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Document Format: Margins are 1 in. (2.54 cm) on all sides.

All text in the document should be double-spaced.

The font is 12-point Times New Roman. Other choices are 11-point Arial and 11-point Calibri.

The title page is page 1.

There is no running head for learner assignments. (See Academic Writer: Publication Manual §§ 2.1–2.24 for paper requirements.)

Full Title of Your Paper Comment by Author: APA Style: Sample Papers shows the title page for a student paper.

Learner’s Full Name (no credentials)

School of Nursing and Health Sciences, Capella University

Course Number: Course Name

Instructor’s Name

Month, Year Comment by Author: The due date

Abstract Comment by Author: NO abstract for this course

An abstract is useful in professional papers, but not always in learner assignments. In fact, unless you are instructed by your faculty or in the course syllabus, do not expect to use abstracts very often at Capella. If you are submitting for publication, remember to check with the journal or professional organization about their criteria for an abstract. The abstract tells your reader about the article, is brief, and stands alone, so no citations are included. The format for an abstract is a single paragraph (not indented on the first line) that follows the title page and is less than 250 words in length. A structured abstract will have a single paragraph without indentation but having labels (e.g., Objective, Method, Results, and Conclusions) on the same line as the text and bold. For published works, the publishing organization will give you guidance on these. However, for student papers, no abstract is needed unless the faculty request one or the assignment requires it. Remember, no citations. Comment by Author: See Academic Writer: Publication Manual §§ 2.9–2.10 (p. 38 in the APA manual) for more information on abstracts.

Keywords: include keywords in the abstract—they should be labeled like this, with the words all in lowercase and separated by commas. Only the first line is indented, like a regular paragraph. No period at the end.

Title of Your Paper (note this is in bold font!!)

American Psychological Association (APA) style is one of the most popular methods used to cite sources in the social sciences, but it is not the only one. When writing papers in the programs offered at Capella University, you will likely use APA style. This document serves as an APA style resource for the seventh edition guidelines, containing valuable information that you can use when writing academic papers. For more information on APA style, refer to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, also referred to as the APA manual (American Psychological Association, 2020b). Comment by Author: Another important resource for Capella learners is Academic Writer.

The first section of this paper shows how an introduction effectively introduces the reader to the topic of the paper. In APA style, an introduction never gets a heading. For example, this section did not begin with a heading titled “Introduction,” unlike the following section, which is titled “Writing an Effective Introduction.” The following section will explain in greater detail a model that can be used to effectively write an introduction in an academic paper. The remaining sections of the paper will continue to address APA style and effective writing concepts, including section headings, organizing information, the conclusion, and the reference list. Comment by Author: See also Academic Writer: Introduction.

Writing an Effective Introduction Comment by Author: Level 1 section heading

An effective introduction often consists of four main components, including (a) the position statement, thesis, or hypothesis, which describes the author’s main position; (b) the purpose, which outlines the objective of the paper; (c) the background, which is general information needed to understand the content of the paper; and (d) the approach, which is the process or methodology the author uses to achieve the purpose of the paper. This information will help readers understand what will be discussed in the paper. It can also serve as a tool to grab the reader’s attention. Authors may choose to briefly reference sources that will be identified later in the paper as in this example (American Psychological Association, 2020a; American Psychological Association, 2020b). The Writing Center has developed the acronym POETS to help describe the proper writing style for submissions. POETS is the acronym for purpose, organization, evidence, tone, and sentence structure (Capella Writing Center, n.d.). There will be more on this later. Comment by Author: This is the format for a complex list within a sentence. The items begin with lowercase letters and are separated by appropriate punctuation. Related items can also be set off from the text and presented as numbered or bulleted lists. For more information on lists, see Academic Writer: Lists. Comment by Author: When you have two sources with the same author and date, use a lowercase a, b, c, after the year and alphabetize the sources in the reference list according to the title. For the same author but no date, use n.d.-a and n.d.-b as the date. See Academic Writer: Alphabetizing the Reference List for more information.

In an introduction, the writer will often present something of interest to capture the reader’s attention and introduce the issue. Adding an obvious statement of purpose helps the reader know what to expect, while helping the writer to focus and stay on task. For example, this paper will address several components necessary to effectively write an academic paper, including how to write an introduction, how to write effective paragraphs, and how to effectively use APA style.

Level 1 Section Heading Is Centered, Bold, and Title Case Comment by Author: Something new in APA seventh style—all headings are double-spaced, bold, and written in title case. See Academic Writer: Heading Levels.

