Formal Paper Guidelines

Format and References

The paper is to be a scholarly review of the evidence related to a clinical question developed by the student.It is worth 15% of the course grade.

• The clinical question will be submitted for approval by the course instructor prior to the topic being written on.
• The paper will be evaluated for correct grammar, spelling, writing mechanics, and APA format
• The paper is to be 10-12 pages in length, not including Title page and References.
• The paper will include a title page, introduction, review of evidence, recommendations for practice, conclusion, and reference page.It will NOT include an abstract or table of contents.
• Sources: There must be at least 5 peer-reviewed journal sources.Secondary sources, such as systematic reviews and meta-analyses may be used, but can only account for 2 of the 5 sources.You may use a text currently in use at SNU School of Nursing for background information, but it will not count as one of the required references.Wikipedia, dictionaries, general newspapers are not considered to be scholarly sources; they should be used very cautiously and will not count as part of the required number of references.
• See the grading rubric for details of the structure and scoring of the paper.1. Scoring Breakdown
  

  	% Final Score	Points
  PICOT Question & Key Words	5	10
  Annotated Bibliography	5	10
  First Draft	15	50
  Final Paper	75	80

  Southern Nazarene University School of Nursing NURS 4336 Formal Paper Grading Rubric

  Category	Unacceptable 5	Acceptable 7	Good 9	Excellent 11	Comments
  Introduction Provides importance of the topic chosen States the PICOT question Outlines content of the body of the paper	Does not adequately address topic Does not introduce subtopics to be discussed in body of text	Briefly conveys topic Subtopics to be discussed in body are unclear	Clearly conveys topic Clear introduction of subtopics to be discussed in body of text	Strong topic statement Clear introduction of subtopics to be discussed in body of text
  Focus and Sequencing a. Literature search b. Appraisal of the evidence c. Review of the evidence d. Discussion of practice implications e. Recommendation	Content is not related to topic No logical organization of the subtopics Unclear or nonexistent transitions	Content is related to topic Inconsistent connections between topics and subtopics Inconsistent transitions	Content is clearly related to topic Logical organization of subtopics is evident Clear transitions	Content strongly related to topic Strong, clear organization of subtopics Strong, clear transitions
  Support Peer-reviewed Primary sources	No scholarly support of topic Supporting materials are not published within past 5-7 years	Limited scholarly support of topic Many supporting materials are published within past 5-7 years	Clear scholarly support of topic Most supporting materials are published within past 5-7 years	Strong scholarly support of topic All supporting materials are published within past 5-7 years
  Conclusion Summarizes key points of the paper Brings paper to close	No summarization, synthesis, or lacks insightful discussion of topic conclusions New information is introduced into the conclusion	Some summarization, synthesis, or insightful discussion of topic conclusions Little new information is introduced into the conclusion	Clear summarization with synthesis and insightful discussion of topic conclusions No new information is introduced into the conclusion	Strong summarization with synthesis and insightful discussion of topic conclusions No new information is introduced into the conclusion
  Grammar, Spelling, Punctuation	Substantial grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors that detract from overall readability	Occasional grammar, spelling, or punctuation errors that limit overall readability	Minimal grammar, spelling, or punctuation errors; does not detract from readability	No grammar, spelling, or punctuation errors.
  Writing mechanics	Many awkward or unclear passages Informal tone, not consistent with scholarly work	Many awkward or unclear passages Inconsistent tone	Minimal awkward or unclear passages Consistently formal tone	Clear, well-written passages Consistently formal tone
  APA style	Failure to use APA – 0	Substantial errors – 2	Occasional errors – 3	Minimal errors – 4