Writing Guide for Nursing

 

Part One: Types of Writing

A.     Experiential Narrative

B.     Argument Paper

C.    Correspondence

D.    Research Paper

E.     Charting

F.     Concept or Nurses Process Mapping

 

Part Two: Citations and APA Style

 

 

Part One: Types of Writing

 

A. Experiential Narrative

 

The objective of a personal narrative is to tell a story, to account an important or memorable experience that happened to you or one of your patients. These stories help us to better understand the illness experience of clients and convey the impact that serious illness has on our clients.

Listening to client stories provides nurses with the opportunity to develop therapeutic interventions that will help clients cope with their illness. In addition, it provides the client with an important means of self-understanding and expression.

 

What are some guidelines* for interviewing and writing a personal narrative?

When you interview a patient about an illness experience, the goal is to capture that person's unique perspective about living with illness. You can capture that perspective through asking perceptive questions and actively listening.

 

To do the interview, explain to the patient that you would like to understand the everyday experience of living with illness. Ask him/her to think of an incident related to the illness that stands out in his/her mind. Prompt the client occasionally with phrases such as "Can you tell me more about that?" or "How did that make you feel?"

 

To write the personal narrative, try to summarize the client's experience and convey the his/her unique perspective on his/her illness. Include the patient's own words as much as possible. In the conclusion, reflect on how the patient's story broadened your understanding of the illness experience and how it might help nurses in planning interventions.

 

Criteria for Writing an Experiential Narrative

Purpose

Organization

Professional Content

Persona/Voice

Mechanics and Grammar

Strong Evidence of Maturation and Growth as a Writer

Critical Thinking

 

B. Argument Paper

An argument paper should have a concise introductory paragraph that clearly states the position on a particular issue and identifies the appropriate audience for persuasion. The paper should provide sufficient factual and observational background discussion for a professional/nonprofessional reader to understand the terminology, impact, and effects of the issue. Also, there should be defensible documentation and discussion to support an understanding of the issue and a clear rationale for the position. Both pros and cons of the issue should be presented, with supportive documentation. A concluding paragraph should synthesize the major points. The entire paper should follow APA format and include a title page.

 

What else should an argumentative paper do?

An argument paper should include logical thinking or systematic reasoning. According to Chris Thaiss, "one of our goals is to be convincing, so that the reader agrees with our conclusion." To be convincing, each argument paper should include:
"1. a thesis statement, your main point
2. evidence that the reader will understand
3. your awareness of other possible conclusions and reasons why you believe in yours."

 

C. Correspondence

 

What is the difference between a letter and a memo?

"Letters are used for correspondence outside an organization. Memorandums (or memos) are used for correspondence within an organization."

 

What is the format for a letter?

A letter may contain the following elements:

 

What is the format for a memo?

Memos, used for correspondence within organizations, are most often headed with the organization's name. They include lines for "Date:", "To:", "From:", and "Subject:", followed by the memo's body paragraph. Unlike a letter, a salutation or signature block are not required. A memo does, however, have similar end notations as a letter.

"Memos may be used for any of the purposes for which letters are used."

 

What do I need to do differently for a letter of application?

"A letter of application is a letter of transmittal for the resume, but it is also a place where you can highlight your capabilities and catch an employer's interest. ... You can use your letter of application to point out how you could fit into the organization and why it would be to their advantage to hire you."
In the beginning of the letter, mention your knowledge of the organization and that you would like to work for them. In the middle, emphasize your experience and education to the reader. In the close of the letter, mention your resume and references and let them know your availability for an interview.

 

D. Research Paper

 

Writing a research paper is a process that involves several steps. First, you must choose a topic, based on your assignment or an interest you've developed on your own. It usually helps to start with a question that your research project will answer, such as: "What caused the 1987 stock market crash? How do the poems of John Keats reflect incidents in his life? How can lasers be used in medicine?" (Thaiss, 1991, p. 219).

 

The next step is searching out and discovering information about the question you've decided to research. This necessitates a trip to the library to find books and articles about your subject--but also consider other sources, such as those knowledgeable in your field or an organization that might have information that would help you. Choose a method of taking notes that works for you: Thaiss presents index cards, notebooks, or computer files as options for researchers. Another aid may be a research log, which includes dated entries about what information you researched, where you found it, and what you think about the topic after reading that source.

 

Once you have all the information that you need, write out a rough outline or list of what you want to include in the paper. After writing the first draft of the paper, based on that outline, have others read and give you feedback. Don't forget the thesis statement, which both states what you have discovered about your topic as well as how the paper will be organized. Also, remember to document sources correctly, avoiding plagiarism. Use others' comments to support your own, but don't make the paper an endless string of quotes from your sources, with little of your own ideas.

 

After receiving feedback, carefully revise your paper, trying to consider it from the perspective of a reader. If you have questions on any step of the process, ask your classmates and/or teacher for help.

 

E. Charting

 

Charting has many purposes, including communicating information, assisting evaluation, and providing a legal record (Smith, Duell and Martin, 2000).

Content should include "the assessment that you completed at the beginning of your shift" which "provides a baseline for changes that may occur later in the client's condition" (p. 48). Most of all, your notes should emphasize any "changes in the client's medical, mental. or emotional condition" (p. 48). You should also include any "reactions to unscheduled or prn medications" and the "client's response to teaching" (p. 48). If you use flow sheets for certain "repetitive aspects of nursing care, such as vital signs and intake and output," you do not need to include those aspects in your notes (p. 48).

