Veterinary Nursing Academic Writing

This is a VetNet funded project in association with the LIVE Centre.

The first delivery of the Contemporary Study Skills module in Graduate Diploma in Professional and Clinical and Veterinary Nursing was completed in August 2008. As with any course, accentuated in circumstances where the educational background of students ranges significantly from Vocational through to Masters level, a vast difference in the quality of writing was noted. This came as no surprise, as some students have had little or no training or experience in writing at this level.

The Contemporary Study Skills module gives the students some instruction in writing skills, however it is not within the scope, time limits or human resources of the module to develop or deliver the materials, support and guidance required to get all students up to the level necessary with their writing abilities.

This project was developed to support ‘non-traditional’ learners enrolled on the Graduate Diploma of Clinical Veterinary Nursing. It has been developed using various media types in an attempt to engage students who may be daunted by high levels of text.

An initial literature review was undertaken to report on the current methodologies for teaching students literacy skills. It considered the current state of writing in universities; the resources that are available to assist students in their writing skills; and the suggested flaws in these resources.

Vet Nurse Accademic Writing Skills interface

The project can be viewed at the following address: http://www.live.ac.uk/static/CAL/vnaw/index.html

Project Team: Helen Shore and Peter Nunn