Writing Skills for Nursing Students: Essays, Reports, Critiques, and Reflection, Study notes of Nursing

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Academic Support, Student Services Developing your writing skills First of all think about the different types of assignments you will be required to write - essays – structuring an argument with evidence from literature in relation to specific modules - reports - written in a structured way in response to a need for information - critiques - comparing and contrasting material using critical thinking - reflective writing- taking practice to learning (thinking critically about your nursing practice in relation to what you have learnt in the classroom) Answering the question - read the guidelines very carefully to discover what is required - distinguish between the subject (the broad topic under discussion) and the question (the specific issue your argument will address) - gather the necessary information ( see the sections on note-making and gathering information)- let the research lead your writing - plan your essay and then ask yourself the following questions: - does the plan satisfy the demands of the question? - are all the points listed relevant to the title? - are you using appropriate examples? - is there a balance between different topics and sub-topics ? - at this stage it might be a good idea to check with your tutor that you are on the right track - attempt a first draft- re-daft if necessary Introductions - state the aim of the assignment - give an overview of the essay and the topics it covers - define the specific areas examined and the main points to be discussed - give a rationale if necessary - include participation in clinical practice if necessary - use pseudonyms for confidentiality reasons in accordance with Code of Conduct Academic Support, Student Services Example: DN Hypothetical Essay Guidelines and introduction (with thanks to Alexandra Wilson, Nursing Academic Support Tutor) Students will produce an essay of 3000 words in which they critically analyse healthcare and support issues arising from the module content. These must include psychological and sociological components of care and the ethical issues which arise from this. The assignment aims to: o Enable the student to integrate theoretical concepts involved in developing ethical professional practice o Strengthen the students’ knowledge of the context of health o Develop the students’ critical thought in relation to healthcare Guidelines: 1. Select an aspect of client care you have participated in, giving a rationale for your choice. Focus on one occasion with a particular client. The care must have been delivered safely. 2. Describe briefly the aspect of care with reference to support issues. 3. Critically assess the relevance of psychological and sociological issues in the care given, relating theory to practice. 4. Analyse any ethical issues arising from this and support your argument with appropriate literature 5. Identify elements of leaning which can be transferred to future practice 6. Reference according to the School of Nursing policy Introduction This assignment will look at healthcare and support issues, with particular reference to the psychological and sociological components of care. In order to do this, the discussion will focus upon the management of leg ulcers in a community care setting, drawing upon experience gained during clinical practice. Leg ulcer care was chosen because it is a high priority area of care; leg ulcers account for 40,000 cases per year within the community (reference, date) placing a significant strain on local services. Therefore this is an issue likely to affect every newly qualified nurse. The essay therefore sets out to examine the social context of this problem, the psychological impact of pain management in leg ulcers and the ethical issues arising from the treatment and health promotion aspects of this care. To illustrate these points, reference will be made to a particular patient encountered in the local community who has suffered with leg ulcers for the past five years. She will be referred to as Mary throughout the assignment in order to maintain confidentiality and comply with the requirements of the Code of Professional Conduct (NMC, 2002) Academic Support, Student Services Suggested solutions Accordingly So Ascertain Find out As compared Compared At the conclusion of After At the end of the day Finally At this time Now Attributable Due, owing By means of By Constitute Is, are Costs the sum of Costs Demonstrate Show Despite the fact that Despite, although Due to the fact that Because Enclose herewith Enclose, here is For the purpose of making To make Furthermore Also In a position to Able to Inasmuch as Since Increase the effectiveness of Improve In regard to About, concerning In the course of During In the event that If Make it possible Enable Modification Change Nevertheless But Not withstanding the fact that Despite Prior to Before Subsequent to After The manner in which How Use short/medium length sentences - each sentence should move logically on to the next - use signposts when changing subject or introducing a new point of view eg ‘however’ or ‘on the other hand’ - paragraphs are collections of sentences on the same theme- often the first sentence is then refined or elaborate (so a change of direction necessitates a new paragraph) Academic Support, Student Services Linking words and phrases for use in essays Words for adding to and developing In addition adding a further point in an argument or a further piece of evidence in support of the argument It is also the case in addition to what has gone before Furthermore moving the argument along Moreover Further, beyond what has been said It follows from this that We can deduce something It is clear from this that We can see from what has gone before Therefore For that reason Thence From that time forward hence From this time onward, for this reason Words for considering other views or evidence Alternatively A different point of view On the other hand The alternative point of view, approach, evidence On the contrary The opposite of what has been said conversely The opposite of what has been said Even so Despite what has gone before However Despite what has gone before nevertheless On spite of what has gone before Use other people - a way of developing effective writing is to look critically at the work of others and try to work out why you prefer one writing style to another - access tutorial support for help with grammar punctuation and sentence structure One final comment- the best writing is clear writing –try not to ‘posh up’ your writing with words you feel sound scholarly and also beware of the thesaurus!