Writing for academic journals can be highly competitive. Your assignment or essay that has been considered publishable may well be of interest to British Journal of Nursing (BJN). Writing for BJN is different to writing as part of a course, where you would have been required to demonstrate to the marker that you had met all of the learning outcomes. For BJN you need to be able to sum your work up in such a way that it captures the interest of our readers.
This discussion presents a practical approach, a guide to converting a piece of work written as a course requirement—an assignment—into a clinical article that may be suitable for publication in BJN. The journal does not publish assignments, we publish articles, but with some work your assignment could become an article. Working with and helping new writers arrive at publication provides great satisfaction for the team (and we hope you also).
About this journal
BJN is the peer-reviewed journal that brings together nursing practice, education and leadership into one comprehensive resource. In addition to academic material on nursing and hospitals, the journal provides information on people and events. BJN is the leading general clinical journal for nurses. Authoritative, accessible and diverse, it is an essential read for everyone from students to specialists. The journal is published 22 times a year, publishing up-to-date clinical reviews, original research and evidence-based papers, written by experts and reviewed by prominent authorities in the nursing profession. As well as this, the journal publishes up to 17 themed supplements a year, providing even more in-depth clinical information on areas such as stoma care, IV therapy, urology, wound care and oncology.
BJN is keen to publish articles that provide nurses with clinical information that they can apply to their own practice. For example, a valuable idea, piece of research, the outcome of an audit or quality improvement project that can be replicated, resulting in a change to practice, or an assignment that has been written as part of a programme of studies. The articles we publish can enhance patient care outcomes by informing policy initiatives and contributing to the body of scientific knowledge.
Professional responsibilities
Registered nurses are required to share their skills, knowledge and experience for those who are receiving care and also for colleagues. The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) Code (NMC, 2018) requires you to support others to learn and to also help them develop their professional competence and confidence. Publishing in BJN is one way of helping others and encouraging them to learn. Having your work published helps to demonstrate that you are engaging with revalidation requirements—this is the process that all nurses must follow in order to maintain their registration with the NMC (2019).
The sharing of nursing knowledge can bolster the profession. Nurses often underestimate the relevance and importance of what they may have to contribute and can feel intimidated by the idea and the processes associated with writing for publication. When you read articles that have been published in a journal such as BJN it is important to remember that these are the finished product after it has been through a robust process. There will have been earlier drafts and revisions required along the way.
What is your proposed topic?
At BJN we are looking to publish a range of articles. Check that your proposed article is within the scope of BJN. Is it aligned to our mission to provide up-to-date, clinically relevant knowledge? Think about reading articles in back issues of the journal, to give you an idea of what we publish, the quality and impact.
Usually we are looking for articles that will be of interest to the profession (and other health and social care professions). You do not always have to provide an article that contains new ways of thinking or working. You may discuss issues that are contemporary and you could be providing an alternative perspective on these issues, revisiting them with an up-to-date slant, or of course you could be refuting, challenging, or debating current approaches to care provision and the best available evidence.
When writing an assignment you do not always have to come up with a title—often the educational institution provides you with one. Take some time to think about a title and how that can grab the reader's attention (this should not be a journalistic/sensationalist title). You already know what it is that you have to say, rethink what are the key points. What is it that will make your proposed article different? What makes you think it will of any interest to other readers? Keep asking yourself ‘so what?’ and ‘why would anyone want to read this?’ until you can confidently give an answer. If you were the Editor would you want to publish this? Would you be proud to have this article in the pages of your journal? What else might be required to convert the assignment into the article, into something you would publish?
Delving deeper
When you were asked to submit your assignment for assessment you had to adhere to a number of requirements. Usually, the assignment had to be written at the right academic level, a word count would have been given, and the assignment had to answer the question set. In other words, your assignment was put together with a particular reason in mind: to assess if you were able to demonstrate that you had met the module learning outcomes and you are fit for purpose concerning that module. You were required to submit the assignment by a particular time so you had some incentive (motivation).
Although there are differences with assignments and articles there are also some similarities: word count, referencing, academic rigour … and you can be sure people will be making an assessment of your article just as they did your assignment. However, your assignment was written for a particular audience, namely your lecturer and the external examiner, whereas an article is written for a much wider audience—it has to be written for and to be of interest to BJN readers, the profession.
The change in audience means you now need to make clear to the reader (the busy practising nurse) what are the key points, the pearls of wisdom that could be usefully disseminated—so that it is less like an assignment and more like an article. Commonly, an assignment requires you to refer to local issues so that you can demonstrate you have a sound understanding of parochial issues. If this is the case then thought needs to be given to the relevance of local issues to the wider readership.
Writing style
The writing style adopted, whether you use first person (I/we) or third person (it/they), will depend on article content. For example, a reflective account is usually written in first person singular. Writing in the third person can distance authors from readers, whereas writing in the first person and using personal pronouns such as I, you and we connects authors and readers. On the other hand, in some situations readers may expect a more detached, objective tone and therefore the third person (as is often the case in clinical and professional articles in BJN). The tone of the article will determine the writing style (see Table 1).
| First person | Third person |
|---|---|
| Subjective | Objective |
| Involved | Detached |
| Identified | Anonymous |
| Engaged | Cool |
| Active | Passive |
| Informal | Formal |
The plan
There will, without doubt, be a need to make changes to the original plan that you made for the assignment. When you wrote your assignment, you had written your plan, your outline, for a different purpose and a different audience. You will therefore need a different approach and this time when you make your plan instead of having the assignment remit next to you, you need to have the BJN author guidelines (https://tinyurl.com/MAGauthors) close by to guide you.
