Use of an Online Writing Tutorial to Improve Writing Skills in Nursing Courses

Abstract

Nursing students often struggle with writing style and the presentation of a logical flow of ideas. To help students enhance their scholastic writing skills, nursing faculty implemented an online program to improve syntax, grammar, and presentation of thoughts. The authors discuss a descriptive study and its results, which did demonstrate the effectiveness of the writing tutorial in Web-based nursing courses.

Writing Across the Curriculum: Strategies to Improve the Writing Skills of Nursing Students

“…In another project, Roberts and Goss () created an online writing tutorial for nursing students. This was combined with two online presentations, to guide students' development of writing skills and use of American Psychological Association style, and a written paper on which students received feedback from faculty and then revised.…”

“…Most WAC strategies in nursing education have not been evaluated, or their effectiveness is based on students' perceptions not on whether the quality of writing has actually improved. Roberts and Goss (), however, included an evaluation of a paper by faculty following the writing intervention to assess improvement in skills. More of this type of study is needed in nursing education.…”

Understanding the Scholarly Writing Development of Nurses Enrolled in U.S. Clinical Doctoral Programs

“…As the title of the first theme suggests, the skill of writing is first learned in primary and secondary education. Learning continues as a result of participating in experiences led by others, such as supervisors and undergraduate faculty, indicating that the reports about writing strategies incorporated in baccalaureate education may be helpful (Johnson et al., ; Mandleco et al., ; Roberts & Goss, ; Troxler et al., ). Writing skills continue to develop while students are enrolled in doctoral‐level education.…”

“…Instead, there are narrative accounts of strategies or programs used to teach writing development. These approaches to writing development include stand‐alone programs, such as laying the foundation for scholarly writing (Luthy, Peterson, Lassetter, & Callister, ), scaffolding (Gazza & Hunker, ), and tutorial sessions and writing support workshops (Bickes & Schim, ; Johnson, Symes, Bernard, Landson, & Carroll, ; Roberts & Goss, ). Other writing programs found in the literature may support writing development by incorporating writing strategies throughout the curriculum, such as Writing Across the Curriculum or Writing in the Disciplines programs (Luthy et al., ; Mandleco, Bohn, Callister, Lassetter, & Carlton, ; Zygmont & Schaefer, ).…”

How Baccalaureate Nursing Programs Teach Writing

“…This approach may dovetail with dividing a large assignment into several smaller ones; students may use ongoing feedback in order to refine their assignment (Luthy et al., 2009). The use of revision and feedback may be integral to writing instruction and is generally well received by students (Johnson et al., 2007; Luthy et al., 2009; Roberts & Goss, 2009; Silva et al., 1999; Sobralske, 1990). Feedback may come from either faculty or peers.…”