Spring NUR 200/201 Writing Assignment

The spring semester NUR 200/201 writing assignment can be grounded in your fall semester literature review. Let’s say, for example, that your literature review was about the prevention of childhood obesity. Several themes probably emerged from the articles you read on that topic—perhaps the articles you read each discussed the reasons for childhood obesity, potential health risks of childhood obesity, and some methods of preventing childhood obesity. You can focus on one of those themes in your spring semester paper. For example, you could argue in favor of one specific method of preventing childhood obesity, citing the ways the literature supports said method.  If you were to focus on the method of educating young parents about the risks associated with childhood obesity, your thesis might sound something like this: “Research has shown that educating young parents about childhood obesity will significantly decrease their child’s risk of becoming obese. This paper will discuss the evidence in support of educating young parents…specifically regarding education pertaining to exercise and nutrition for children…” As you might have noticed,  you will be taking a position in your thesis this semester and supporting that position with evidence-based research. So…

In the body of your paper, you’ll want to cite evidence-based research studies in order to support your thesis. You may or may not be able to retrieve this evidence/research from the articles you used for your literature review. Avoid discussing each article separately in your paper—this will keep the tone of your paper from becoming too mechanical. Instead, you might begin by briefly describing the tool or intervention or method for which you’re advocating. Then, you might delve into the ways that the tool/intervention/method has shown to be effective. Let’s return to the aforementioned example regarding the education of young parents…perhaps one section of that paper might discuss how different research studies have proven the importance of educating young parents specifically about why children should exercise at least 30 minutes each day. Another section might discuss how research studies have proven that educating young parents about appropriate portion sizes for children is particularly effective in preventing childhood obesity.

Please feel free to see me for help in the Writing Center as you progress through this assignment—just be sure to book an appointment (or two, or three!) online, long in advance of the due date! Also plan to attend one or more of the APA workshops I’ll be presenting in the week before the paper is due! (See the Writing Center’s website for details…) As you know, I won’t address APA in Writing Center appointments.

So…You Have to Write a Literature Review?

Here’s what a literature review is:

According to Washington and Lee University (2007), a literature review should present a summary and synthesis of research in order to help readers establish a foundation of understanding. It will point out different ways researchers have treated the research topic, in addition to any connections between and among sources. A literature review will explain how sources build upon one another and fit together. Some questions a literature review might consider are as follows:

• What is known about the topic?
• Are there any gaps in the knowledge of the topic?
• Have areas of further study been identified by other researchers?
• Who are the significant research personalities in this area?
• Is there consensus about the topic?
• What aspects have generated significant debate on the topic?
• What methods or problems were identified by others studying the topic?
• What is the current status of research in this area?

Here’s how you can get started:

1. Once you’ve chosen your (narrow!) topic and had it approved by your instructor, you’ll select at least 5 articles. For help with this, plan to attend a LibraryLive/APA session in mid-September. The librarian will show you how to find articles, and then I’ll show you how to cite them! Stay tuned for more details about what days/times the sessions will be offered.

2. Summarize your articles for yourself before you start writing the lit review. This way, it will be easier for you to find common denominators among the articles (research methods—qualitative or quantitative, findings, etc.). Based on this synthesis, you’ll start to think about how you might organize your paper.

3. You won’t organize your paper by simply listing summaries of each of the articles you’ve found (Article One shows…and Article Two says…). Instead, you’ll likely organize your paper according to trends, themes, etc. that you identified after synthesizing. Here’s a sample lit review outline that might give you some idea of how this works:

• Introduction: Introduce the topic broadly. Then, narrow the reader’s focus to a thesis that will be supported by the body of the paper. Sample thesis from UNC Writing Center (2007): The current trend in treatment for congestive heart failure combines surgery and medicine.
• First Section of Body: To provide some background and context, explain the history of treatments for congestive heart failure, as cited in the literature (research articles).
• Second Section: Explain what the literature shows about treating congestive heart failure with surgery.
• Third Section: Explain what the literature shows about treating congestive heart failure with medicine.
• Fourth Section: Explain what the literature shows about treating congestive heart failure with a combination of surgery and medicine.
• Conclusion:  Reiterate thesis; describe the strengths and weaknesses of the reviewed literature. Strengths might include contributions to the field of study. Weaknesses might include gaps in the literature (important issues that have yet to be addressed).

