S. C., & Slattery, M. J. (2006). Evidence-based practice in nursing: A guide to successful implementation . http://www.hcmarketplace.com/supplemental/3737_browse.pdf

Colorado State University. (2011). Why assign WID tasks? http://wac.colostate.edu/intro/com6a1.cfm

Dartmouth Writing Program. (2005). Writing in the social sciences . http://www.dartmouth.edu/~writing/materials/student/soc_sciences/write.shtml

Rutherford, M. (2008). Standardized nursing language: What does it mean for nursing practice? [Abstract]. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing , 13 (1). http://ojin.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ThePracticeofProfessionalNursing/Health-IT/StandardizedNursingLanguage.html

Wagner, D. (n.d.). Why writing matters in nursing . https://www.svsu.edu/nursing/programs/bsn/programrequirements/whywritingmatters/

Writing in nursing: Examples. (n.d.). http://www.technorhetoric.net/7.2/sectionone/inman/examples.html

Didn't find what you need? Email us at [email protected] .

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Academic essays part 3: how to pass an assignment.

John Fowler

Educational Consultant, explores how to survive your nursing career

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John Fowler , Educational Consultant, explores academic writing

Writing an academic essay is a skill, and like any other skill it can be learnt and improved upon. This is easier if the skill is broken down into steps that can be identified, followed and practised. Whereas nurse educators recognise the need to teach practical skills by identifying the various steps involved in the process—such as nursing assessments or applying sterile dressings—they are not so good at helping students identify the essential components of a successful academic essay. If the student can appreciate why these components are essential, they can be honed and practised to improve academic performance. These principles can also be used to give structure for lecturers introducing an assignment or formulating individual feedback.

Essential components of a successful essay

I've been setting and marking essays for over 30 years, supporting a range of staff from first-year students to specialist nurses undertaking Masters and PhDs. From this, I've identified eight components that make up the skill of successful academic essay writing:

• Clear thinking and factually correct The essay is a clear and logical exploration of the question set, based on the best available evidence. This demonstrates that the student has understood the subject and researched the question, going beyond their own opinions.
• Use of evidence-based literature and correct referencing technique The subject is explored using published evidence from journals and appropriate sources such as www.nice.org.uk and Cochrane databases. This demonstrates that the student can extract up-to-date information from reliable sources and reference the sources correctly as per the specific university guidelines.
• Evaluation of the evidence Rather than just repeating that an author said ‘A+B = C’ the student asks questions of the reliability of the evidence in terms of research style and sample size. Do the findings from one clinical setting transfer to another setting? This demonstrates that although the student understands the importance of evidence-based practice, they are not just accepting that anything in print can be directly applied without question.
• Comparative analysis The essay is not just a list of what different authors have said. It demonstrates that the student has read different papers and has attempted to make sense of how the opinions and findings agree or disagree. For example: Brown and Smith (2015) identified ‘patient-controlled analgesia’ as an important factor in a patient's perception of postoperative pain on a surgical ward. This was supported by Raby (2019) with patients on a orthopaedic ward, but not identified by Raine (2018), whose work centred on palliative care wards .
• Use of own experience to comment on the literature The student uses their own experience to comment on the literature, either agreeing, disagreeing or offering an explanation. This is very different from the student stating an opinion and then saying Smith (2010) agrees with me . Thus in the example above of factors affecting a patient's pain perception, the student might add an opinion as to why the results from a palliative care setting did not identify patient-controlled analgesia as an important factor. It is important that the nurse's experience is offered as a possible explanation rather than as a solid fact.
• Identification of gaps in the literature Once the evidence from the literature has been collected the student can use their clinical experience to comment on possible gaps in the literature. This is a valuable way to use clinical experience. It demonstrates understanding of the principles regarding the topic set in the question and acknowledges that there are many aspect of nursing not fully explored in the literature. It can also demonstrate originality of thought and ideas.
• Development of an argument The essay is not just a collection of ‘stand alone’ paragraphs. There should be a structure to the essay in which the main theme of the question set is explored, with each paragraph exploring a different sub theme. These sub themes should build together, linking and complementing each other. As the essay progresses it develops the interaction of the themes and the deepening of the argument based on the assignment question.
• Clear conclusion The conclusion should be about 8-10% of the essay. It should draw out the findings from the body of the essay and present them clearly and concisely. The argument that has been developed in the essay should be summarised and the implications for nursing discussed. The student should be succinctly answering any points in the original question.

