Rationale for Development of Academic Writing Guidelines
Immediately on entry to Thames Valley University, the nursing students encounter a
new language of assessment: (e.g. coherence, integration, analysis, synthesis,
creativity and originality). These are concepts by which students are judged from
Day 1. Written guidelines can help to at least provide definitions and some “userfriendly” explanations. At present, the introductory resource pack, (containing
guidance on essay writing) alludes only to the concepts of structure, coherence and
analysis and not to the other terms mentioned in the assessment grids.
Additional difficulty is caused to the students by requiring them to fully appreciate the
implications of the transition from Level 4 to 5 and (if the student chooses) the
progression to Level 6. Once again, written guidelines can at least begin to give the
students insight into the new requirements of each academic level. This may aid
their decision (at the end of the second year) as to whether they wish to follow
Diploma, Advanced Diploma or Degree routes.
The enclosed guidelines are, therefore, an attempt to provide a resource to facilitate
the process of enabling students to understand the requirements of academic writing
and to explain how the criteria and standards change with the transition from Level 4
to level 5 and from Level 5 to level 6.
Dr.J.Bysshe (05/01/06)
Starting Out: Writing at Level 4 (Certificate Level)
Rule 1: Don’t rely totally on what you have learnt before!
Writing at level 4 is a whole new world. It doesn’t matter what background you come
from, whether you have a degree, A Levels, GCE/GCSE’s, NVQ’s or Access
qualifications, one of the most important things to recognize is that there are new
rules to think about and new requirements for writing at this level. It is essential that
you understand what these are first, before you try writing any assignment.
You may think that you already know all about writing essays. If you got good marks
in any of your coursework, (before you started this nursing programme) you might
feel that you already know how to write at Level 4. Be careful. Writing styles that got
you good marks before, may not do so at TVU, unless you understand exactly what
we are looking for.
If you are worried about writing essays, don’t be. The rules are quite clear and there
is plenty of support available. The most important thing is asking for help when you
need it.
Rule 2: Make sure you meet the learning outcomes
In the early pages of every module study guide you will find a list of learning
outcomes. These are a list of what you should have achieved,( in terms of
knowledge, insight and understanding), by the end of your module. It is essential to
appreciate that all your assessments will be based on checking whether you have
achieved these outcomes. Therefore, you need to be very certain of what you
should be achieving for each module and make sure that the content of any essays
(or other theoretical assignments you write) meet these outcomes.
Rule 3: Use your tutors
The tutors/lecturers who teach you on your module are the people who will be
marking your assessments at the end of the module. They are responsible for
ensuring that all the content they teach, enables you to achieve the required learning
outcomes. While you are being taught by them, make sure that you understand how
what you are taught relates to the requirements of the assessment. Ask your
lecturer/tutor’s advice on what they are looking for in the assignment. Take the
opportunity to discuss how key points you have learnt in the lesson could be used in
your assessment.
The tutors cannot write your coursework for you, but they are valuable resources in
terms of understanding the requirements of the assessment. It is essential that you
do not just sit back and expect everything to be taught to you. Take an active part in
class. Keep focused on the learning outcomes and check with your tutors that you
have fully understood the key issues. Your lecturers can provide invaluable
guidance and can be depended upon to be more “user-friendly” than a textbook or
internet web-site. Use them.
Rule 4: Make sure you understand the theoretical marking grid
At the back of every module study guide there is a section on assessment. This will
include a theoretical marking grid. This shows you how marks are allocated for any
of your written work that you hand in for assessment. This grid is designed to enable
your teachers to give a mark which accurately reflects the quality of your academic
writing. There is a different grid for Level 4, 5 and 6. This is because the
requirements for academic writing become harder and more exacting as you
progress up the levels.
Currently you are studying at Level 4, Certificate level. This is equivalent to the work
that you would do as a first year undergraduate in a conventional three year degree
course. Level 5 is Diploma level. This is equivalent to the second year of
undergraduate study. Level 6 is degree level, equivalent to the third year of
undergraduate study, leading to graduation with a degree.
In your course, you do not have to choose whether you wish to study at degree level
(Level 6) straight away. In your first year of training with TVU you will study at Level
4. In the second year you progress to Level 5 and towards the end of the second
year you can choose whether you want to remain at Diploma level or progress to
Advanced Diploma or Degree level (which involves studying at Level 6) for your
third, final year.
