The document provides an overview of an academic writing workshop for a graduate certificate in nursing program. It includes an acknowledgement of the traditional owners of the land, an agenda for the workshop on academic writing, and notes from the different parts of the workshop. The workshop covers reviewing the previous session, time management for assignment writing, paragraph structure, and making a paragraph plan. [END SUMMARY]

1. 06/10/22
1
Grad. Cert. in Contemporary
Nursing
Academic Writing 2
A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T O F C O U N T R Y
The University of Notre Dame Australia is proud to acknowledge the traditional owners and
custodians of the land upon which our University sits. The University acknowledges that the Sydney
Campus is located on Cadigal Country, the Fremantle Campus on Wadjuk Country and the Broome
Campus on Yawuru Country.
Monday Oct 3: Academic Writing 1
An introduction to academic style, and support for academic
writing from Student Success at UNDA
Thursday Oct 6: Academic Writing 2
Time management, paragraph length and structure and making a
paragraph plan.
Thursday Oct 6: Academic Writing 3
Research, note-taking, summarising and quoting from academic
sources
What we will cover in this
class…
1. Review of workshop 1
2. Time management for assignment writing
3. Paragraph length and structure
4. Making a paragraph plan
PART 1
REVIEW OF WORKSHOP 1
• Enter Kahoot.it on your additional device
• Enter the code that you see on my shared screen (and in the
chat) for the Kahoot Quiz UNDA Nursing Primer
• Enter a nickname (bearing in mind that it will appear on the
shared screen so that everyone can see it)
• You will see questions on the shared screen
• A few seconds after the question, you will see four multiple-choice
options, each with a colour and shape next to them
• On your device, press on the appropriate colour and shape for
the option you’ve chosen
• You receive points for correct answers AND speed

2. 06/10/22
2
A Nursing student contacted me about a case study report she had to write,
based an elderly female patient with a pressure ulcer (among other issues).
You will see a short extract below.
Write in the chat one or two ways she could improve her academic writing.
Example of student writing
In their video on wound care, Cengage Learning Australia, (2016) show
how the Aseptic non touch technique (ANTT) reduces infection.
However, if a nurse were to not use this technique it could cause great
risk to the wound healing process, as the pressure ulcer could become
infected. This therefore means that the wound healing process could be
extended and the nurse will have to take a different approach to caring
for the wound as it will have become a stage three or four pressure
ulcer.
Here is the advice I gave her.
REFERENCING
• Cengage Learning Australia is a publisher. In your citation, you need to include
the author, not the publisher.
• Although this instructional video may provide good advice, it is not an
academic source.
• Look for relevant peer-reviewed journal articles on this topic and refer to them
instead.
EDITING
Aim to write in shorter sentences which focus on the key point. In this case, you
needed to identify ‘risk factors’, so you could write something like this:
The major risk factor is ______. This is because ______. In order to mitigate
this risk, nurses should _______ (academic reference)
And refer to my video on ‘Getting under the word limit’ at
https://library.nd.edu.au/successnow/ecourse/writing/wordlimit
By cutting out these unnecessary words and focusing on the key words, you
could reduce it to this:
The major risk factor is infection. This is because infection will lead to a
stage three or four pressure ulcer, needing more complex treatment. To
avoid this, nurses can use the aseptic non-touch technique (academic
reference). (34 words)
In your extract, I’ve highlighted in red unnecessary or repeated words
and in orange, phrases with a lot of little words:
In their video on wound care, Cengage Learning Australia, (2016) show
how the Aseptic non touch technique (ANTT) reduces infection.
However, if a nurse were to not use this technique it could cause great
risk to the wound healing process, as the pressure ulcer could become
infected. This therefore means that the wound healing process could be
extended and the nurse will have to take a different approach to caring
for the wound as it will have become a stage three or four pressure
ulcer. (85 words)
HOW ASSESSMENT 2 IS GRADED Use the QR code or url to record your attendance
https://tinyurl.com/UNDAattendance1

