Scholarly writing, otherwise known as academic writing, is a form of writing that is specific to the academia. It is a genre of writing that can be intimidating since its vocabulary is specialized and uses specific terminologies that may be unfamiliar to the regular audience. Scholarly writing is neither fiction, nor faction, but writing based on findings of empirical research and professional studies that have gone through a peer review board before publication. Scholarly writing cannot be complete without “careful citation of sources and the presence of a bibliography or reference list” (Walden University, 2021).
I read a lot of scholarly research papers, studies, and articles during my master’s degree program, and I can say that most of them were informative, insightful, educative and reader friendly, However, I must also confess that some of them were crammed with unfamiliar terminologies and thus were intimating, verbose, repetitive and seemed very crowded and difficult to analyze.
In my approach to scholarly writing, I intend to use all resources available to me to enrich my writing by writing in my own words, sound professional and authentic and maintain the standard characteristics of an academic writing.
However, at this point of my academic pursuit to obtain a doctoral degree, I am not proficient in citations and find using the APA style most challenging. I wrote very good essays during my master’s degree program but lost a lot of valuable points to the improper APA style citations. Though I learned it toward the end of the program and thereafter, but almost two years after graduation and not using it, I am almost back to where I was.
I therefore intend to use all the available resources and sites in the Student’s Success Center, the DC network , webinars, videos and constant practice to address this intimidating threat to my success in academic writing.
Reference
Walden University Writing Center. (2021). Overview – Scholarly Writing – Academic Guides – Walden …
https://academicguides.waldenu.edu › writingcenter › sch…
Also referred to as academic writing, scholarly writing is an essential skill for nurses pursuing further studies as it prepares an individual for their advanced nursing role as a scholar, clinician, an advocate, professional, and an educator (Iskander (2018). Some of the scholarly writing areas that a DNP learner would engage in upon completion of studies that will require the application of scholarly writing skills include; research grants, reflective practice, evidence-based guidelines, policies, and practice standards.
The author’s most challenging scholarly writing standard is writing in one’s own word while appropriately citing authors for findings and ideas. This requires one to read and comprehend the literature, study it, and think critically before writing. In the process, the writer must follow a logical plan in an order that advances, analyzes, and evaluates arguments and ideas with appropriate references (Mitchell, Harrigan, & McMillan, (2017). It is challenging to ensure consistency and coherence throughout a scholarly paper due to the requirement of appropriate use of transitions between topics, sentences, paragraphs, and concepts to demonstrate paragraph unity, organizational structure, and sentence cohesion.
To address the challenges, the author used the resources provided by Purdue (Online Writing Lab Purdue University). Since the resources are short, simple, and concise, the researcher found each easy to understand and apply. To become more proficient, the author will create more time to write at least two scholarly papers every week under the mentor’s supervision. The author will look for additional resources to inform her knowledge of the same.
References
Iskander, J. K., Wolicki, S. B., Leeb, R. T., & Siegel, P. Z. (2018). Successful Scientific Writing and Publishing: A Step-by-Step Approach. Preventing chronic disease, 15, E79. https://doi.org/10.5888/pcd15.180085
Mitchell, K. M., Harrigan, T., & McMillan, D. E. (2017). Writing self-efficacy in nursing students: The influence of a discipline-specific writing environment. Nursing open, 4(4), 240–250. https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.90
Purdue University (n.d) https://www.purdue.edu/