Every level, however, is judged by the same key components of academic writing.
These are:
 organisation and coherence,
 content,
 level of analysis and synthesis,
 use of literature and quality of referencing
 clarity of expression.
Organisation and Coherence
The way that you structure your assignment is very important. One fifth (20%) of
your marks for your written assessment at level 4 depend on whether you put things
in the right place. There are rules about this that you must understand. It’s simple:
follow the rules and you gain marks. Ignore the rules and you will probably fail your
assessment.
Rule 1: Every assignment must have an introduction
Writing a good introduction is quite an art. Don’t rely totally on your past experience
of writing essays. Check with your tutor/lecturer on your module how they like the
assignment to start. Each assignment will have slightly different requirements.
Some of these will be explained in the assessment section of the module study
guide, but it is always best to check with the teachers who will be marking your
assessments to see what they prefer.
There are some general requirements for an introduction though:

Make sure you identify the key issues that you will be discussing in the essay

Make sure you provide definitions for the key terms that you introduce,
whether they are professional, physiological , medical or even general (e.g.
the nursing process, homeostasis, congestive cardiac failure, responsibility)

Make sure you focus immediately on the exact requirements of the essay.
Waffle may have helped you pass assessments in the past, but it will
definitely not help you in this programme. There is key knowledge,
understanding and insight which it is essential for nurses to have in order to
ensure safe practice. These assessments test that you have gained these
key requirements (identified in the learning outcomes). Nursing assignments,
therefore, have to be focused on these key issues, because ultimately
patients’ lives may be at risk if you lack this fundamental knowledge. Respect
this principle.
Rule 2: The main body of the assignment must be logical and make sense
You will be judged on coherence. Something is coherent if it is intelligible and “holds
together”. This means that you must put your information down logically, so that the
sentences connect together in a way that makes sense. This means that you should
not submit the first draft that you write. Get the information down and then check
whether it is in the right place. You should spend time rearranging the main points
until you are quite sure that they are in a logical order that makes sense, instead of
jumping about all over the place. Logical thought is an essential academic
requirement. It is worth taking time at this point in the programme to think about how
to present the information in the clearest way, which will be easy for the marker to
follow and will get you the best possible marks.
Rule 3: Always take care to write a properly constructed conclusion
Like the introduction, writing a good conclusion is an art. It is also an essential
academic skill. This is because the conclusion is your opportunity to present, and
comment, on what you believe are the most important points. Many students lose
valuable marks in the conclusion, because they fail to understand how important it is
to get it right.
A common error is to simply write what you have done.
For example: “Therefore, in conclusion, this essay has looked at the needs of a
patient with congestive cardiac failure and talked about the Activities of Daily Living
Model. The patient had many needs and the model identified what needed to be
done. I think the patient got good care and it was a good experience for me.” This is
a missed opportunity to show what you have learned and the insight you have
gained.
A better conclusion would be:
“In conclusion, the Roper Activities of Living Model helped to identify that the key
need for this patient was to relieve the distress caused by both her breathlessness
and immobility. The Roper model encourages nurses to assess patients from a
biopsychosocial perspective and this enabled insight into the fact that this patient’s
social problems were considerably exacerbating her anxiety and resulting dyspnoea
and immobility. This case study, therefore, has highlighted the importance of using
an appropriate nursing model to ensure that the holistic needs of patients are
addressed, resulting in good nursing care and a good experience for both the patient
and the nurse.
The final sentence in this conclusion also highlights another key factor in the
construction of a conclusion: the “aah” factor. It is important to appreciate that your
lecturers aim to teach in a way that inspires insight and understanding into the way
nursing should be and the standards nurses should aspire to. The last sentence of
the conclusion, should display a final pleasing insight that shows that you have
grown and developed regarding your appreciation of what nursing is about. It should
make the marker feel good about you as a person and as a nurse, generating an
“aah, isn’t that nice” reaction.
Do not underestimate the power of the “aah” factor. The last sentence of the
assignment may well influence the final mark. A careless ending suggests laziness
and lack of appreciation of the relevance and importance of the assignment. It
creates a poor impression. A carefully worded sentence at the end should lift the
marker’s spirits and even encourage generosity in allocation of marks. Don’t dash it
off in a hurry five minutes before you are due to hand in your assignment. Think
about it.