Essay writing is a skill. Too often students of all professions are left to develop this skill by trial and error, never really understanding why one essay achieved a high mark and the next one didn't. Once you begin to understand the various components of this skill then you can begin to incorporate and build them into your work. Understanding why they are important and then practising them will help you develop and improve this important skill.

Academic Skills for Nurses

• Introduction
• NPR1027, NPR1028, NPR1029 OR1 Presentation Self Study Resources
• NPR1027 Level 4 Introduction to Higher Education
• NPR1027, NPR1028, NPR1029 AS1 Level 4 Critical Writing and Reflection
• NPR1028 AS1 Essay Writing Self Study Resources
• NPR1029 Level 4 Writing with evidence
• NPR2068, NPR2076 Self Study AS1 Report Writing
• NPR2069, 2070, 2071, 2072 Self Study - Group Work OR1
• NPR2067, NPR2075, NPR2076, NPR2068 Level 5 Critical Writing and Reflection
• NPR2069, NPR2070, NPR2071, NPR2072, NPR2077 Level 5 Writing with evidence
• NPR3035 Level 6 Critical Writing and Reflection

NPR4005, NPR4006, NPR4007, NPR4008 Level 6 Writing with evidence

The purpose of this session is to develop your skills:

Identifying sources

Analysing sources

Writing with sources.

Pre-session Activities

• How do I use information from sources the essentials  (estimated reading time 5 minutes)
• Critically Evaluating Journal articles a worked example  (estimated reading time 10 minutes)

Literature Review

• Literature review  (video 6 minutes 14 seconds)
• Literature review the essentials  (estimated reading time 7 minutes)
• Literature Review Template  (downloads document for your own use)
• Formatting Assignments and Dissertations  (for your reference)

Academic Poster

• How do I create an academic poster?

The session presentation is available here for anyone who may wish to review it before or after the session.  The session is based around activities, and you will get the most benefit from participating in the sessions.

• Writing with evidence level 6
• Writing with evidence Level 6 Padlet

Post Session

Creating an action plan based on your reflection is an essential part of the assessment.  Use this template to get started.

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Writing in Nursing

Writing as a Student

Ely, C., Nicol, M., & Scott, I. (2007). Essential study skills for nursing . Mosby/Elsevier.

Garrard, J. (2017). Health sciences literature review made easy: The matrix method (5th ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett.

Gimenez, J. (2011). Writing for nursing and midwifery students . Palgrave Macmillan.

Lang, T. (2010). How to write, publish, and present in the health sciences: A guide for clinicians and laboratory researchers. Philadelphia, PA: American College of Physicians.

Scullion, P., & Guest, D. (2007). Study skills for nursing and midwifery students. Open University Press.

Roush, K. (2015). A nurse's step-by-step guide to writing your dissertation or capstone. Indianapolis: Sigma Theta Tau International.

Taylor, D.B. (2014). Writing skills in nursing and health care: A guide to completing successful theses and dissertations. London: Sage.

Whitehead, E., & Mason, T. (2008). Study skills for nurses (2nd ed.) London: Sage.

Witte, F. (2003). Basic grammar and usage for medical communicators . Rockville, MD: American Medical Writers Association.

Writing in Nursing : Resources to help nursing students with writing from Purdue OWL.

Literature Searching for Nursing Students : A bibliography of articles on researching and writing literature reviews in nursing, compiled by the Nursing and Allied Health Resource Section of the Medical Library Association.

