Discourse genres and most frequent mistakes in academic reports of nursing students

Objective. To describe discourse genres most frequently used, and the most common mistakes in the construction of academic texts of nursing students of the Catholic University of Chile. Me­thodology. Qualitative study carried out in 2006. 68 papers (27 individuals and 41 groups) were chosen. To identify the main gen­re in each text, the paper was characterized taking into account textual, discursive and pragmatic criteria. To identify the most fre­quent mistakes, they were reviewed according to the course they came from. Problems or mistakes categories were obtained by saturation. Results. Discourse genres most frequently used by the students are case reports and bibliographic studies. Problems in the construction of the text were mainly linked to: inappropriate use of vocabulary, academic informality, and deficient construction of sentences. Conclusion. The level of development of writing abilities is descriptive, existing deficiencies that deserve to be studied, aiming to develop strategies to decrease this problem. Key words: writing; students, nursing; education.