Content
The key to success in achieving high marks in the content section is that you have
followed the assessment guidelines. This may sound simplistic, but so many
students lose valuable marks because they have failed to appreciate that the
assessment has certain key characteristics that the markers are expecting and must
be fulfilled.
For example, if the essay requires you to write on professional, legal and ethical
issues and you choose only to concentrate on professional and ethical, then you will
almost certainly fail. This is because over one third (35%) of the marks at Level 4
are determined by content. Miss out key content and you could lose a substantial
number of marks. Again, the rule is “don’t rely totally on what you have done in the
past”. Many of the assignments that you have to complete on this course will be
different from anything that you have encountered before. Your responsibility is to
make sure that you fully understand exactly what is required of you, before you start
writing.
The other element to writing assignments for nursing is an essential requirement to
apply theory to practice. You need to demonstrate that, not only do you understand
the theory, but you understand the extra implications, or difficulties of implementing
this in practice. (For example, knowing about the dangers of smoking is a very
different issue to actually empowering a patient to give up smoking for the good of
their health).
Another aspect which will gain you marks in the content section is the use of
originality and creativity. Originality means having new ideas, or interpreting old
ideas in a new and different way. Creativity is judged by your ability to apply these
new ideas to practice.
You need to be careful, however, in how you demonstrate this. Your first priority is
to demonstrate that you fully understand the theory. Once you have done this, you
can then make suggestions of different ways this could be applied in practice, or
show a new interpretation of an established theory.
Don’t worry if new ideas do not spring to mind. Creativity and originality in academic
writing is a skill that develops with practice. It is not an essential quality in Level 4
writing, although displaying some evidence that you are thinking of different ways of
applying what you have learnt will gain you higher marks in this section.
Level of Analysis and Synthesis
At this level (4), it is best to consider analysis as your ability to recognize the
strengths and weaknesses of the information you have found. For example,
diuretics are very useful drugs in the treatment of cardiac failure, because they
reduce the circulating blood volume and therefore strain on the heart, enabling it to
operate at a lower pressure. This is the great strength of these drugs in treating
heart disease. Their weakness, however, is that they cause the flushing out of the
body of vital electrolytes such as potassium which are needed for the efficient
contraction of the heart muscle.
In nursing studies it is possible to find strengths and weaknesses in all our nursing
care and in the related psychology, sociology and physiology that supports it. By
showing your appreciation of the strengths and weaknesses of an issue, you are
showing an holistic understanding, which is fundamental to nursing (i.e. that you are
able to appreciate all the related elements, not just some).
Synthesis, at Level 4, is the way you are able to develop your ideas from the
information you have found (just like photosynthesis is the development of energy
from light).
The other element that is looked for is integration. This is the quality that has
already been talked about, which is the way that you are able to apply theory to
practice. Sometimes, you may be asked in your assignment to use reflection in this
process. In this way, you can use personal experiences to help to demonstrate how
the theory is applied in reality. (For example, describing how an individual patient
reacted when you first approached him about the need to stop smoking).
Use of literature and referencing
So far, in these guidelines you have been encouraged to think about ideas and views
that you can write. This is an important part of academic writing, being able to
demonstrate your own interpretation of the available theory. However, you have to
be extremely careful about the way that you present these ideas.
At this level (4), it is much safer to make sure that you provide the examples from the
literature first and carefully reference these before you go on to make your own
comments, or describe your own reflections.
For example writing something like this will gain you very few marks.
“Communication in nursing is the most important thing of all. When I approach the
patients on the ward I am very careful to make sure that I establish eye contact first
and hold their hand to show that I care about them. Non verbal communication is
just as important as verbal communication”.
There is nothing wrong at all in the sentiments shown in this passage. They show a
caring person, who understands the importance of using both verbal and non-verbal
communication. However, there has been no demonstration of where this
information has come from, so no marks can be given for use of literature or
referencing.
A much better way would be as follows:
“Many authors, such as Burnard (2003), Kemp and Smith (2004) and Jones (2001),
agree that communication is the most important therapeutic skill in nursing.