Writing for Publication

Nurse Author & Editor : A free online journal with articles on writing manuscripts, editing, publishing, and avoiding rejection. Volume 19.2 (March 2009), for example, contains articles on converting a poster into a paper and on writing a PhD proposal. This page lists all of the articles written for authors (as opposed to publishers or editors). See also their free e-book, listed below. Note: You will need to register with the website to view articles.

Webb, C. (2008). Writing for publication . Wiley-Blackwell. A free e-book posted on Nurse Author & Editor’s website that covers writing for publication; writing review articles, clinical articles, and research papers; presenting tables and figures; publishing a thesis; writing style; finishing touches such as the abstract; impact factor; and copyright.

Fondiller, S. (1999). The writer’s workbook: Health professionals’ guide to getting published (2nd ed.). New York: Jones & Bartlett.

Oermann, M. H. (2016). Writing for publication in nursing (3rd ed.). Philadelphia: Lippincott Press.

Saver, C. (2017). Anatomy of writing for publication for nurses (3rd ed.). Indianapolis, IN: Sigma Theta Tau International.

Writing on the Job

Turnbul, A. (2001). Plain words for nurses: Writing and communicating effectively . London: The Foundation of Nursing Studies.

Writing to Get a Job

Nursing Samples and Resources : Examples of resumes, cover letters, thank-you letters and interview questions, by and for nurses at the University of California, San Francisco.

Resources for International Students

Allum, V., & McGarr, P. (2008). Cambridge English for nursing: Intermediate. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Bosher, S. D. (2008). English for nursing, academic skills (2nd ed.). Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press. (for advanced English learners)

Graf, J. (2008). Handbook of biomedical research writing . Hanyang University Online Writing Lab. Written for Korean scientists in the biomedical sciences, this handbook covers writing journal article and clinical case reports.

McCullagh, M., & Wright, R. (2008). Good practice: Communication skills in English for the medical practitioner . Cambridge: CUP.

Ribes, R., & Ros, P. R. (2006). Medical English . Springer: New York.

Quann, S., & Satin, D. (2007). Project care: Health care case studies, multimedia, and projects for practicing English . Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.

To report a broken link, please email us at [email protected] .

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A Guide to Writing in Nursing and Health Professions with 2020 APA Update

Psychology in Everyday Life

A writer's help guidebook series first edition | ©2020 stephen bernhardt; nancy sommers.

ISBN:9781319370350

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A Guide to Writing in Nursing and Health Professions, part of the Writer’s Help Guidebook Series , offers writing and research support for students writing in the discipline. This compact yet comprehensive guidebook provides the value students want with the essential instruction they need to complete writing tasks successfully. Students will find advice on how to think, read, research, and design and write papers, and projects and presentations like a nurse or health professional. Coverage includes the following topics, all focused on the specific needs of writers in nursing and health professions: Writing process Conventions in the discipline Integrating and evaluating sources Documentation style required in the discipline--with plenty of models Sample student writing

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Stephen Bernhardt; Nancy Sommers

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Stephen A. Bernhardt

Stephen A. Bernhardt is Professor of English and the Andrew B. Kirkpatrick Chair in Writing at the University of Delaware, where he teaches composition, grammar, and technical writing. His professional interests include computers in composition/distance education, writing across the curriculum, professional and technical communication, and visual rhetoric. He has also taught at New Mexico State University and at Southern Illinois University. The author of many journal articles and technical reports, Bernhardt is also the author of Writing at Work (1997) and coeditor of Expanding Literacies: English Teaching and the New Workplace (1998). Bernhardt designed the research plan and reworked content for Writers Help .

Nancy Sommers

Nancy Sommers , who has taught composition and directed composition programs for thirty years, now teaches in Harvard’s Graduate School of Education. She led Harvard’s Expository Writing Program for twenty years, directing the first-year writing program and establishing Harvard’s WAC program. A two-time Braddock Award winner, Sommers is well known for her research and publications on student writing. Her articles “Revision Strategies of Student and Experienced Writers” and “Responding to Student Writing” are two of the most widely read and anthologized articles in the field of composition. Recently she has been exploring different audiences through blogging and through publishing in popular media. Sommers is the lead author on Hacker handbooks, all published by Bedford/St. Martin’s, and is coauthor of Fields of Reading , Tenth Edition (2013).

