Nursing: Writing Guide

Basic Summary and Synthesis Paragraph Ex.

1. Topic sentence of paragraph:  Synthesis statement

  (followed by….)

 2. Summary of article 2 (with citation and attribution)

  (followed by …)

3. Summary of article 3 (with citation and attribution)

  (followed by …)

4. “However,”   Summary of article 1 (with citation only)

5. Wrap-up/transition sentence.

Rules for Scientific Writing 

• Interest, inform, and persuade the reader 
• Write for your reader and write clearly  
• Eliminate unnecessary redundancy
• Avoid digressions
• Don't over explain and avoid overstatement
• Avoid unnecessary qualifiers
• Use consistent tenses
• Use the precise word
• Simpler words are preferred over complex words and use concrete words and examples
• Simpler sentences are preferred over more complicated sentences
• Use the active voice (except generally in methods)
• Make sure the subject and verb agree • Use affirmative rather than negative constructions
• Avoid use of the indefinite "this"
• Use transitions
• Cite sources as well as findings
• Proofread your paper carefully; spell check does not catch everything; "there" is spelled correctly but not if you meant "their" 

The books below have 2 ways to  access- In state of SC uses the link; Out of state, hover the i and find the Worldcat resource.