EXAMPLE ESSAYS FOR
Critical Thinking and Writing for Nursing Students
Bob Price and Anne Harrington
CONTENTS:
Example analytical essay - page 1
Example reflective essay - page 11
EXAMPLE ANALYTICAL ESSAY
This example of an analytical essay is presented in association with Price, B and Harrington, A (2010)
Critical Thinking and Writing for Nursing Students, Exeter, Learning Matters. Readers are
introduced to the process of critical and reflective thinking and the translation of these into
coursework that will help them to achieve better grades in nursing courses. Stewart, Raymet, Fatima
and Gina are four students who share their learning journey throughout the chapters of the book. In
this essay on the evaluation of different sorts of evidence, Stewart demonstrates his writing skills
near the end of his course. Stewart was set the task of evaluating different sorts of evidence within
nursing and making a case regarding how the nurse might proceed. At the end of the essay we offer
notes that explain the critical thinking and writing features of Stewart’s work.
N.B. Remember, copying essays such as this, submitting them as a whole or in part for assessment
purposes, without attributing the source of the material, may leave you open to the charge of
plagiarism. Significant sanctions may follow for nurses who do this, including referral to the Nursing
and Midwifery Council.
Evaluating evidence in nursing
For reasons of patient safety and the improvements in the quality of healthcare, nurses are urged
to base their practice on evidence (Barker, 2009). Evidence too may be argued as a basis for
arranging the most cost effective care, using limited resources to best effect. I define evidence
here as consisting of that information that the nurse can point to as authoritative, being more
than simple opinion or predilection to practice in a particular way. In practice, the availability of ...