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• Professional Writing for Nurses

Professional Writing for Nurses: Interview With Nurse Educator Elaina Mahlan

Good writing skills are important in any professional context, but for nurses, they are especially important. You must be a skilled communicator if you wish to progress in your nursing career. This is true whether you are a nursing student, relatively new in the field, or an established nurse with years of experience.

We spoke with Elaina Mahlan , MSN, RN, CNE, and faculty member in the RN-to-BSN program at Purdue Global, about why good writing is so important in nursing and the types of writing you’ll do as you grow in your career.

Good Writing Is Vital in Charting, Updating EMRs, and Creating Care Plans

Good writing can help allow for better patient care and safety.

“Nurses at the associate’s level are writing for a very specific kind of audience, one that would connect with a chart,” Mahlan said. Nurses must be detailed and accurate, and it’s important to take emotion and subjectivity out of this type of writing. These factors also play an important role in the event that the chart becomes part of an audit or lawsuit.

It’s also important to remember that you are writing for multiple stakeholders. Consider the care plan, where the nurse frames the broad scope of a patient's care. When a nurse is writing a care plan, he or she must write at a level that is suitable to many people with varied individual interests.

“A nurse may create a written care plan that is not only for interaction with the nurse, but also with the patient, with a significant other who may be involved in the patient’s health journey, the physician, and various other members of the health care team,” Mahlan said. “Of course, it must also be written in a way that is appropriate for the patient, who is the focus of the plan in the first place.”

When charting, updating electronic medical records, and creating care plans, aim to be consistent, detailed, comprehensive, and accurate. Critics (auditors, lawyers) are looking for mistakes and inconsistencies.

Good Writing Skills Become Increasingly Important as Nurses Progress in Their Career

“When nurses come into education programs that are beyond initial nurses' training and licensure, their writing needs to target the particular audience and purpose that they're writing for, one that goes beyond the chart,” Mahlan said.As nurses advance in their career, the types of writing they do become more varied and the need for solid writing skills remains central.

For example, nurses at the BSN level will commonly interact on a community level more so than they would on an associate’s level. You may find yourself creating communication materials, information about where to go to get assistance, or educational materials about disease processes or health management.

“You're going to have to create those for the public in a way that takes into account what people's reading levels might be,” Mahlan explained. “How do I appeal to a broad audience? How can I be pithy in my writing, so that people will actually read what it is I'm trying to communicate to them? Can I speak to their interests and their needs in a way that's clear and complete but also concise?”

The inclusion of human emotion in writing becomes more appropriate as nurses move into policy-making.

“Nurses at this level want to influence public policy,” Mahlan explained. “When we're making the case for a change in legislation, that doesn’t just involve raw statistical data, we need to be able to convey a human story in a way that moves people to action—and nobody sees those human stories like a nurse does.”

Accrediting Bodies Emphasize the Need for Strong Communication Skills

“Nurses are communicators, and certainly written communication is an essential form of communication in general,” Mahlan said. “But beyond that common-sense level, the relevant accreditors tell us this is key. For example, the American Association for Colleges of Nursing accredits nursing programs all around the country, and they emphasize the ability to communicate effectively throughout the national accreditation standards.”

Similarly, the Joint Commission, which provides accreditation to myriad health care facilities, emphasizes communication skills in their National Patient Safety Goals . The commission lauds good communication for its ability to protect patient safety and the safety of the entire health care team..

“So beyond our common sense, we recognize from an accreditor's standpoint that the ability to communicate effectively is a drumbeat theme,” Mahlan said.

Nurses Must Be Able to Convey Outcomes to Different Audiences

Nurses are often in the position of having to measure outcomes and communicate those outcomes to decision-makers in a meaningful way. “If you can’t do so,” Mahlan said, “then you're not going to have support for your work on an ongoing basis.”