Using section headings can be an effective method of organizing an academic paper. Section headings are not required according to APA style; however, they can significantly improve the quality of a paper by helping both the reader and the author, as will soon be discussed. Comment by Author: In POETS, this is the O for organization. See Writing Center: Organization.

Level 2 Section Heading Is Aligned Left, Bold, and Title Case

The heading style recommended by APA consists of five levels (APA, 2020b, pp. 47–48). This document contains multiple levels to demonstrate how headings are structured according to APA style. Immediately before the previous paragraph, a Level 1 section heading was used. That section heading describes how a Level 1 heading should be written, which is centered, bold, and using uppercase and lowercase letters (also referred to as title case). For another example, see the section heading “Writing an Effective Introduction” on page 3 of this document. The heading is centered and bold and uses uppercase and lowercase letters. If used properly, section headings can significantly contribute to the quality of a paper by helping the reader, who wants to understand the information in the document, and the author, who desires to effectively describe it.

Section Heading Purposes Comment by Author: This is a Level 3 heading. Notice it is aligned left, bold, italic, and title case. The paragraph begins on a new line. See Academic Writer: Heading Levels.

Section Headings Help the Reader. Section headings serve multiple purposes, including helping the reader understand what is being addressed in each section, maintain an interest in the paper, and choose what they want to read. For example, if the reader of this document wants to learn more about writing an effective introduction, the previous section heading clearly states that is where information can be found. When subtopics are needed to explain concepts in greater detail, different levels of headings are used according to APA style. Comment by Author: This is a Level 4 heading—it is indented, bold, and title case. The heading ends in a period, and the text begins on the same line as the heading.

Section Headings Help the Author. Section headings not only help the reader; they also help the author organize the document during the writing process. Section headings can be used to arrange topics in a logical order, and they can help an author manage the length of the paper. In addition to an effective introduction and the use of section headings, each paragraph of an academic paper can be written in a manner that helps the reader stay engaged. Comment by Author: Level 4 heading

Section Headings Can Demonstrate Fine Detail. Short papers and assignments may not require or need a Level 5 heading, but these will be indented, bold, italic, and title case and end with a period. Note the text starts on the line at the end of the heading following the period. Comment by Author: Level 5 heading

How to Write Effective Paragraphs Comment by Author: The Writing at Capella multimedia presentation will help you understand the POETS model.

Capella University’s Writing Center (n.d.) has adopted a new set of writing standards to assist learners in their goals to improve their scholarly writing. It is based on five skills known by the mnemonic POETS. In other words, a well-developed Capella paper will demonstrate the following standards. The paper will have a clear purpose statement, be logically organized, utilize current and appropriate evidence that is properly cited, maintain a scholarly tone, and demonstrate proper grammar and writing mechanics in the sentence structure (Capella Writing Center, n.d.). Academic writing is sometimes considered dry and boring. A learning experience may need that formula to encourage learning in different ways as the learner moves from passive learner to active scholar. This growth, according to Gilmore et al. (2019), requires the writer to not only think but also to write differently. Comment by Author: Notice the et al. here—this article has four authors. In APA seventh style, any source with three or more authors will use et al. for every citation, eliminating the need to remember when this appropriate. For more information, see Academic Writer: Citing References in Text.

Bias-Free Language

In the seventh edition of the APA manual, another focus is on eliminating bias in language in order to provide a more inclusive tone in scholarly writing. While long considered a grammar issue, it is acceptable in APA to utilize they as a singular pronoun (APA, 2020b). In fact, there is an entire chapter of the manual dedicated to ways to reduce bias in scholarly writing. It is important to use an appropriate level of specificity in descriptions and use sensitivity with the use of labels. Other sections include guidelines on age, disability, gender, race and ethnicity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and participation in research. Be aware of intersectionality, a term used to describe a person based on their identified multiple identities, interconnectivity, social context, power relations, complexity, social justice, and inequalities that can result in oppression (Cole, 2019; Hopkins, 2017). Comment by Author: See Academic Writer: Intersectionality for the guidelines. Comment by Author: Note the two citations—in a single set of parentheses and separated by a semicolon. The citations are listed alphabetically.

Considering Direct Quotations

Another important point to consider is the use of direct quotations in papers. While plagiarism is considered an academic integrity issue, many learners are concerned with issues such as self-plagiarism and unintentional plagiarism, and there are others who may go as far as purchasing papers for submission (Colella & Alahmadi, 2019). As a learner travels along their chosen academic pathway, their writing skills and mechanics are expected to improve. It is imperative that the learner transition from finding information and quoting the author word for word to using the information to support an idea, paraphrase, and then synthesize and express the findings in one’s own words. Having said that, there are situations in which quotations may be appropriate, so it is important to cite them properly. According to the seventh edition of the APA manual, “When quoting directly, always provide the author, year, and page number of the quotation in the in-text citation in either parenthetical or narrative format” (APA, 2020b, p. 270). If there are not page numbers, identify the location in another manner (such as a paragraph number). Comment by Author: Notice the quotation marks around the quoted text and the placement of the punctuation after the parenthetical citation. See Academic Writer: Quotation Marks for more on the use of quotation marks.