However, Brown (2005) emphasizes that nurses must appreciate that non-verbal
communication, through eye contact and touch particularly, is an essential prerequisite to establishing a rapport and trusting relationship with patients, before
verbal communication commences. In my own experience, on my most recent
placement on a surgical ward, I found that patients responded positively to me (when
I wanted to give them information about their operations), if I established eye contact
first and also reached out to touch their arm or hold their hand.”
You could then go on to explore the pro’s and con’s of using touch (e.g. cultural and
gender differences in the acceptability of using touch to communicate). Again, it
would be essential to do your reading first to get examples of different authors views
on the matter, before you give your own or describe your own experiences.
To gain maximum marks for referencing, you must follow the guidelines provided by
TVU. These explain how to reference authors in your essay and in the reference list
at the end of the essay. Take time to learn the rules. Check with your tutors if you
are unsure.
Please be advised that the markers take referencing very seriously. Any
inaccuracies will immediately lose you marks. One of the common mistakes, is that
students will cite a reference in their essay (e.g. Jones (2001) and then forget to put
the full reference for Jones in the reference list. The markers will check that all
authors cited are fully referenced at the end of the essay, so don’t take a chance.
Clarity of expression
The key to good academic writing is the use of clear English, containing correct
spelling, grammar and punctuation. Your writing style must not be colloquial. For
example:
“When we have done the obs and done lots of walking with him he was well chuffed”.
The use of English must be professional:
“After performing routine observations for blood pressure and pulse, (to check the
patient was not tachycardic or hypotensive), we were able to help the patient to
mobilise. He was able to walk for a significant distance and was extremely pleased
with his achievement”.
Words like “done” and “lots” and “well chuffed” are inappropriate. All these concepts
can be rephrased into more correct English.
Make use of the ‘spell check’ and grammar check on your computer. However, be
aware that the Word programme uses an American dictionary and may ask you to
change words unnecessarily, because the English version varies from the American.
The green line on the Word programme (for grammatical errors), however, is useful.
It can often warn you that your sentences are overlong. The use of punctuation,
(particularly full stops to make shorter sentences) can greatly improve the clarity of
your writing.
Proof reading is essential before submitting your assignment. This is because the
computer may not pick up a spelling error, if your error is an actual word. Also, it is
sometimes easier to see an error on paper, rather than on screen, so printing off a
copy and checking it before submission is always sensible.
A fresh eye is often a good idea. After a while you may not be able to see your own
mistakes, but a friend or relative may notice them as they read your assignment. Be
warned, however, that in submitting your assignment you sign a declaration that the
work is entirely your own. Do not allow your proof readers to become co-authors, or
you could risk being disciplined for cheating.
If you are aware that you have difficulties in academic writing, because of dyslexia or
any other problem, please approach our support services as early as possible,
where trained professionals will be able to provide individual advice to meet your
learning needs. The earlier you approach them, the more time they will have to help
you through the programme.
The last rule of all is to give yourself enough time to write your assignments. Don’t
leave them to the last minute. Again, this “write it the night before it’s due in” tactic
may have been a successful practice that you have used in the past, but it’s a
dangerous one to use now. All your assignments are demanding and are made
more so by the fact that you will often be working full time on your clinical
placements, while being required to write your theoretical assignments.
Start as early as you can. Be prepared to write more than one draft. You need to
adjust your work until you are quite sure it has met all the requirements and that your
academic style is correct. Get advice early, during your College days, so you are
certain about what you need to do and get a plan ready for your tutor to approve as
soon as you reasonably can, so that you know whether you are on the right track.
Remember, you must pass both theoretical and practical assignments in order to
successfully complete your training and become a registered nurse. Performing well
in writing, therefore, is just as important as performing well in your practical skills.
Good luck in all your Level 4 work.
Moving from Level 4 to Level 5: A Guide to the Key Principles of Writing at
Diploma level.
When you move from Level 4 (Certificate level) to Level 5 (Diploma level) the
expectations of the tutors, who are marking your assignments, change. Some of
these changes can be seen in the difference between the allocation of marks on the
theoretical marking criteria grids for Level 4 and Level 5. You will have a copy of
these grids in each of your module study guides and it is very important that you
understand what is required from you in each section on the grid.
The next sections in this guide should give you some clues as to how your academic
writing needs to develop, as you move from Level 4 to 5.
Organisation and Coherence:
You will notice that, at Level 4, 20 marks are awarded for organization and
coherence, whereas at Level 5 this reduces to only 10. This does not mean that the
structure and organization at Level 5 is less important than it was at Level 4.
