Being a nursing student comes with responsibilities that students in other disciplines simply donΓÇÖt have. You have to work long hours while making time to fit in studying along with clinical work. You may have family responsibilities to juggle, too. With all of these demands, itΓÇÖs likely you may feel stressed and tired often. This can make writing nursing papers, another factor in your student life, very challenging.
Your papers must contain the same precision that is expected of your clinical work. You are expected to show evidence of thorough reading and the accurate recording of the facts and ideas and you need to include your own viewpoint in a concise manner. However, little sleep and high stress can cloud your ability to always do your best writing. Here are some mistakes that nursing students make when writing papers that you need to avoid if you want to earn top marks.
1. Wordiness and Repetition
Wordiness and repetition are by far the biggest mistakes students make with their papers. ItΓÇÖs not the quantity of the words you write that matters, but whether what you write has meaningful content. Some typical examples of wordiness and how they can be improved are:
Due to the fact that – because
At that point in time – then
In the process of – during, while
Regardless of the fact that ΓÇô although
In the event that – if
A good way to check for wordiness and redundancy is to read your work aloud and think about how it sounds. Are you using too many words to say what you mean or including different words to say the same thing more than once? You need to master the ability to be brief but comprehensive, saying what you need to say clearly in as few words as possible.
2. Vague and Imprecise Language
A nurseΓÇÖs writing has to be clear and precise, both to facilitate quality care and to inform physicians, other nurses and the recipients of your care. As a student nurse, you will be required to demonstrate that ability by clearly writing your observations and leading readers convincingly to your conclusion. There is no room for vague, imprecise language. Your paper must contain precise nouns and verbs and any vocabulary specific to the field of nursing that youΓÇÖre studying.
3. Clichés
Clichés have no place in any academic paper. That goes doubly in nursing papers! If you find yourself tempted to use expressions such as “time will tell”, “the writing is on the wall”, or “up in the air”, they will cost you points on your papers. While some phrases may seem clever to you, that won’t have the same impact on your readers. Clichés are often overused, and can have hidden meanings, as well as possibly being untrue. They will diminish the quality of your paper.
4. Excessive Digression
DonΓÇÖt let your writing wander off the point. While there are some deviations that serve a legitimate purpose in your paper, like an anecdote to further engage your reader, they still need to tie back in to your primary point. Read your work carefully and be ruthless in editing out anything that isnΓÇÖt relevant.
Ultimately, your nursing papers must be focused and fact based. In addition to concise writing, you will include references from other authors and data sources for credibility. You need to cite your references accurately using the correct formatting style. Nursing papers are usually written using the APA style. You can learn how to use the APA formatting style and hope you donΓÇÖt make mistakes. However, with all of the pressures and demands on your time that come with being a nursing student, you may prefer to use formatting software. With a click of a button you can save yourself time and be sure that your formatting complies with the latest APA standards.
David Plaut is the founder of Reference Point Software (RPS). RPS offers a complete suite of easy-to-use formatting template products featuring MLA and APA style templates, freeing up time to focus on substance while ensuring formatting accuracy. For more information, log onto http://www.referencepointsoftware.com/ or write to:
info @ referencepointsoftware.com
Reference Point Software is not associated with, endorsed by, or affiliated with the American Psychological Association (APA) or with the Modern Language Association (MLA).
As a college student, you will be required to write dozens of papers on different topics. Depending on the subject youΓÇÖre studying, you will use some essay styles more than others. This article gives a short description of the most commonly used forms of college essays and the citation styles that you will need to use for each.
1. The Expository Essay
The expository essay explains something, or describes, or presents information and is used to inform the reader. Your professors will ask you to write this type of essay to help you learn more about the subject, to test your ability to research your topic effectively, and to prove your understanding of the subject. When you write an expository essay, remember that it is an impersonal style of writing and that while you may refer to the audience as ΓÇÿyou,ΓÇÖ you may not refer to yourself as ΓÇÿI.ΓÇÖ ItΓÇÖs a factual essay, so your opinion is not required. Expository essays require citation. The typical citation styles for these essays are MLA or APA formatting or Harvard modes.
