APPLICABLE TO ALL APPLICANTS WHO DO NOT HOLD EITHER
AN HONOURS DEGREE OR A POSTGRADUATE DIPLOMA
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Dear Applicant
Entry into your programme requires you to provide evidence that you have the capacity
to undertake the programme. Although currently the entry criteria is an honours degree
we want to give you the opportunity to be considered for this programme. This requires
writing a 1000 word literature based essay which will be judged to determine its
equivalence to an honours degree (or Level 8) programme. Details on the essay and
some guidelines on writing this essay are included below.
If you have any further queries please ring or contact the Programme Director of the
programme you are interested in applying for, his/her contact details are listed in the
Postgraduate Prospectus at: http://www.go4th.ie/prospectus.html
Essay title
Choose a topic relevant to your practice area. Write a 1000 word literature based essay
on your chosen topic. It is important that the topic you choose is relevant to the field of
the programme you wish to apply for.
For example:
If you are interested in applying for the Postgraduate Diploma in Nursing (Public Health
Nursing ) you might choose continence promotion or elder abuse or child immunisation
as your topic.
If you are interested in applying for the Postgraduate Diploma in Nursing (Intensive
Care) you might choose pain management or intensive care unit psychosis/ICU syndrome
as your topic.
Presenting your essay
The following should be clearly typed on your essay: your name, name of the programme
for which you are applying, actual word count (remember the word limit is 1000 words),
signed declaration (see below) agreeing that the essay is your own work, the essay should
be typed, double-spaced, an alphabetical reference list should be included at the end of
your essay. Please ensure your essay is securely stapled
Essay content
Your goal is to demonstrate your ability to critically evaluate the research on your chosen
topic. You will need to identify and critically review research articles on your chosen
topic. This means looking at each research article and asking yourself, what was focused
on, what are the key findings, what methods were used, how well/badly designed was the
research, are the findings similar or different to other the other studies you have read. If
different is there an explanation for this, for example, as a result of methods or design.
Once you have critically read the key literature you will be able to identify the
overarching issues or themes. Write your essay around these themes using the literature
(i.e. the research studies you have read) to support your conclusions. Remember to
examine the implications of what you have reviewed for practice, for example, you might
offer suggestions as to why practice differs from what is defined as best practice and
make suggestions on what could be done differently.
Marking of the essay
Essays are marked in line with the marking criteria included below.
Reference
Guidelines on referencing your essay and developing a reference list are included for
your information.
Declaration
Please include this declaration statement at the end of your essay, and ensure you sign
and date it.
I hereby declare that this work is entirely my own and that I have acknowledged the
writings, ideas and work of others.
Signature:
Date:
Marking Criteria
To pass your essay should meet the following minimum criteria:
Logical flow; is coherent.
Essentially clear in meaning. Language mainly fluent.
Good overview of the topic provided. Description clear, good in parts.
Partial exploration of subject matter.
Some critical thinking evident. Good discrimination between what is important and less
important. Evidence of coherence in the formation of arguments.
Good breadth and depth of relevant literature.
Appropriate use of relevant theoretical work; not always well integrated.
Satisfactory understanding with some good insights.
Some evidence of evaluation. Most judgements reasonably thought through. Literature used to
support judgements.
Some evidence of analysis and partial evaluation of issues related to nursing practice.
Good quality of presentation.
Referencing adequate.
References
When producing written work it is essential to cite your sources of reference and to
acknowledge the work of others you have used because:
 This affords evidence of your research and provides justification for your statements.
 The reader is able to follow up and continue your work by returning to the original
source.
 You will be penalised for plagiarism if you do not acknowledge the work of others.
A reference list and or bibliography must be included with your essay. The Department of
Nursing & Midwifery favours the Harvard method of citing work because it eliminates
the need for:


A numbering system for referencing.
Latin abbreviations such as op cit., ibi
Applicants are instructed to use the referencing guidelines outlined in “Cite Them Right:
Referencing Made Easy” by Pears and Shields (2004) which provides detailed examples
of using the Harvard system. The full reference for this book is as follows:
• Pears, R. & Shields, G. (2006) Cite them right: the essential guide to referencing
and plagiarism. Newcastle upon Tyne: Pear Tree Books.