"How does one state in a couple of sentences the transformation and development of confidence and capability that occurred for me as an emerging author? To have entered your course as a seasoned nurse with an intimidated voice and then exit with the empowering belief that I have something of relevance to speak and write in formal discourse has been a large step in my evolution. To identify and increase my awareness in the distinction between active versus passive voice empowers both professional practice and personal life. I know that my future papers will be written with a new-found confidence and understanding of academic writing style. I feel significant gratitude for the mentoring style of Dr. Madeline Walker that coached my inner potential and cultivated the 'birthing' of my writing abilities. On my final paper for Nurs 341 last semester, the professor, Dr. Carol McDonald, stated that I "exceeded the expectations" for the assignment. I know that this accomplishment reflected the teachings of Nurs 490. I will approach my next course in the autumn with more eagerness and less trepidation as I feel considerably more prepared to express my ideas in a credible, scholarly fashion." Cindy Falkowski

CAEN Conference 2011 Presentation: Voices on the page: Helping our students to express themselves in writing

Useful Links

OWL at Purdue: Good, clear, up-to-date information on writing, grammar, and APA style

Dr. Thomas Long, associate professor of writing at the University of Connecticut, has a wordpress blog on nursing writing.

Nurse Author and Editor is a free e-journal with lots of good information about publishing and writing in the field of nursing.

Annotated Bibliography for Writing

Diana Hacker on Passive Voice

This blog on the APA website is a fascinating ongoing discussion of APA style issues and problems. If the APA manual isn't yielding the information you need about citation, referencing, or other style challenges, you can do a search for your problem on the blog. There may well be a discussion on the very question you are wrestling with:

http://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/

Many students are puzzled about how to properly paraphrase. This five minute tutorial for nursing students at Dalhousie University helps to explain.

http://www.library.dal.ca/kellogg/guides/Writing/paraphrase/index.htm

How to write an annotated bibliography:

http://www.lib.sfu.ca/help/writing/annotated-bibliography

The Imposter Phenomenon (IP) is experienced by grad students and faculty alike. This page from University of Waterloo's Centre for Teaching Excellence has some great tips about how to deal with this pervasive feeling of not being smart enough or good enough:

http://cte.uwaterloo.ca/teaching_resources/tips/imposter_phenomenon_and_grad_students.html

Our Writing Centre at UVic has a great list of resources and links for writers at all levels:

http://ltc.uvic.ca/servicesprograms/Resources.php