2. The Persuasive Essay
As the name implies, a persuasive essay ΓÇ£persuadesΓÇ¥ the reader to a point of view. Not only will you need to understand the subject, but you must take a position on it, too. You prove your point by using logical, well-founded reasoning. To accomplish this, you must choose a side, as well as discuss alternative opinions. Persuasive essays require citation. Most persuasive essays use the MLA formatting style unless otherwise requested by your professors.
3. The Informal Essay
Compared with the other forms of essay writing, the informal essay is written more for the enjoyment of personal expression. It is written to communicate subjectively in a more relaxed, conversational, and expressive style than other types of essay. It can be informative or persuasive and can include personal opinion. However, it must still have a strong structure. No citation styles are required.
4. The Review
The aim of a review is to analyze and present a piece of work, such as a book or a film, and evaluate its overall effects and validity. Though your subjective opinion does play a significant part, a review must still maintain certain objective standards. You will be required to prove any assertions you may make. How formal your review depends on how much of it is analysis, how much is a summary, and how much of it is your opinion. The more you include your opinion, the less formal the review will be. You will use citations if you include any reference material, and will likely need to use the MLA formatting guidelines.
5. The Research Essay
The purpose of a research essay is to analyze a perspective or argue a point of view about a narrow topic. It involves locating or creating extensive quantities of objective source material and sifting through it to find appropriate research that supports your ideas. This will lead you to a greater understanding of your subject, which you will demonstrate in your essay as you interpret and evaluate the material and make your point. Normally a research essay must utilize either footnotes or endnotes or a reference list and may also require a bibliography. Citations are almost always required when writing a research essay. The usual forms of citation styles for research papers are MLA or APA formatting.
6. The Comparison and Contrast Essay
The object of a comparison and contrast essay is to explore and expose the similarities and dissimilarities between two or more ideas or things. You will be expected to use your critical faculties and your powers of analysis to describe what the ideas or things have in common and what makes them different to each other. Scholarly research and specific referencing are not normally required for this type of essay, so citation is not required.
7. The Literary Essay
There are similarities between a review and a literary essay insofar as they are both evaluative. However, a literary essay goes into the structure of the subject being reviewed in more depth than a review. The literary essay is used to explore the meaning and construction of a piece and evaluate specifics such as theme, character, style, tone, and subtext. You must take a viewpoint on the work you are writing about and use critical analysis to demonstrate how the details of the work support your viewpoint. You may use your own interpretation of the piece or a mixture of opinions and references to other peopleΓÇÖs critiques of the work. In such cases, you will include citations, applying either MLA or APA formatting.
8. The Cause and Effect Essay
Cause and effect essays are concerned with how and why things happen, and the effects that happen as a result, such as the causes of water pollution and its effects on the community, or the effects of children eating too much-refined sugar and its effects on health. A cause and effect essay must be written in a factual tone and be impersonal. Removing the first person gives more authority to the essay. Your choice of sources will have a bearing on the validity of your paper, so choose them carefully. You will include citations, following the MLA or APA formatting styles.
For more information about APA or MLA formats contact us today
David Plaut is the founder of Reference Point Software (RPS). RPS offers a complete suite of easy-to-use formatting template products featuring MLA and APA style templates, freeing up time to focus on substance while ensuring formatting accuracy. 
Reference Point Software is not associated with, endorsed by, or affiliated with the American Psychological Association (APA) or with the Modern Language Association (MLA).
When you are considering how to write a research paper, one of the things to ask yourself is what you are trying to achieve with it, which will govern whether you use the analytical or the argumentative style.
The purpose of the analytical approach is to define, explain, and interpret information such as an event, book, poem, play, work of art, or even a person. You will use this approach to answer a particular question objectively. It requires that you approach the subject with no pre-conceived conclusions.