Notice that the above quote contains fewer than 40 words. There is a different style for quotes containing 40 words or more. These longer quotes use a block quotation format:

Do not use quotation marks to enclose a block quotation. Start a block quotation on a new line and indent the whole block 0.5 in. from the left margin. If there are additional paragraphs within the quotation, indent the first line of each subsequent paragraph an additional 0.5 in. Double-space the entire block quotation; do not add extra space before or after it. Either (a) cite the source in parentheses after the quotation’s final punctuation or (b) cite the author and year in the narrative before the quotation and place only the page number in parentheses after the quotation’s final punctuation. Do not add a period after the closing parenthesis in either case. (APA, 2020b, p. 272) Comment by Author: Notice there is no period after this citation in a block quote—it looks odd, but it is APA style. See Academic Writer: Quotation Marks.

Conclusion

A summary and conclusion section, which can also be the discussion section of an APA style paper, is the final opportunity for the author to make a lasting impression on the reader. The author can begin by restating opinions or positions and summarizing the most important points that have been presented in the paper. For example, this paper was written to demonstrate to readers how to effectively use APA style when writing academic papers. Various components of an APA style paper that were discussed or displayed in the form of examples include a title page, introduction section, levels of section headings and their use, the POETS format, bias-free language, in-text citations, a conclusion, and the reference list.

References Comment by Author: Remember all headings are bold.

American Psychological Association. (2020b). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). Comment by Author: This is something new in APA seventh style—you no longer need the location of the publisher for print books. Also note that if the author is the publisher, it is only listed as the author. This guideline is found on page 324 of the APA manual.

Capella University. (n.d.). Writing Center. https://campus.capella.edu/writing-center/home

Cole, N. L. (2019, October 13). Definition of intersectionality: On the intersecting nature of privileges and oppression. ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/intersectionality-definition-3026353

Colella, J., & Alahmadi, H. (2019). Combating plagiarism from a transformation viewpoint. Journal of Transformative Learning, 6(1), 59–67. https://jotl.uco.edu/index.php/jotl/article/view/184 Comment by Author: Note the upper and lower case letters Comment by Author: Not the name of the journal and volume in italics

Gilmore, S., Harding, N., Helin, J., & Pullen, A. (2019). Writing differently. Management Learning, 50(1), 3–10. https://doi.org/10.1177/1350507618811027

Hopkins, P. (2017). Social geography I: Intersectionality. Progress in Human Geography, 43(5), 937–947. https://doi.org/10.1177/0309132517743677

Appendix Comment by Author: See Academic Writer: Publication Manual § 2.14 for more on appendices.

Tips for the Reference List

· Always begin a reference list on a new page. It should be placed before any appendices, figures, or tables and titled References.

· Set a hanging indent that starts with the second line and is double-spaced. You can look in the Paragraph menu of Microsoft Word for formatting the hanging indent so that you will not have to tab the indent. It gives the text a smoother look that remains consistent, even if you make edits.

· The reference list is in alphabetical order by the first author’s last name. A reference list only contains sources that are cited in the body of the paper, and all sources cited in the body of the paper must be included in the reference list. If you did not cite it, do not list it.

· The reference list above contains an example of how to cite a source when two documents are written in the same year by the same author.

· The lowercase letters are used after the date to differentiate the sources. The “a” reflects the alphabetical order in the reference list—not whether it appeared first in the text.

· The year is also displayed using this method for the corresponding in-text citations, as in the following sentence: The author of the first citation (American Psychological Association, 2020b) is also the publisher; therefore, the word Author is no longer used in the seventh edition.

· DOI is the digital object identifier.

· It can be found on the first page of an article, on the copyright page of a book, in the database record of a work, or by searching Crossref.

· Even if the book is in print, if there is a DOI, use it.

· Always use the hyperlink format for a DOI—it will always start with https://doi.org/ and will be followed by a number. If the DOI is not in this format, convert it. Do not alter this format, and do not add a final period.

· There is a short DOI service at http://shortdoi.org/.

· URL is the uniform resource locator.

· If there is no DOI, the URL should be used in the reference.

· Copy and paste the URL directly into your list.

· Do not add a period at the end.

