2 Purpose and Audience of this Book

The purpose of this textbook is to facilitate your capacity for scholarly writing. No one is born a good writer: writing is a journey that takes skill and practice. Part of this journey involves learning to read and understand scholarly writing, becoming information literate, understanding the nature and types of scholarly writing, and developing your ability to engage in the writing process.

Figure 1.1: The journey of scholarly writing

This textbook is written for students in university-level nursing programs. It may also be useful for students in other health-related programs, graduate students, or healthcare providers. It is designed and co-authored by students for students. It is written in second person and in a conversational tone because the authors want to engage and immerse you, the reader, in the journey to becoming a scholarly writer. However, please note that these styles are not generally used in scholarly writing. You will also notice that gender-inclusive language is used throughout. For example, the terms “they” and “their” are used purposefully as both singular and plural pronouns.

See Audio Podcast 1.1 that provides an introduction about what to expect by one of the book’s authors.

Audio Podcast 1.1: Introduction to textbook [2:41]

Helpful Features

• Student Tips with helpful information that will guide your writing.
• Important phrases are bolded in the text.
• Some unfamiliar and complex terms are bolded in blue; hover your cursor over the word and click on it for a definition. These terms are also included in a glossary at the end of the book.
• Audio podcasts from learners and experts about their journey to becoming a writer.
• Images and videos to help you connect with the content in a visual way.
• Activities to help you evaluate your knowledge.
• Chapter summaries along with “Your Writing Journey” boxes at the end of each chapter writing.

The textbook has a self-directed format and provides an interactive and engaging way for you to learn about and develop capacity in scholarly writing in the nursing context. You can review the full textbook or advance to sections that you have identified as areas you want to work on. This textbook is best viewed online in the “Read Book” format available through Pressbooks. The Read Book format enables all accessible multimedia content. You can also download a PDF to read offline. 

Figure 1.2: View this textbook online