3. 06/10/22
3
PART 2
Time management for
assignment writing
Complete the missing information by checking
on your course outline
What are the FOUR stages of writing a university
assignment?
MON TUES WEDS THURS FRI SAT SUN
TODAY
6 7
DUE
DATE
REVISE YOUR
DRAFT
WRITE YOUR DRAFT
MAKE NOTES
RESEARCH AND
ANALYSE
& PLAN
Plan backwards from the due
date
PART 3
PARAGRAPH LENGTH AND
STRUCTURE
• You will read an example paragraph from an essay about
the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on Nursing practice
• What sub-topics would you expect to be included in the
different paragraphs of this essay?
• While you read the paragraph, answer these five questions:
1. How long is the paragraph?
2. What is the sub-topic of this paragraph?
3. What is the student’s argument about this sub-topic?
4. How does this argument relate to those the student
has made in previous paragraphs?
5. How credible is the student’s argument?

4. 06/10/22
4
In common with other areas of nursing practice, the effects of the
COVID-19 pandemic on nursing education have also been
complex and variable. Like students in other disciplines, nursing
students have had to cope with the difficulties of adjusting to online
learning (Gaffney et al., 2021). The transition has been especially
difficult for nurses, given the critical importance of clinical practice
as part of their programmes. For those whose placements have
been cancelled or delayed, this has caused high levels of stress
(Ramos-Morcillo et al., 2020). One US study reported that more
than one in ten nursing students were considering withdrawal as a
result (Michel et al., 2021). However, the same study reported that
for most student nurses, the pandemic has had a positive effect on
their self-esteem. A British study found that this positive effect was
particularly strong among nursing students who had the
opportunity to volunteer for extended placements. They felt proud
of being able to contribute and to learn new skills. At the same
time, they needed support to cope with the added stresses of
social isolation (Swift et al., 2020).
1. THE PARAGRAPH LENGTH IS TYPICAL OF
UNIVERSITY ESSAYS (5 – 10 SENTENCES / 150 – 200
WORDS) = 8 sentences / 187 words
In common with other areas of nursing practice, the effects of the COVID-
19 pandemic on nursing education have also been complex and variable.
Like students in other disciplines, nursing students have had to cope with
the difficulties of adjusting to online learning (Gaffney et al., 2021). The
transition has been especially difficult for nurses, given the critical
importance of clinical practice as part of their programmes. For those
whose placements have been cancelled or delayed, this has caused high
levels of stress (Ramos-Morcillo et al., 2020). One US study reported that
more than one in ten nursing students were considering withdrawal as a
result (Michel et al., 2021). However, the same study reported that for
most student nurses, the pandemic has had a positive effect on their self-
esteem. A British study found that this positive effect was particularly
strong among nursing students who had the opportunity to volunteer for
extended placements. They felt proud of being able to contribute and to
learn new skills, but at the same time, felt that they needed support to
cope with the added stresses of social isolation (Swift et al., 2020).
2. SUB-TOPIC OF THIS PARAGRAPH = impact on
Nursing education
In common with other areas of nursing practice, the effects of the COVID-
19 pandemic on nursing education have also been complex and
variable. Like students in other disciplines, nursing students have
had to cope with the difficulties of adjusting to online learning (Gaffney et
al., 2021). The transition has been especially difficult for nurses, given the
critical importance of clinical practice as part of their programmes. For
those whose placements have been cancelled or delayed, this has
caused high levels of stress (Ramos-Morcillo et al., 2020). One US study
reported that more than one in ten nursing students were
considering withdrawal as a result (Michel et al., 2021). However, the
same study reported that for most student nurses, the pandemic has
had a positive effect on their self-esteem. A British study found that this
positive effect was particularly strong among nursing students who
had the opportunity to volunteer for extended placements. They felt proud
of being able to contribute and to learn new skills. At the same time, they
needed support to cope with the added stresses of social isolation (Swift
et al., 2020).
3. STUDENT’S ARGUMENT IS STATED IN THE TOPIC
SENTENCE = complex & variable effects
In common with other areas of nursing practice, the effects of the
COVID-19 pandemic on nursing education have also
been complex and variable. Like students in other disciplines,
nursing students have had to cope with the difficulties of adjusting to
online learning (Gaffney et al., 2021). The transition has been especially
difficult for nurses, given the critical importance of clinical practice as part
of their programmes. For those whose placements have been cancelled
or delayed, this has caused high levels of stress (Ramos-Morcillo et al.,
2020). One US study reported that more than one in ten nursing students
were considering withdrawal as a result (Michel et al., 2021). However,
the same study reported that for most student nurses, the pandemic has
had a positive effect on their self-esteem. A British study found that this
positive effect was particularly strong among nursing students who had
the opportunity to volunteer for extended placements. They felt proud of
being able to contribute and to learn new skills. At the same time, they
needed support to cope with the added stresses of social isolation (Swift
et al., 2020).
4. THE PARAGRAPH BEGINS WITH A CLEAR LINK BACK
TO POINTS MADE IN PREVIOUS PARAGRAPHS = effects
on Nursing education are similar to those on other areas
of Nursing
In common with other areas of nursing practice, the effects
of the COVID-19 pandemic on nursing education have also been complex and
variable. Like students in other disciplines, nursing students have had to cope
with the difficulties of adjusting to online learning (Gaffney et al., 2021). The
transition has been especially difficult for nurses, given the critical importance of
clinical practice as part of their programmes. For those whose placements have
been cancelled or delayed, this has caused high levels of stress (Ramos-Morcillo
et al., 2020). One US study reported that more than one in ten nursing students
were considering withdrawal as a result (Michel et al., 2021). However, the same
study reported that for most student nurses, the pandemic has had a positive
effect on their self-esteem. A British study found that this positive effect was
particularly strong among nursing students who had the opportunity to volunteer
for extended placements. They felt proud of being able to contribute and to learn
new skills. At the same time, they needed support to cope with the added stresses
of social isolation (Swift et al., 2020).
5. THE STUDENT’S ARGUMENT IS CREDIBLE – each
point is followed by a citation, with the full reference
provided in the reference list; these are all peer-reviewed
journal articles
In common with other areas of nursing practice, the effects of the COVID-19
pandemic on nursing education have also been complex and variable. Like
students in other disciplines, nursing students have had to cope with the
difficulties of adjusting to online learning (Gaffney et al., 2021). The
transition has been especially difficult for nurses, given the critical importance of
clinical practice as part of their programmes. For those whose placements have
been cancelled or delayed, this has caused high levels of stress (Ramos-
Morcillo et al., 2020). One US study reported that more than one in ten
nursing students were considering withdrawal as a result (Michel et al.,
2021). However, the same study reported that for most student nurses, the
pandemic has had a positive effect on their self-esteem. A British study found that
this positive effect was particularly strong among nursing students who had the
opportunity to volunteer for extended placements. They felt proud of being able to
contribute and to learn new skills. At the same time, they needed support to cope
with the added stresses of social isolation (Swift et al., 2020).