When writing a paper using the argumentative approach, also sometimes known as the persuasive approach, you make a statement proposing only one side of an argument. It is an attempt to convince your reader of the validity of your opinion as opposed to others, through evaluation and persuasion.
The Analytical Paper
If you are taking the analytical approach to write a research paper, you will need to assemble data from reliable sources, which you cite by paraphrasing. You must have a genuine knowledge of the subject if you select the analytical approach as it is meant to make use of your research to provide an objective picture of the data that is available on the subject. This enables you to present a conclusion based on all available information, not just your opinion. Once you have achieved familiarity with the topic, you will be able to restructure and relocate the concepts that underlie the basic topic in your paper. When writing your analytical paper, remember to use the present tense, avoid the first person, as well as the use of contractions.
The Argumentative Paper
When constructing an argumentative paper, you aim to create a thesis that presents your opinion of why the reader should only consider one particular side of an argument. To do this, you must investigate your topic thoroughly and evaluate the evidence you discover in your research to be able to establish a position on the topic. You must then support your position by providing credible and trustworthy sources from previously published materials. In persuading your readers to your point of view, you may need to produce empirical research results by collecting data through interviews, surveys, observations, or experiments.
Your resulting paper will demonstrate your ability to counter any arguments to the contrary to your stated chosen position using reliable data and sound reasoning. Be sure to use good transitional words and phrases when moving between arguments to demonstrate your logical progression of thought.
Tips on Formatting
As mentioned earlier, you will need to cite references to demonstrate a strong analysis or argument for your paper. When you refer to works by other authors, it is essential that you cite them accurately so your reader can validate the references. The citation style will vary based upon the writing format given to you by your professor, whether APA, MLA, or another.
To ensure that you do not lose points for formatting errors, you can use formatting software for accuracy. By using the proper software, you can save time during the editing process, and this will allow you to focus your attention on what matters most, the content.
For more information about APA or MLA formats, contact us today.
David Plaut is the founder of Reference Point Software (RPS). RPS offers a complete suite of easy-to-use formatting template products featuring MLA and APA style templates, freeing up time to focus on substance while ensuring formatting accuracy. 
Reference Point Software is not associated with, endorsed by, or affiliated with the American Psychological Association (APA) or with the Modern Language Association (MLA).
The proper usage of headings and subheadings in APA Formatted Papers can seem mysterious to most college writers. What headings are necessary? When should you use subheadings? How do you properly format them so you donΓÇÖt lose points on your paper?
In simplistic terms, think of your headings and subheadings as a visual roadmap helping you to organize your paper for your readers while giving them a succinct understanding of what information you will be sharing in each section. Your professor will inform you which of these categories you need to include in your paper.
The Title Page of an APA formatted paper is normally considered the first page. The title of your paper does not count as a level. The second page of an APA paper will be the one to contain the “Abstract.” Since the Abstract is a summary, you should limit it to just one paragraph of about 150 to 250 words without any subheadings, whereas other sections of your paper will require them.
You can create up to five levels of headings and subheadings. Many APA Formatted Papers contain only one or two levels, while other more in-depth papers will need all five. The APA style will require you to format these in a specific way to clearly illustrate their increasing levels of specificity for your readers.
Here are some general rules for creating effecting headings and subheadings.
Headings
Keep your headings short. Most are one to five words that provide a strong indication of the information in the section. Only use a heading if you have more than one heading for the level. Think of it this way, you wouldnΓÇÖt create a bulleted list of one item. The same holds true for headers in your APA Formatted Papers.
Subheadings
Subheadings are often a little longer than headings because they are more descriptive and expand upon the heading. Think of your subheadings as a reference for readers to skim through your papers to get a quick understanding of what information you will be sharing with them and how you will transition from your Abstract through to your Conclusion. If you are including a subheading to a section, APA formatted papers require you to have two subheadings on the same level.
Some other general tips for you to consider are, donΓÇÖt overdo the use of headings and subheadings. Not every paragraph needs them. They are intended to enhance the content in your paper, not detract from it. It is often best to write the content of your paper first, and then add in concise headings and subheadings where appropriate.
