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Academic Writing for Nursing

Develop the academic writing skills required throughout nursing school: scholarly writing conventions, APA 7th edition formatting, essay structure, literature synthesis, academic integrity, and writing evidence-based nursing papers.

Scholarly Writing

Conventions, tone, and structure of nursing school writing

What Makes Writing Scholarly?

Scholarly writing in nursing is formal, evidence-based, objective, and precisely referenced. It differs from casual or journalistic writing in four key ways: (1) It uses third-person or first-person as specified (APA 7 now permits first person for personal perspectives), but always maintains professional tone. (2) Every claim is supported by a citation from a peer-reviewed source. (3) It follows strict formatting conventions (APA 7th edition in most nursing programs). (4) It avoids contractions, colloquialisms, and unsupported opinion statements. The most common nursing school writing assignments: concept analysis papers, care plan rationales, evidence-based practice (EBP) papers, reflective journals, and literature reviews.

✓ Scholarly Language

Objective: 'Research indicates that…' / 'Evidence suggests…'

Precise: '87% of participants' not 'most participants'

Formal: 'cannot' not 'can't'; 'therefore' not 'so'

Hedged (where appropriate): 'may suggest' / 'appears to indicate'

Third person (unless otherwise directed): 'The nurse assesses…' not 'I would assess…'

✗ Non-Scholarly Language to Avoid

Colloquial: 'Nurses need to step up' → 'Nurses are required to demonstrate increased accountability'

Unsupported opinion: 'Obviously, patient-centered care is important.' — cite it

Contractions: 'Can't, won't, it's' → 'Cannot, will not, it is'

Absolute without evidence: 'All patients need X' → 'The majority of patients require…'

Filler phrases: 'In today's society…' / 'Throughout history…' — begin with your claim

Scholarly Writing — Self-Check

1/1

Which sentence is written in appropriate scholarly style for a nursing paper?

APA 7th Edition Fundamentals

The citation and formatting standard for nursing school

APA 7th Edition — Key Rules

Common APA 7 Student Errors

✗Using et al. for two authors — et al. is only for 3+ authors

✗Including 'Retrieved from' before a URL — remove in APA 7

✗Using a running head for student papers — not required in APA 7

✗Citing a secondary source as if it were the primary source

✗Missing DOI when it is available

✗Using 'References' as a centered heading instead of bold centered

✗Capitalizing words in the article title (use sentence case for article and book titles)

APA 7th Edition — Self-Check

1/2

A paper with three or more authors should be cited in-text as:

Literature Synthesis

Integrating multiple sources into a coherent argument

Synthesis is the most advanced academic writing skill — it means weaving ideas from multiple sources together into an integrated argument, rather than summarizing each source one by one. A paper that summarizes Source 1, then Source 2, then Source 3 is NOT synthesized. A synthesized paper brings multiple sources together around a central claim: 'Smith (2021), Jones (2022), and Williams (2023) all demonstrate that hourly rounding reduces call light use — however, Jones notes that effect sizes vary significantly by shift.''

✗ Summarizing (Not Synthesis)

"Smith (2021) found that hourly rounding reduces falls. Jones (2022) studied nurse communication. Williams (2023) examined patient satisfaction scores."

Three separate summaries — no connection, no argument.

✓ Synthesized Argument

"Converging evidence supports hourly rounding as a multi-outcome intervention: Smith (2021) documented a 40% fall reduction, Jones (2022) linked it to improved nurse-patient communication, and Williams (2023) observed higher satisfaction scores — together suggesting that the mechanism may be sustained nurse presence rather than fall prevention alone."

CRAAP Test — Evaluating Source Quality

Currency: Is the source recent enough? (Nursing: generally within 5–7 years; foundational content may be older)

Relevance: Does it directly address your question? Is it appropriate for your audience?

Authority: Who wrote it? What are the author's credentials? Is the journal peer-reviewed?

Accuracy: Is evidence provided? Can claims be verified? Has it been peer-reviewed?

Purpose: Why was it written? Is it informing, persuading, or selling? Who funded it?