5. 06/10/22
5
The paragraphs in Assignment 2 need to be written
like the example you have seen above with citations
referring to peer-reviewed journal articles, as well as
to Nursing Standards and Codes of Practice
PART 4
MAKING A PARAGRAPH PLAN
The word length helps us decide
how many paragraphs to include
• So, how many paragraphs are you going to write for a 2000-word
assignment?
• About 10 – 14 paragraphs
• Which two paragraphs do you know in advance that you are going to
write?
• An introduction paragraph and a conclusion paragraph
• See this video for advice on writing introduction and conclusion
paragraphs
• What do you do with the other 8 – 12 paragraphs?
Allocate them to each part of your assignment according to their
importance
For this assignment, you need to answer questions
about two scenarios.
How many paragraphs are you going to allocate to each
scenario?
4 - 6

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6
So , what will the sub-topics be for the 4 – 6
paragraphs in the first half of your assignment?
attributes of nursing leadership
impact on a newly re-registered
nurse’s confidence & empowerment
impact on patient care
So , what will the sub-topics be for the 4 – 6
paragraphs in the second half of your
assignment?
what is patient safety?
What strategies can a nurse
use to ensure patient safety?
SAMPLE PARAGRAPH PLAN
Introduction: 1 brief paragraph (100 words – about 4 sentences)
Scenario 1: 4 - 6 paragraphs (150 – 200 words each – about five
to seven sentences)
– attributes of nursing leadership
– impact on nurse’s confidence & empowerment
– impact on patient care
Scenario 2: 4 - 6 paragraphs (150 - 200 words each – about five
to seven sentences)
– strategies to ensure patient safety
Conclusion: 1 brief paragraph (100 words – about 4 sentences)