Help For Nursing Students

Last update: 3 November 2009,
by Maureen Bell

On this page are some resources which you may find useful for essay writing, including guides to evaluating literature and Internet resources, and guides for constructing essays and citing references correctly. I am not including print resources from the library's own collection as they can be found by consulting the catalogue.

The university has a special site which provides detailed advice and help on how to avoid plagiarism

If you are an international student you'll find helpful resources (including English language and study skills help) here

Style and Writing Guides

The Library has a general Style Guides page, as well as a detailed introduction to the Author-date (Harvard) referencing system. Other sites of interest are listed below.

A Guide to Harvard Referencing (Leeds Metropolitan University)
The Harvard or author-date system of referencing is described here. It is one of the commonly used systems, but there are several versions which differ slightly from one another.

Harvard Style examples
From Monash University.

Purdue Online Writing Lab
This site from Purdue University has some useful features, with over 130 instructional handouts including Help with English as a Second Language (ESL).

Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals | The Vancouver Guidelines
These guidelines are produced by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. The latest version is available at this site.

Vancouver Style examples
From Monash University.

Evaluating the Literature (Critical Appraisal Skills)

I've included some links below, but you will find additional resources on my evidence-based medicine page.

How to Read an Article
Our own tips on evaluating journal articles.

How to Read a Paper - A Series of Articles from the BMJ
This series of articles by Trisha Greenhalgh was published in the BMJ in 1997 to assist readers in evaluating journal literature.

Critical Appraisal and Using the Literature
From ScHARR - the University of Sheffield School of Health and Related Research.

Users' Guides to the Medical Literature
A series of articles on critical appraisal of medical literature, from JAMA.