 

"The three main charting systems are source-oriented, problem-oriented, and computer-assisted charting" (p. 49). In the source-oriented charting system, "information is organized and presented according to its source" (p. 49), so that doctors and nurses notes are separate. In the problem-oriented charting system, "the chart is based on the problem list--all problems, present or potential, identified with that client" (p. 49). In computer-assisted charting, information is "constantly update[d] ... from many sources" (p. 49).

 

F. Concept or Nursing Process Mapping

Concept or nursing process mapping is a pictoral way of helping you to view relationships among clinical data and to apply theory. You collect key concepts from patient assessment data and then schematically draw the relationships among the concepts and the required interventions. This type of writing helps you to organize your thoughts and nursing care, to see relationships between the body system and disease process or processes, and to communicate the information effectively to others. As you process, write, and draw the information, you are enhancing your critical thinking skills.

 

Part Two: Citations and APA Style

Quoting vs. Paraphrasing

You have two different options for referring to others’ ideas in your own work. The first, quotation, occurs when you use the exact words of the original source with quotation marks around the other author’s words. (If you fail to include the quotation marks, you are plagiarizing.)

For example, in Diana Hacker’s A Writer’s Reference, she gives the following example of a direct quotation, using the author’s name in the signal phrase, and citing the page number:

According to Hart (1996), some primatologists “wondered if apes had learned Language, with a capital L” (p. 109).

The second form of citation, paraphrasing, occurs when you describe the idea of the original source using your own words. If you use similar words or sentence structure as the original author, even if you cite the source, you are still plagiarizing.

A handout available in the GMU Writing Center suggests some tips for paraphrasing. First, “read the original, make sure you understand it, lay it aside, and then write it down in your own words, imagining that you are explaining it to someone who will read your paper. If you are having trouble putting it in your own words, then you probably don’t understand it well enough to write about it. When you are finished, cite the author according to the style you are using.”

For example, Hacker offers the following original source, plagiarized citation, and acceptable paraphrase:

 

 

Original source:

The park [Caspers Wilderness Park] was closed to minors in 1992 after the family of a girl severely mauled there in 1986 won a suit against the county. The award of $2.1 million for the mountain lion attack on Laura Small, who was 5 at the time, was later reduced to $1.5 million.
--Reyes and Messina, “More Warning Signs,” p. B1

Plagiarized, unacceptable borrowing:

Reyes and Messina (1991) report that Caspers Wilderness Park was closed to children in 1992 after the family of a girl brutally mauled there in 1986 sued the county. The family was ultimately awarded $1.5 million for the mountain lion assault on Laura Small, who was 5 at the time.

Acceptable Paraphrase:

In 1992, officials banned minors from Caspers Wilderness Park. Reyes and Messina (1991) explain that park officials took this measure after a mountain lion attack on a child led to a lawsuit. The child, five-year-old Laura Small, had been severely mauled by a lion in 1986, and her parents sued the county. Eventually, they received an award of $1.5 million.

Some other tips for avoiding plagiarism, from Swales, J. M. and Feak, C. B. (1994). Academic Writing for Graduate Students: A Course For Nonnative Speakers of English. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press:

“1. Always try to use your own words, except for technical terms.
2. Include enough support and detail so that the presentation is clear.
3. Do not try to paraphrase specialized vocabulary or technical terms.
4. Include nothing more than what is contained in the original. (Do not include your own comments or evaluation.)
5. Make sure the summary reads smoothly. Use enough transition devices and supporting detail. You do not want a collection of sentences that do not flow” (p. 114).

 

APA Style

For more detailed information on APA style, consult the official Publication Manual of the APA, or these links. Always check with your professor if you have questions about how to handle a particular citation.

 

In-text citations occur during the paper itself. According to Diana Hacker’s Pocket Style Manual, “in-text citations provide at least the author’s last name and the date of publication. For direct quotations, a page number is given as well.” The point of an in-text citation is to direct your reader to the reference page to get the entire citation, if they wish to consult the original source.

An example, from Hacker: Better measurements of sophistication in computer use could be obtained through more thorough testing (Blili et al., 1996).

On the final page of your paper, the “References” page presents a list of all sources you used for the paper, in alphabetical order by author’s last name. Here are some basic formats for the references page, all taken from Hacker’s A Writer’s Reference:

 

A book:

Tapscott, D. (1998). Growing up digital. New
      York: McGraw-Hill.

A corporate author:

Bank of Boston. (1997). Banking by remote
     control. Boston: Author.

 

An article in a magazine:

Kadrey, R. (1998, March). Carbon copy: Meet the
      first human clone. Wired, 6, 146-150, 180,
      220.

 

An article in a daily newspaper:

Haney, D. Q. (1998, February 20). Finding eats at
      mystery of appetite. The Oregonian, pp. A1,
      A17.

 

An article in a journal paginated by volume:

McLoyd, V. C. (1998). Socioeconomic
      disadvantage and child development. American
      Psychologist, 53, 185-204.

 

An article in a journal paginated by issue:

Roberts, P. (1998). The new food anxiety.
      Psychology Today, 31(2), 30-38, 74.

 

 

Source

George Mason University

This online writing guide was created under the auspices of a General Education Funding Award received by Writing Across the Curriculum. The guide was developed by Dr. Georgine Redmond with the assistance of Lisa J. Ampleman.