Starting afresh can seem unnerving but remember, the bulk of the work has already been done, the original ideas in your assignment will need to be amended and then slotted into place to ‘fit’. Keep in mind that a different format is needed, so some new ways of thinking are paramount, but you do not have a blank sheet of paper in front of you, there are lines on it and these lines are the original ideas; train lines taking you to your destination, the finished article.
To the core
It is important to give much thought to the nub of your discussion, the point of it. What is it that you are trying to convey? What is your message? Readers want to learn more, to be able take that learning to practice, and to do this they need to feel confident that they are reading more than a story, they need to read analysis and evaluation of key issues. What are the salient points?
You may be required to cut down on the discussion aspect, the reflection, and instead provide hard persuasive facts that the reader is able to use. You will need to restructure the content so that the format flows like an article as opposed to an assignment. Restructuring can leave you with more word allowance to reinforce the key points you are making.
Time to shine
What was it about your assignment that made you, your lecturer, or the external examiner say ‘this submission is of such a good standard that it should be considered for publication?’. Consider the aspects that made it stand out and exploit these. What would entice BJN readers? You have something to say and now you have to say it—decant the good aspects, expand on them, and use the delete button to remove the material that is less interesting.
Readers want to read material that will inform them of good practice, new practice or even a revision of current practice and your job now is to enable them to do this. You might have been given A+ for that assignment (congratulations) but BJN readers may only give you a D- or F if you cannot engage them or if you are not bringing something new to the table. What makes your proposed article different to what is already out there?
Be brave
This aspect may be the most difficult part of whole process as it requires you to be your biggest critic. You will need to remove significant amounts of your original work. Articles for BJN range from 1500 to 3000 words and this is usually a lower word count than a standard assignment. You will have to be tough as you decide what needs to go.
Use your judgment and a highlighter pen to help here—be brave. Go back to the earlier points and highlight those aspects that you think the practising nurse would find interesting. You are not out to please the examiners now, so where you painstakingly ensured that you met the learning outcomes now think broader and determine what it is about your work that would engage the BJN reader and make a difference. Remember any reference to your locality may not be as interesting to the wider readership. Unless absolutely germane consider removing those paragraphs. It is often the case that people are keen to include everything and try to address too many objectives in the 1500–2500 words, which is detrimental to the submission.
Concentrate and apply
Be concrete in your approach and do not forget who your readers are: busy practising nurses who are very often steeped in practice and they usually want to read about practice issues that can help them enhance the quality of care. One aspect of the marking criteria for your assignment would have been to demonstrate that you are capable of writing in an academic manner. In this step of the process you have to balance the practice aspects and the academic. Be sure to give credence to practice but your work must also be academically robust and you must be able to support your discussion with citations from the literature. The literature must be clearly related to the discussion and not tangentially relevant to the points under consideration. Try not to force the reader to guess at the point you are trying to make.
Check, check, and check again
It is essential that you keep checking your work. This is exactly same approach that you would have used before submitting your assignment. You would have looked again at the assignment remit and the title to check that you had answered the question and you had included all the criteria; you would have had the learning outcomes next to you to ensure that you had addressed these before submission. When it comes to your proposed article, at your side you should have the author guidelines for BJN (these are our criteria) to check you have included all that BJN expects from you. Always follow the correct submissions procedures; too often authors have not spent the 15 minutes that it takes to read the instructions to authors and as a result the author and the editor have to spend a significant amount of time later in the process.
A common problem faced by editors of journals is badly written articles. It can be challenging to try to work out what is going on in an article if the language and syntax are weak. You would not submit an assignment without having checked your spelling, punctuation and grammar, and the same applies here. The BJN editorial team will undertake proofreading at the editing stage but you should check your proposed article before submission. Try to submit it in the best condition you can so when the reviewers look at it they will not have to guess if what you are saying is what you actually mean—poor punctuation can alter meaning significantly.
As with an assignment, it is always useful to approach a critical friend and ask them to read your proposed submission, but be clear what it is you are asking them to do for you. Are you asking them to check technical content, grammar, syntax and punctuation or are you asking them to make suggestions for changes?
BJN has a double-blind peer review process in place that articles go through prior to being published. Your submission will be assessed and a decision made (just as your assignment was assessed). Changes are often required as the process progresses with the intention of making sure the proposed article meets the stringent standards that BJN is known for.
The take aways
When you are ready to submit your proposed article and you have worked through the process, have think about these hints and tips:
Conclusion
Writing for publication is a skill that you can develop with the right amount of determination and commitment. Writing for publication is not something that only academics or the chosen few can do, the assignment that you have written may well be suitable, with amendments, for publication in BJN. You can publish. You have something important to say, you are at the cutting edge of care delivery and you do make a difference to people's lives.
Finding your way around the publication process can be intimidating and confusing. The journey from idea to manuscript to publication can bring with it challenges, but seeing your work in print will outweigh this. The BJN team are here to help. BJN seeks articles that are a joy to read, a pleasure to write and a delight to review and we would be interested in receiving a potential article from you.