Instead, this change in weighting of the marks shows a change in expectation.
At Level 4, you would have been learning how to structure your essay properly by
writing an appropriate introduction and following with the main body and conclusion.
Because this is not an easy skill, recognition is given at Level 4 for the degree of
learning and the effort required to structure your essay and present it clearly
(organisation) and present your arguments logically, so that they make sense
(coherence). Therefore, at Level 4, your ability to achieve this will merit up to 20% of
all your marks at that level.
At Level 5, however, the expectations have changed. It is expected that at this level,
you already know how to structure an essay, so the marks awarded simply for
putting your facts in the right order and ensuring you have an introduction, main body
and conclusion reduce to only 10 marks.
However, be warned, these are not easy marks to get at Level 5. Your aim should
be stated in the first sentence of your essay and you should clearly identify what you
are attempting to achieve in your essay: (e.g. The overall aim of this essay is to
discuss the implications of using the Orem model to deliver nursing care for a patient
suffering from a stroke).
You then need to clearly state how you intend to achieve this aim, by stating your
objectives: (e.g. This will be achieved by using the Orem model as a framework to
identify the biopsychosocial needs of an 89 year old patient recovering from a left
sided hemiplegia).
You should then identify the key issues that you intend to address within your essay:
(The key issues that will be explored/investigated/discussed/analysed (you choose
the most appropriate word) are the physiological complications following arterial
occlusion, body image and the role of the family in rehabilitation).
Your module leaders will give you guidance concerning the aim and objectives they
wish you to achieve. These are determined by the learning outcomes that are
clearly stated in the early section of your module study guide for each module. The
entire point of your theoretical assessments is to check that you have achieved these
outcomes, so you need to gain advice from the lecturers during your study weeks to
check exactly how they would like you to achieve these learning outcomes in your
essay.
Please remember that you need to structure your conclusion correctly to gain full
marks for organization and coherence. Your conclusion should clearly and concisely
summarise the key issues you have presented in your essay. There should be no
use of references in this section, because it should be your personal interpretation of
the arguments you have presented in your essay.
Content
By the time you reach Level 5, it is not the selection of the content alone which is the
most important factor, but rather the way you analyse the material you have
selected. For this reason the marks for your ability to analyse increase significantly
at Level 5. This will be explained more in the analysis section later.
To get good marks for content at Level 5, you must show an improved ability to apply
theory to practice. As you get better at doing this, (as you move from level 4 to level
5) we would expect you to start displaying more originality and creativity in the way
you use the literature (you have selected) to try to explain the nursing care (you have
witnessed), or the nursing issue under discussion. This means you are not just
simply copying information from books, but using your own critical skills to try to
make a link between what you have read and what you have seen in your clinical
placements.
Clarity of Expression
Never underestimate the importance of writing clearly, using correct sentence
construction, grammar and punctuation. This is because clear academic writing is
an essential skill and this starts at these lower levels (4 and 5) with using correct
English.
Marks in this section are easy to gain, but also very easy to lose. Any typing errors
will cause you to lose marks, even if your English is otherwise good. Careful proof
reading, therefore, is essential. Don’t rely on the spell-check facility in your word
processing package, because it will not always recognize errors. Ask someone you
trust to proof read your assignment carefully, so you can correct basic errors.
Too many mistakes in spelling, grammar or punctuation can cause an essay, which
would otherwise scrape a borderline pass mark (40-45%) on the basis of its content
and analysis etc, to fail. Don’t risk it. Check your English carefully.
If you know that you have difficulties with grammar, or any aspect of written English,
our learning support services will be happy to help.
Level of Analysis and Synthesis
This ability must show significant improvement at Level 5, compared to Level 4. This
is why the marks for it suddenly jump up from Level 4 to level 5. The key
requirements to gain these marks are evidence of analysis, integration and synthesis
and evaluation.
The best way to think about how to achieve this at Level 5, is to think about creating
an academic jigsaw puzzle. Choosing the pieces of your puzzle is part of the
analysis process. You will have read the literature and pulled out the pieces of
information that you believe you can use to build your essay. This is the first stage in
building your academic argument.