Before you get started with the formatting of your paper, you will need to research the latest APA style revision to make sure you donΓÇÖt lose points for formatting errors. If you prefer to focus your time wisely on the quality of your content and not the formatting parameters, you’ll be happy to know there are many resources available. Formatting software is one reliable, helpful tool to consider for saving time while taking the guesswork out of formatting your APA style papers.
For more information about APA writing software or how to download our APA Style Software, contact us today!
David Plaut is the founder of Reference Point Software (RPS). RPS offers a complete suite of easy-to-use formatting template products featuring MLA and APA style templates, freeing up time to focus on substance while ensuring formatting accuracy. For more information, log onto http://www.referencepointsoftware.com/ or write to:
info @ referencepointsoftware.com
Reference Point Software is not associated with, endorsed by, or affiliated with the American Psychological Association (APA) or with the Modern Language Association (MLA).
With various formatting styles for writing a college paper, and switching between formatting styles for your different courses, itΓÇÖs easy to get confused about what the proper MLA style format guidelines you should apply actually are.
The MLA style format is one of a number of documentation and formatting styles that are used in writing scholastic papers. The majority of academic and research fields agree that every quote, reference and borrowed material within a scholarly paper should be credited to the source. However, documentation styles and conventions vary due to the different needs of the wide variety of different scholarly disciplines.
The MLA style format is generally quite a bit simpler, more straightforward and more concise than most of the other documentation styles. A hallmark feature of the MLA style is the usage of the parenthetical citation, which is linked up with an entry on an alphabetical list at the end of the paper. (This list of references is called the “Works Cited” page.)
“MLA” stands for the Modern Language Association of America. This is a long-standing, highly reputable organization in existence since 1883. The MLA style format is primarily used within the humanities, and in particular for papers on the topics of literature and language arts.
The MLA style has been widely utilized by many schools, universities, academic departments, professors and instructors for the past fifty or more years. MLA guidelines are also used by more than 1,100 scholarly and literary journals, academic newsletters and magazines. The MLA style format is also the favored formatting style used by numerous university and commercial presses. The Modern Language Association of America’s guidelines is implemented all throughout the continent of North America as well as other countries such as Brazil, China, India, Japan, and Taiwan.
The main considerations of formatting a paper in MLA style are as follows:
Document settings should employ 1-inch margins. The written content should be double-spaced using 12-point type.
There should be a Page Header on the upper right corner of every page. The Page Header should include the author’s name and the correct page number.
Include a Title Block on the first page, which should be comprised of the assignment information as well as an informative and creative title.
The paper should include Citations wherever applicable, crediting the sources used directly in the paper. Each Citation should be placed in the sentence near the idea you are paraphrasing or quoting or at the end of the sentence, with no comma between the author and page number. Also, the punctuation following (comma or period) belongs outside of the closing parentheses.
The paper should include a Works Cited list at the end, sorted alphabetically by author. (If the author is not known, sort by publisher, or if necessary, by title.) Each listing should include the author (or other identifier) with the last name, comma, then first name followed by a period. List the title in quotes, period. The publisher, publication city and year should follow the title.
Optionally include a Bibliography page after the Works Cited list. Format the Bibliography like the Works Cited list — alphabetically (as opposed to in the order of items cited.) The Bibliography should include ALL works used to create the paper, even if not cited directly in the paper.
Following the MLA style can feel tedious at times. Fortunately, our formatting software is available. This is a great option for those who want to streamline the paper-writing process and be able to rest assured that they are formatting their papers correctly.
David Plaut is the founder of Reference Point Software (RPS). RPS offers a complete suite of easy-to-use formatting template products featuring MLA and APA style templates, freeing up time to focus on substance while ensuring formatting accuracy. For more information, log onto http://www.referencepointsoftware.com/ or write to:
info @ referencepointsoftware.com
Reference Point Software is not associated with, endorsed by, or affiliated with the American Psychological Association (APA) or with the Modern Language Association (MLA).