What kinds of outcomes? Maybe it's a technological innovation. Maybe it's a change in practice to implement evidence-based practice. Nurses often write reports for different stakeholders within their own institutions to convey what worked, to what extent, and what didn't work. “Who better to do that than the nurse who is at the point of care and in the best position to see what's working, what's not working, and why that might be happening?” Mahlan said.

“If you haven't clearly communicated the way something should be done, the rationale why it's done that way, and your policies and procedures aren't clear, we're in trouble before we ever get to the lawsuit phase,” Mahlan continued. “When we're not clear, folks at the point of service are going to fill in the blanks for themselves, and they may do that in a way that's very different than what was intended in the first place.”

Become a Better Writer: 10 Free Writing Tools and Resources

The need for nurses to be skilled written communicators is clear. If writing isn’t your strong point, take advantage of these free tools and resources that help improve your writing:

• The Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University − writing resources and instructional material
• Excelsior College OWL − multimedia support for writing and reading
• Writing Commons − peer-reviewed, open-education resource for college students
• ReadWriteThink − professional development strategy guides
• Grammar Girl − comprehensive site and podcast with featuring grammar and writing tips
• Grammarly − writing enhancement platform and grammar checker
• Hemingway Editor − online tool that highlights common writing errors
• Readability Test Tool − readability software
• Cliche Finder − tool that highlights clichés in copy
• ProWritingAid − grammar and editing tool

Purdue Global Offers Undergraduate and Graduate Online Nursing Degree Programs

If your career goals include earning a nursing degree, learn more about our online nursing degree programs . We offer an RN-to-BSN program, master’s and DNP programs, graduate certificates, and more. If you’d like more information, contact us today .

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Writing as a Professional Nurse

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The field of nursing requires a great deal of swift, accurate writing. You will need to fill out reports and charts correctly and completely and record your interactions with doctors and patients fairly. In addition, you must always be prepared to defend the information you record. The material below is intended to help you get used to this type of writing both in school and in the field of nursing.

Three General Rules

This may seem to go without saying, but you should remember that accuracy is important even beyond the obvious areas like medication administration and treatment procedure. Accurately reporting sequences of events, doctor’s orders, and patient concerns will protect you from scrutiny. Example : “Did dressing change.” If this is the entire record of you performing a dressing change for a patient, then exactly what you did is up to interpretation. A more precise version would be:

“Performed dressing change, cleaned wound with NS and gauze, applied calcium alginate, covered with ABD, secured with silk tape. Patient tolerated well.” This revision provides a clear picture of every step of the procedure and explains use of all materials. (Note: even further explanation may be necessary to describe wound status and any changes or doctor notifications.)

Be Objective

Always try to remove personal emotions and opinions from the writing you do. Place yourself in a dispassionate mindset and record information, not feelings, hunches, or viewpoints.

Example : “Patient acting crazy.” This statement relies on the nurse’s subjective opinion of the patient’s mental state. A better version would be: “Patient pacing back and forth, breathing fast, clenching fists, yelling ‘Don’t touch me!’ repeatedly.”

This provides a clear picture of what actually happened during the incident, allowing the reader to draw his or her own conclusions.

Remember Your Critical Audience

Litigation and auditing are a fact of life in the medical field, and chances are good that readers of your writing will be actively looking for mistakes or inconsistencies. Scrupulous charting and reporting is the best way to satisfy such readers. Examples : “Did dressing change.” “Patient acting crazy.” Both of the examples in the above points could be used by a critical audience to have cause for correction or could be used negatively against you in court. The phrase “Did dressing change” details no necessity for specific materials, leaves room for doubt as to compliance with doctor-ordered treatments, and can provide space for accusations from expert witnesses. Writing “Patient acting crazy,” without quantifying statements and description of your actions, can be grounds for charges of negligence. Either one of these cases, in an extreme scenario, could be grounds for you to lose your license.