Pre-Writing Phase for writing a nursing essay

Pre-Writing Phase for writing a nursing essay

Before you start writing a nursing essay, you have to ensure that you are clear about what is required of you

Unpack or Dissect the Question

The first step in the process of writing a nursing assignment is to know the question. You can do this by reading the prompt in the portal (Blackboard or Canvas), email from the lecturer, or PowerPoint slide presentations from class. Understanding the question helps you structure your approach, limit the scope of your research, and write a nursing paper addressing the prompt. You should look for pointers, signal words, or terms such as evaluate, elaborate, explore, discuss, examine, illustrate, compare and contrast, cause and effect, make a case, etc. When you get it right from the onset, you can achieve the goal of your nursing essay, which is to demonstrate that you have a better grasp of theoretical concepts and research processes and can write a professionally written paper.

Select a suitable topic

In most cases, you will be given a topic to write about because nursing essays focus on the same issues, unlike other subjects. The field is leveled in nursing classes. Nevertheless, due to the differences in communities, states, and nationalities that nursing students come from, you might be allowed to select a topic on your own. After selecting a suitable topic that is neither too broad nor too narrow, submit it for approval by your professor or nurse educator. Ideally, choose a topic that aligns with the course concepts, theories, and readings. For instance, if discussing healthcare determinants in a specific community, focus on a website such as HealthyPeople to get the facts right. Use the determinants mentioned in class when benchmarking nursing practice and community experiences. The same applies to other areas such as anatomy, pathophysiology, epidemiology, care planning, assessment, leadership, education, practice, state laws, advocacy, policy analysis, etc. When choosing the topic, go for the one you are interested in. Probably select a topic that aligns with your future ambitions/specialization. Related Article: Nursing Research Topics for Essays and Nursing Papers.

Focus your Research and Select Sources

Once you have a topic, you must research widely from credible nursing sources. Develop an understanding of the topic, understand what nursing scholars are saying about the topic, and select potential nursing references for your paper. You can use scholarly nursing databases such as PubMed, Medline, Embase, BMC, the Cochrane Library, or the JBI EBP database. Limit your search to articles and journals published within the last five years unless you have to reference a seminal work that has not been updated through the years.

Develop your thesis

A common question students ask is whether nursing essays have thesis statements. The response is that, like any other essay, you should include a thesis that announces your central aim or idea. Your thesis statement should be assertive, specific, arguable, precise, and demonstrative. It should round up the gist of your entire paper.  The topic, supporting, and concluding sentences depends on the thesis statement.

Outline your essay

After creating a reasonable and focused thesis statement, map out a rough structure of your essay. Mapping out your essay helps you understand what falls where and stay focused when writing. The essay outline should have your title, hook statement, thesis statement, and topic sentences. You will be filling this outline in the next step when writing the paper.

Writing stage for the Nursing Essay

In the writing phase, you must focus on filling your outline with content. Follow the following steps.

Write the introduction first

By now, you have identified the direction you want your essay to take, depending on the structured approach you have selected to answer the prompt/question. The introduction of your essay sets the tone, direction, and scope of your essay. since it is the invitation for your readers and the first contact point, it should grab their attention and then inform them what is to come. The introduction should be 15-20% of the word count. It should entail:

1. Hook – this is the first sentence in your nursing essay, and it should raise the curiosity of your readers and pique their interests. You can use a statistical, epidemiological, or surprising fact related to the topic. In most cases, when writing essays on disease, epidemiology, and disease processes, shocking statistical/epidemiological facts can do the work. For instance, if you are writing an essay on mental health or illness, state the portion of the affected national, international, regional, or state population.
2. Background of the topic – the background is where you give the context that helps your readers understand your arguments. Provide an overview of the topic, the importance of the nursing topic, and if possible, explain the complicated terms.
3. Thesis statement – state your thesis statement as stated in the outline. In addition, the thesis should signal your position on the topic.
4. Signposting – this is where you map out the content of your essay by stating the content in each section. It is specifically applicable to longer essays.

Develop the body paragraphs

After writing the introduction, you need to write the body paragraphs of your nursing essay. The body is approximately 75-80% of your essay's word count. It is where you make arguments, give examples, and provide evidence to support the thesis. You should present, analyze, interpret, and organize the sources when supporting your claims and arguments. In terms of writing the paragraphs, ensure that each body paragraph has an outstanding topic sentence, supporting sentences, and concluding sentences. The first sentence is the topic sentence, which announces what the paragraph is about. The supporting sentences are where you present the facts, information, and examples from scholarly sources. Make sure to cite the information to avoid plagiarism. Also, have transition words to help you write an essay with a good flow of ideas. In nursing, you can use AMA, APA, ASA, or Harvard formatting; ensure you stick to the respective rules.

Write the conclusion

The conclusion is the final paragraph of your nursing essay. You should write it to include 10-15% of the word count of your essay. A strong nursing essay conclusion restates the thesis, ties together the main arguments, has a call to action, or provides a sense of closure to the readers. It should have an impactful or memorable sentence that lets the reader develop a strong connection and have a positive impression. Your conclusion should not have any new facts, concepts, or examples. Instead, it should summarize your essay. If you have a nursing essay that has a concept map, you can hire a concept map writer from our website and fulfil your assignment on time.

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