The bringing together of pieces of theory and pieces of practice is known as
integration. At Level 4, the key requirement is that, in putting the pieces together,
you show knowledge and understanding. At Level 5 this changes to being able to
begin to comment on the relevance the pieces of theory have (in other words
whether they should be applied in practice, or not).
At Level 4, the placing of the theory and practice information together logically is
what is mostly expected. At Level 5, you start commenting further, not just
explaining what each piece means, but making links with other literature you have
read, looking for confirmation in other references, or perhaps finding out where
different authors disagree with one another.
In this process of integration, you are choosing where you believe the pieces of your
academic jigsaw puzzle fit together. In doing so, you are growing your own version
of the facts. This “growing” is known as synthesis. This is the picture (or argument)
you are making with your interpretation of the facts. The next stage is then to
evaluate what you have found and make a decision as to what is important.
This evaluation is an important part of the conclusion, where you summarise your
interpretation of the facts, in your own words and then decide the best way forward,
by highlighting key implications for practice or making recommendations. A well
written conclusion, therefore, is very important in gaining both organization and
coherence and (especially) analysis and synthesis marks.
In your conclusion, at Level 4, you might get away with just restating simply what you
have done in the essay. At Level 5 this is not acceptable. Instead, in your conclusion
you must show an ability to write your own summary of your interpretation of the
facts, rather than just repeating word for word extracts of the essay that you have
already written.
Use of literature showing knowledge and understanding
During Level 4 you will be gradually using your database and literature searching
skills to identify appropriate literature. This is a difficult skill, so it would be unfair at
this stage to expect you to be expert in accessing appropriate literature. By Level 5,
however, you are expected to be more able to identify and utilize a wide range of
sources of information, so the expectations concerning the use of literature increase.
These marks are allocated according to the range of literature you have chosen
within your essay. You need to demonstrate that you have read widely and can
provide a good variety of references to support the points that you are trying to
make. You should be able to show that you have a sound understanding of the
available literature on the subject, by using references to support every piece of
theory that you present.
This literature can be presented using a direct quote (i.e. simply copying word for
word from the author). These direct quotes should be used sparingly at level 5 and
beyond, as they involve little mental processing.
A better approach is paraphrasing. This involves more interpretation on
your part. The first stage of this is choosing a linking word between the author you
are citing and the summary of what he said:
e.g. Jones (2004) defines/explains/believes/suggests/indicates/
argues/ states etc.
Choose a linking word that best expresses the nature of the information presented
by the author. If it is simply a statement, “states” is appropriate, if it is a suggestion
use “suggests”. If the author is revealing his own personal belief, use “believes”. If it
is an argument use “maintains” or “argues”. In this way, you are presenting your
assessment of the weight and value of the literature you are using. The paraphrase
will then summarise the key information from that author. In this case, the author
should be cited at the beginning of the sentence, to show that you are paraphrasing
exactly what the author has said.
Sometimes, in an essay, you may need to use an attribution. This is where the
author/authors are cited at the end of the sentence. By placing the authors name and
date at the end of the sentence, you are telling the reader that the statements
made in that sentence were influenced by that author, but they are not a direct quote
or paraphrase of exactly what these authors said.
e.g. There is evidence to suggest that leadership styles vary according to the
situation the leader is faced with (Girvin, 1997).
Attributions will help you to gain marks for use of literature, because they give you an
opportunity to show the reader that, although you are making a general statement, it
is still based on something you have read in the literature. Without this attribution,
the reader has no evidence where the opinion came from and your writing may be
accused of being “descriptive” by the marker.
Quality of Referencing
Referencing marks are easy to gain by following the rules carefully, but also very
easy to lose, through silly avoidable mistakes. Do not make the mistake of leaving
the reference list to the last minute. Losing referencing marks can make the
difference between a pass or a fail in an essay that is otherwise at borderline pass
level.
These valuable marks are easily achieved if you follow the TVU Referencing Guide
exactly. Marks will be deducted if any errors are made. For example, if you use a
direct quote, within your essay, you should provide author, date and the page
number. Failure to do all this will lose you marks.
When you cite your literature in the reference list you should ensure that the authors’
names are typed correctly, in alphabetical order, and that correct punctuation is
used. Please remember also that marks will be lost if an author cited in your essay
does not appear in the reference list.
Basically, any deviation from the required format for the Harvard referencing system
(explained in your TVU guide) will cost you marks. This may seem unreasonable,
but you need to appreciate that correct academic referencing is an essential
discipline, which needs to be adopted in your academic writing as soon as possible.
Once the referencing format is learnt it remains a constant throughout Level 6
(degree) and onwards to Masters and Doctorate (PhD) study, so it is a skill that will
last you throughout your lifelong learning process, whatever academic stage you
choose to progress to.
It is worth getting into good referencing habits early, especially as it is the easiest set
of marks to get of any in your essay, whether you are writing at Level 4, Level 5, or
level 6.
Good Luck in all your Level 5 modules.
Achieving the academic requirements of Level 6 (Degree)
Analysis, analysis, analysis
If you look at the theoretical marking grids, you will see that the key requirement that
changes between level 5 and 6 is that of analysis. It is necessary, therefore, to
understand the change in writing style that distinguishes Level 5 writing from that at
Level 6.
Remember that the achievement of a degree is the launching point for higher study
at Masters or Doctorate level. Gaining a degree, therefore, represents the
achievement of fundamental academic writing skills that enable you to present a
coherent academic argument. Don’t worry though that all of this is beyond your
capability. There are certain tricks of the trade in terms of degree level writing and
once you understand these, the prospect of level 6 writing will not seem so
unnerving.
Writing academically
Some students make the mistake of thinking that degree level writing means using
complex English and the longest words possible in order to show just how clever
they are. A typical example of this may be a statement like this:
“It is intuitive, therefore, that the fundamental dichotomy in theory and practice is
inevitably exacerbated and irrevocably confounded by the underlying quixotic nature
of nursing lecturers”.
Is this a clever way of showing your knowledge? Will this style get you good marks at
Level 6? No and no again. Using long words on their own does not show your
understanding of them, or (most importantly) the derivation of these concepts in
literature. All you are saying in posh words is:
“It seems obvious that the theory practice gap is always going to be made worse and
become dreadfully confused by nursing lecturers who don’t live in the real nursing
world”
If you want to use the long words, you need to explain them and show where the
ideas came from and how you have developed your own ideas from these roots.
A better version would be something like this:
“Jones (2005) recently traced the theory practice gap in nursing. He argues that
authors such as Brown (2001) and Raymond (1998) had identified the difficulty
between the understanding of nursing theory and its actual implementation in clinical
areas as being a divide which had existed from the time of Florence Nightingale’s
early interventions in the 1800’s. It seems, therefore, that this is a true dichotomy, a
division between what is intended in theory and what actually occurs in practice.
Fletcher (2004) argues that a possible source of this dichotomy may be nursing
lecturers who retreat into academic environments and lose contact with the real
world of the clinical environment. Hamilton (2001: 200) accused these lecturers of
being “quixotic”, meaning that they were tilting uselessly at windmills like the
confused hero of the story “Don Quixote”. This seems to suggest that these
lecturers are actually confusing an already difficult situation by being unrealistic in
their expectations and the focus of their attacks on the health system. Indeed,
Worthing (2005) argues that a lecturer who does not also actively practice the
nursing profession can make no useful contribution to the reduction of the theory
practice gap”.
Now, that is Level 6 writing. It has all the essential elements:
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Careful explanation, showing understanding of the complex terminology used
Extensive use of literature to support the ideas being presented
A linking, “conversational” style, which shows the students own interpretation
of what they have read and how it informs the argument being presented.
Writing conversationally
This is perhaps the most difficult achievement at Level 6. Up until now, your voice
may not have come out very strongly in your academic assignments. You would
have been, quite rightly, concentrating on using the right literature to make your
points and just throwing in a few comments to show your point of view.
In Level 6 though this changes. Your voice has to be heard all the way through.
This means that your presentation of the literature becomes much more a multidecker sandwich, (literature/comment/literature/interpretation/literature/comment)
rather than a solid piece of meat (literature/literature/literature) with a little bit of
dressing (comment/interpretation).
At Level 6 your thoughts and your beliefs have to interlace with the literature, so you
are truly presenting an academic argument (meaning your individual interpretation of
the available literature).
Let’s take a Level 5 piece of writing:
“Brown (2005) maintains that leadership is an essential quality in nursing. This is
confirmed by the recent requirements of the NHS Plan (DOH, 2002). This Plan has
emphasized the importance of introducing the transformational model of leadership.