· Do use “Retrieved from” before a URL.

· The Colella and Alahmadi reference is an example of how to cite a source using a URL. Please note that you will not use the Capella link that is often provided in the courseroom. If the URL contains a database title, such as EBSCO or ProQuest, or the name Capella, do not use that in your citation as it will only work for Capella learners and faculty.

· For examples and further information on references go to:

· Academic Writer: Sample References.

· Academic Writer: Reference List.

Outcome Measures

Appendix Fall Prevention Outcomes & Measures for Practice Change
Fall Outcomes FY'19 Target FY'20 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sept
Total Number of Falls 200 50 10 12 18 22
Falls with Injury 125 0 0 4 6 7
Unwitnessed Fall 125 0 8 8 10 12
Repeat Fall 100 0 4 5 10 12
Fall Prevention Measures FY '19 Target FY'20 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sept
Initial Fall Risk Assessment Within 4 hr 40% 100% 50% 40% 60% 70%
Utilization of Complete Fall Bundle 50% 90% 40% 50% 60% 66%
Hourly Rounding 75% 90% 70% 80% 100% 100%
Bedside Shift Report 0% 100% 40% 50% 89% 82%
Repeat Fall Measures Implemented 0% 100% 0% 0% 20% 35%
Fall Bundle in Place on High Fall Risk Patients 0% 100% 0% 0% 30% #0%
End of Worksheet

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CU_Horiz_RGB Assessment 3 Guiding Questions

Guiding Questions

Outcome Measures, Issues, and Opportunities

This document is designed to give you questions to consider and additional guidance to help you successfully complete the Outcome Measures, Issues, and Opportunities assessment. You may find it useful to use this document as a pre-writing exercise, an outlining tool, or as a final check to ensure that you have sufficiently addressed all the grading criteria for this assessment. This document is a resource to help you complete the assessment. Do not turn in this document as your assessment submission.

Drafting the Report

Analyze organizational functions, processes, and behaviors in high-performing health care organizations or practice settings.

For example, consider such functions, processes, and behaviors as leadership practices, communications, quality processes, financial management, safety and risk management, interprofessional collaboration, strategic planning, using the best available evidence, and questioning the status quo on all levels.

What makes these organizations high performers?

What are these organizations doing that less successful organizations are not?

How does your organization or practice setting compare to these benchmarks of high-performance?

Determine how organizational functions, processes, and behaviors affect outcome measures.

What is the extent of the positive and negative effects on the outcome measures?

What are the reasons for these effects?

Identify the quality and safety outcomes and associated measures relevant to the performance gap you intend to close.

Create a spreadsheet showing the outcome measures.

Refer to the example outcome measures spreadsheet, linked in the resources, that shows medication reconciliation compliance rates.

Identify performance issues or opportunities associated with particular organizational functions, processes, and behaviors and the quality and safety outcomes they affect.

What issues or opportunities are relevant to the systemic problem that you are addressing?

What factors give rise to these performance issues or opportunities?

What are their potential effects on outcomes?

Outline a strategy for ensuring that all aspects of patient care are measured and that knowledge is shared with the staff.

What are the key steps needed to implement your strategy? You are encouraged to use one of the change models included in the Mitchell (2013) article.

How will information, knowledge, and best practices be shared?

Writing, Supporting Evidence, and APA Style

As you begin composing your report, consider the purpose of the report, the appropriate tone and style, and the expectations of the executive leaders who will be reading it.

Write coherently and with purpose, for a specific audience, using correct grammar and mechanics.

Express your main points, arguments, and conclusions clearly and concisely.

Proofread your writing to minimize errors that could distract readers and make it more difficult to focus on the substance of your report.

Integrate relevant and credible sources of evidence to support assertions, correctly formatting citations and references using APA style.

Integrate relevant evidence from at least 6 scholarly or professional sources.

Submission Reminders

Has your analysis of organizational functions, processes, and behaviors shown what high-performance organizations are doing that less successful organizations are not?

Have you determined how and why organizational functions, processes, and behaviors affect outcome measures?

Have you completed your spreadsheet showing quality and safety outcomes and their associated measures?

Have you identified performance issues or opportunities arising from particular organizational functions, processes, and behaviors?

Have you outlined your strategy for outcomes measurement and knowledge sharing?

Are your claims and conclusions well supported by at least 6 sources of credible evidence?

Is your analysis properly formatted and 6 pages in length, including the title page and reference page?

Did you add the outcome measures spreadsheet to your report as an addendum?

Have you proofread your writing to minimize errors that could distract the audience and make it more difficult to focus on the substance of your presentation?

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