Introduction
•An introduction acts as a ‘roadmap’ to your reader. It helps them to understand where you are going in your assignment, how you will get there, and what they will see along the way. There are several distinct parts to an introduction:
–Introducing the topic or subject area - The main aim of the first part of any introduction is to introduce the topic or subject area, and the most important concept(s) relevant to answering the question.
–Aim or purpose - Indicate the aim or purpose of the assignment
–Structure or overall plan - Signal how you will present information in the assignment. In what order will the key points appear?
–Limits or scope of the assignment - Mention any limits of your assignment. What will you emphasise? Will you be intentionally leaving anything out?
Argument or thesis statement - The final part of the introduction needs to clearly identify your argument or thesis statement. Some useful ways to signal your argument include: ‘This paper argues that…’; This essay contends that…’; ‘It will be argued that
Body
•The body is where you make points to support your argument. It consists of paragraphs structured to reflect your critical thinking about the question and the chosen order for presenting your argument.
•Each paragraph should have a topic sentence, a body, and a concluding sentence. Start each paragraph with a topic sentence. This is just a sentence that expresses the main idea of the paragraph.
•The body of the paragraph contain explanations, evidence and examples to support the key point of the paragraph. Supporting evidence is used to justify, explain or develop your argument.
•A concluding sentence links the main idea of the paragraph back to your argument and to the assignment topic.
Conclusion
•The conclusion is a summary of all the main points discussed in the assignment. It is also where recommendations may be made, your argument is evaluated, or future patterns of change are forecast.
•Importantly, your conclusion should:
–Contain no new ideas or information;
–Relate key points directly back to the question/argument.
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Types of Clinical Questions
We have been looking at PICO as a tool for creating focused clinical questions. It is important to note there are slightly different versions of this concept, depending on the nature of your search - you may be more interested in quantitative or qualitative reviews.
If your topic gives rise to a question that is best answered using quantitative research evidence, PICOT would be the best tool to use to construct the clinical question.
An example of using PICOT in this way:
We have been looking at PICO as a tool for creating focused clinical questions. It is important to note there are slightly different versions of this concept, depending on the nature of your search - you may be more interested in quantitative or qualitative reviews.
If your topic gives rise to a question that is best answered using quantitative research evidence, PICOT would be the best tool to use to construct the clinical question.
An example of using PICOT in this way:
ypes of Clinical Questions
We have been looking at PICO as a tool for creating focused clinical questions. It is important to note there are slightly different versions of this concept, depending on the nature of your search - you may be more interested in quantitative or qualitative reviews.
If your topic gives rise to a question that is best answered using quantitative research evidence, PICOT would be the best tool to use to construct the clinical question.
An example of using PICOT in this way: