Writing by Design
to Craft a Scholarly Paper
Fran Racher, RN, PhD
School of Health Studies
MPN Orientation
September, 2011
Outline
 A. Setting the stage
 B. Preparing the content
 C. Establishing the writing style
 D. Managing the grammar
 E. Applying APA
 F. References
A. Setting the stage

Purpose of the paper, related goals

Literature and information sources

Data management, reference database tools

Logistics – timeline, length, resources

Reflection, discussion, collection of ideas

Plan for review and evaluation, know criteria
B. Preparing the content

Purpose – Outline – Headings

Introduction

Body of paper



key ideas
expansion of key ideas – points to support key ideas,
build argument, or state position

use of theory

description and critical analysis
Conclusion
C. Establishing the writing style
 Style preferences

Position of writer, objective stance, first person

Use of quotes, citations generally preferred

Gender neutrality – pluralize to remedy

Past tense for author citations – stated, recommended

Labelling – person first then disability

Use of tables and figures – explained in text too
 Consistency plan

Spelling, capitals, hyphenated words
D. Managing the grammar
 Clarity and precision of ideas

Choice of words – slang, opinion,, anthropomorphism, absolute
language, subjects, action verbs, feel…, no contractions

Pronouns – singular/plural agreement in number, use of this or
these, editorial we

Age – 18-24, 18 to 24 years of age; elderly not a noun

Comparison – faster ….. than? Dangling modifiers (p. 81)
 Punctuation – semicolon used to connect 2 related clauses s a
conjunction (but, and)
 Sentence structure

Use of that and which, (p. 83)

Parallel series (p. 86)
Common grammatical problems
Singular/plural
The nurse assists their clients…
Nurses assist their clients…
(pluralize to avoid)
Use of ‘It is’ and ‘There are’ sentences
There are aspects of art and science in nursing…
Aspects of art and science are in nursing…
Dangling prepositions, dangling modifiers
How does the client know who they can depend on?
One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas.
Use of that and which,
The cards that worked well in the first experiment were
not useful in the second experiment. [Only those cards
that worked well in the first experiment were not useful
in the second; prefer that.] restrictive
The cards, which worked well in the first experiment,
were not useful in the second experiment. [The second
experiment was not appropriate for the cards.]
nonrestrictive
(American Psychological Association, 2010, p. 83)
Parallel series
The participants were told to make themselves
comfortable, to read the instructions, and that they
should ask about anything they did not understand.
The participants were told to make themselves
comfortable, to read the instructions and to ask about
anything they did not understand.
(American Psychological Association, 2010, p. 86)
Prevalent writing errors
 Poor organization and continuity
 Lack of sufficient support for claims with
citations/references
 Syntax, grammar, and punctuation problems
 Lack of connection between sections
 Lack of use of theory
 Weak introduction and/ or conclusion
E. Applying APA
 Serif font, 12 point, 1” margins, double space, indent paragraphs
½”, page numbers top left all pages – pg 228-229
 Figures to express numbers 10 and above and words to express
numbers below 10 – pg 111
 Two spaces after periods; one after colons/semicolons – pg 87-88
 Title page – running head (<50), in header, pagination – pg 229
 Headings – pg 62
 Citations – pg 174 (single authors, multiple authors)
 Tables – pg 128 and figures – pg 150
 Seriation (a), (b), (c) – pg 63-64 Parallel construction – pg 84-86
 Reference list – pg 180, examples Chapter 7
 Reconcile citations and reference list (spelling, dates)
Creating the List of References
 Order of references – pg 181
 Reference components – pg 183
 Electronic sources and locator info – pg 187
 Examples by type of work – pg 198



chapter of a book – pg 202 and 203
edited book – pg 204
electronic throughout
 Personal communication – pg 179
F. References
American Psychological Association. (2010).
Publication Manual of the American
Psychological Association (6th ed.).
Washington, DC: Author.
Lambie, G. W., Sias, S. M., Davis, K. M.,
Lawson, G., & Akos, P. (2008). A scholarly
writing resource for counselor educators
and their students. Journal of Counseling
and Development, 86(4), 18-25.