Here’s where you can find more info:

• Washington and Lee University: http://info.wlu.edu/literature_review/literature_review.html
• The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/literature_review.html
• The Writing Center @ The University of Wisconsin-Madison: http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/ReviewofLiterature.html

 

Writing Center Reminders

Reminder: It’s always best to make an appointment long in advance of your paper’s due date. Why? Well, there are a couple of reasons:

• There’s only one of me, and I’m only in the Writing Center for about 20 hours each week. So around the time that NUR papers are due, I book up—and I book up fast! A lot of students are starting a trend of signing up for appointments just after they get their syllabi at the start of the semester. I think this is really smart! It ensures these students a spot to see me when the chaos ensues!
• Most students aren’t satisfied with their paper after just one 30 minute appointment with me. For this reason, it is advisable to sign up for a couple of appointments when a major paper comes due–maybe one appointment per week for the two or three weeks that lead up to the paper’s due date. This leaves plenty of time and opportunity for the revision process.

 Reminder: I also review resumes!

 Reminder: There are several updates and exciting new additions to the Writing Center’s website this semester:

• Updated hours of availability
• Updated policies and procedures, which include a thorough description of online consultations
• Lots of helpful APA resources and details about this semester’s APA workshop!

Why Can’t I Make an Appointment to Review Just Punctuation or APA Format?

While several Writing Center clients are challenged by local issues, consultations are designed to focus on global issues instead. So what’s the difference? And why are local issues being pushed aside?

Local issues most often involve problems with punctuation. APA format is also considered local. Global issues, on the other hand, deal with broader concerns in composition. (Some common global issues include flow and focus.) The reason that consultations revolve around global issues rather than local issues can be best described using an analogy (I know, I know. Writers love analogies!) :

 If you bought an old car and had to fix it up so that it were drivable, you wouldn’t start by polishing the car, would you? Probably not. You would instead start with the inside of the car to ensure that the guts were in working order. After all, a polished car isn’t going to function if the engine and transmission are shot, and the same goes for a paper. If the paper doesn’t make sense to the reader, there’s no sense in making sure that it is polished (i.e. null and void of misused commas and semicolons, run-on sentences, etc.). For this reason,  during Writing Center sessions I work first to make sure that global issues are addressed. A focus on local issues can distract the client from the composition-oriented purpose of the session. However, if I, the consultant, notice a problematic pattern as I am reading the client’s work (for example, a series of comma splices), the pattern will be addressed.  The pattern will be pointed out to the client, and the client will be directed to corrective examples and appropriate resources–this will allow the client to resolve the local issue and create knowledge that can be carried into future writings.

What Can The Writing Center Consultant Do for Clients?

At the start of the consultation, I always ask the client about the assignment and the reason that he/she has come to the Writing Center. Most clients usually have a pretty good idea of their personal problem areas—confusion about citing sources is a popular choice, but others include organization, grammar and transitions. Sometimes, clients are just at a loss. And that’s OK! In those cases, I skim the first few pages of the paper to identify any concerns. I do not have a checklist of criterion, but rather a sense of how the paper will read for the client’s audience member(s). As a skilled reader, I provide another perspective. I am able to provide feedback about what doesn’t make sense to me. Here are a couple of examples:

I might point out to a client that I am having trouble finding a connection between topic A and topic B.  I would explain to the client that although the connection might make sense to him/her, it might not make sense to audience members (readers). The client and I would then look together at examples of transition phrases and how to use them for coherence.

I might also notice that the client seems to be struggling with how to clearly articulate his/her main idea. I would provide the client with an opportunity to chat informally with me about what they are attempting to relay to the reader. Through this discussion, clients are usually able to think through what will become their thesis statement. I am then able  to help the client develop their thoughts more formally into a workable thesis by showing them examples of effective thesis statements, several of which can be found in Diana Hacker’s A Writer’s Reference.

Examples like these are what the collaborative consultation is all about! Through informal discussion I am able to prompt clients to discover for themselves how to solve their challenges in composition. I provide a reader’s perspective and access to resources. What is important to understand is that I am able to provide feedback about composition, as in the examples cited above. I can help clients with the organization and flow of what has been written, but I am not an expert in all areas of content (nursing, fine arts, etc.). For this reason, clients are referred back to their instructors with questions about whether or not the content of the paper is accurate and adequate.

Why is the Writing Center Director blogging?!

As a result of students’ questions, concerns and confusions in previous semesters, I have renewed my committment to improving and clarifying communication about the Writing Center’s purposes and procedures. This communication needs to be ongoing, so I thought that blogging might be an effective method of updating and informing students (and faculty/staff) on a more consistent basis. I hope that everyone will find the blog useful!

If you have any questions about my posts, or if there is an issue you would like for me to consider blogging about, please feel free to email me: Meghan.Hollowell@TheChristCollege.edu

Stay tuned!