Academic Integrity

Plagiarism, paraphrasing, and ethical writing

Academic Integrity — Types and Consequences

Match the Writing Concept to Its Definition

0/6 matched

Terms

Definitions

Academic Writing — Comprehensive Quiz

1/2

A student reads an article and rewrites a paragraph by substituting synonyms for most of the original words while keeping the same sentence structure. This is an example of:

Pre-nursing comprehensive review

1/20

Which organelle contains its own DNA and is inherited exclusively from the mother?

Academic Writing for Nursing

Scholarly Writing

Conventions, tone, and structure of nursing school writing

What Makes Writing Scholarly?

✓ Scholarly Language

Objective: 'Research indicates that…' / 'Evidence suggests…'

Precise: '87% of participants' not 'most participants'

Formal: 'cannot' not 'can't'; 'therefore' not 'so'

Hedged (where appropriate): 'may suggest' / 'appears to indicate'

Third person (unless otherwise directed): 'The nurse assesses…' not 'I would assess…'

✗ Non-Scholarly Language to Avoid

Colloquial: 'Nurses need to step up' → 'Nurses are required to demonstrate increased accountability'

Unsupported opinion: 'Obviously, patient-centered care is important.' — cite it

Contractions: 'Can't, won't, it's' → 'Cannot, will not, it is'

Absolute without evidence: 'All patients need X' → 'The majority of patients require…'

Filler phrases: 'In today's society…' / 'Throughout history…' — begin with your claim

Scholarly Writing — Self-Check

1/1

Which sentence is written in appropriate scholarly style for a nursing paper?

APA 7th Edition Fundamentals

The citation and formatting standard for nursing school

APA 7th Edition — Key Rules

Common APA 7 Student Errors

✗Using et al. for two authors — et al. is only for 3+ authors

✗Including 'Retrieved from' before a URL — remove in APA 7

✗Using a running head for student papers — not required in APA 7

✗Citing a secondary source as if it were the primary source

✗Missing DOI when it is available

✗Using 'References' as a centered heading instead of bold centered

✗Capitalizing words in the article title (use sentence case for article and book titles)

APA 7th Edition — Self-Check

1/2

A paper with three or more authors should be cited in-text as:

Literature Synthesis

Integrating multiple sources into a coherent argument

✗ Summarizing (Not Synthesis)

"Smith (2021) found that hourly rounding reduces falls. Jones (2022) studied nurse communication. Williams (2023) examined patient satisfaction scores."

Three separate summaries — no connection, no argument.

✓ Synthesized Argument

CRAAP Test — Evaluating Source Quality

Currency: Is the source recent enough? (Nursing: generally within 5–7 years; foundational content may be older)

Relevance: Does it directly address your question? Is it appropriate for your audience?

Authority: Who wrote it? What are the author's credentials? Is the journal peer-reviewed?

Accuracy: Is evidence provided? Can claims be verified? Has it been peer-reviewed?

Purpose: Why was it written? Is it informing, persuading, or selling? Who funded it?

Academic Integrity

Plagiarism, paraphrasing, and ethical writing

Academic Integrity — Types and Consequences

Match the Writing Concept to Its Definition

0/6 matched

Terms

Definitions

Academic Writing — Comprehensive Quiz

1/2

A student reads an article and rewrites a paragraph by substituting synonyms for most of the original words while keeping the same sentence structure. This is an example of:

Pre-nursing comprehensive review

1/20

Which organelle contains its own DNA and is inherited exclusively from the mother?

Academic Writing for Nursing

Scholarly Writing

Scholarly Writing — Self-Check

APA 7th Edition Fundamentals

APA 7th Edition — Key Rules

APA 7th Edition — Self-Check

Literature Synthesis

Academic Integrity

Academic Integrity — Types and Consequences

Match the Writing Concept to Its Definition

Academic Writing — Comprehensive Quiz

Pre-nursing comprehensive review

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Academic Writing for Nursing

Scholarly Writing

Scholarly Writing — Self-Check

APA 7th Edition Fundamentals

APA 7th Edition — Key Rules

APA 7th Edition — Self-Check

Literature Synthesis

Academic Integrity

Academic Integrity — Types and Consequences

Match the Writing Concept to Its Definition

Academic Writing — Comprehensive Quiz

Pre-nursing comprehensive review

Save your progress across devices

Your progress · academic-writing-nursing

Stay in Pre-Nursing

Ready for exam-style prep