Smith (2001) explains that this is a leadership which involves the use of charisma
and interpersonal skills to enable achievement. Jones (2004) argues that the key
characteristic of transformational leadership is empowering others to achieve. In my
own experience, a leader with transformational qualities can make any team member
feel that they have a useful part to play in the organization. This is confirmed by Fea
(2001) who argues that transformational leadership increases feelings of self-worth
and capability in their team members”.
This is a perfectly decent piece of level 5 writing. There is good use of literature to
make points and the student is using reflection and then finding confirmation for
some of her own feelings in the existing literature.
Level 6, however, requires a higher level of processing and more extensive use of
supporting literature:
“A review of the available literature provides a wealth of examples of authors
advocating leadership as an essential quality in nursing. For example, as early as
1950 Shackleton emphasized that nursing needed strong leadership and
recommended a strong transactional approach of reward and punishment to get
results and promote teamwork. More recently, however, authors have been moving
towards the concept of charismatic and transformational leadership. These qualities
are also an integral part of the new recommendations laid down in the NHS Plan
(DOH 2002).
Charisma appears to be a complex phenomenon to define. Davidzhar (1991)
suggests that it is an aspect of personality which makes the individual irresistible to
others, in terms of their ability to persuade and empower others. However, other
authors, such as Romano (1996) and Harvey (2000) highlight the intangible nature of
charisma and emphasise the frustrating point that individuals know charisma if they
see it, but find it difficult to define.
It appears problematic, therefore, to identify exactly how charisma can become an
integral part of developing transformational leadership in nursing, if it is a quality
which, in itself, is difficult to define. For example, Smith (2001) maintains that
transformational leadership uses a combination of charisma and interpersonal skills
to enable achievement. However, identifying potential transformational leaders may
be a difficulty if the pre-requisite for identifying charismatic individuals is an integral
part of this selection process.
Jones (2004) argues that the key ability of a transformational leader is the ability to
empower others, while Fea (2001) maintains that their key strength is to increase
feelings of self-worth and capability in their team members. On reflection, my own
experience of transformational leadership appeared to be based principally on being
persuaded, by the sheer force of personality of the individual, that I had the potential
to contribute and achieve. It seemed to me that it was their apparent faith in me and
their power of persuasion that enabled me to become an effective team member.
This requirement for charisma in transformational leadership, therefore, may indeed
be based on individual personality factors that enable others to feel good about
themselves and their achievements. There is some evidence that this is the case.
Jones (2003), for example, argues that transformational leaders are born and cannot
be made. Regisara (2003) also maintains common key personality traits can be
identified in effective transformational leaders, which have probably been present
since childhood. It seems, therefore, that the key requirement of the NHS Plan
(2002) for the training of transformational leaders is not going to be as
straightforward as they first envisioned, as the available literature suggests that
these leaders are born, rather than made”.
The key differences in level 6 are:
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Individual issues are explored in considerably more depth. (It is essential,
therefore, in Level 6 writing to focus on a few key issues, so that they can be
explored in sufficient depth within the available word allowance).
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The student should constantly be trying to find answers in the literature,
particularly finding different definitions and interpretations of key issues
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Once the literature is presented, the student puts their own “spin”
(interpretation) on it
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Personal thoughts and reflections are always followed up by attempts to find
supporting evidence (substantiation) in the literature
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The complexity of the issue is recognised. Things are not presented
simplistically as “black and white”. Instead, shades of grey are
acknowledged.
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The student’s “voice” is heard throughout, trying to make sense of what they
have read and comparing it with what they have experienced.
In this way, level 6 builds on the skills you have developed at level 4 and 5. Your
literature searching skills and use of referencing should be well established now and
you should be skilled in using literature to support your academic writing. Having
gone through the drudgery of learning these skills at level 4 and 5, level 6 allows you
considerably more personal freedom to start giving a very personal interpretation of
what you have read. This is in preparation for taking even more initiative in
searching more widely for answers in the literature and finally aiming to add to that
literature by individual research (which occurs in a limited way at Masters level and is
consolidated at doctorate (PhD) level).
Therefore, developing good level 6 skills will provide a good foundation for studying
at Masters and Doctorate level later. Don’t think it’s impossible. You can do it.
Good luck in all your modules at Level 6.