Effective Writing Skills for Social Work Students
Effective Writing Skills for Social Work Students
PHIL MUSSON
Series Editors: Jonathan Parker and Greta Bradley
Published in 2011 by Learning Matters Ltd.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior permission in writing from Learning Matters.
2011 Phil Musson
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ISBN: 978 0 85725 417 7
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Contents
Series Editors Preface
The Western world, including the UK, face numerous challenges over forthcoming years. These include dealing with the impact of an increasingly ageing population, with its attendant social care needs and working with the financial implications that such a changing demography brings. At the other end of the life-span the need for high quality child care, welfare and safeguarding services have been highlighted as society develops and responds to a changing complexion.
Migration has developed as a global phenomenon and we now live and work with the implications of international issues in our everyday and local lives. Recession and retention, and the impact of conflicts, both distant and proximal, also impact on the social and health care needs of populations. Often these issues influence how we construct our social services and determine what services we need to offer. It is likely that as a social worker you will work with a diverse range of people throughout your career, many of whom have experienced significant, even traumatic, events that require a professional and caring response. As well as working with individuals, however, you may be required to respond to the needs of a particular community disadvantaged by world events or excluded within local communitities because of assumptions made about them.
The importance of social work education came to the fore again following the inquiry into the death of baby Peter and the subsequent report from the Social Work Task Force set up in its aftermath. It is timely, also, to reconsider elements of social work education as is being taken forward by the Reform Board process in England indeed, we should view this as a continual striving for excellence! Reflection, revision and reform allow us to focus clearly on what knowledge is useful to engage with in learning to be a social worker. A core aspect of both education and practice relates to the ability to write effectively in, about and for practice; a skill that is honed and further developed in qualifying education. This book lends weight to the importance of writing as a central professional activity.
The books in this series repond to the agendas driven by changes brought about by professional body, Government and disciplinary review. They aim to build on and offer introductory texts based on up-to-date knowledge and to help communicate this in an accessible way preparing the ground for future study as you develop your social work career. The books are written by people passionate about social work and social services and aim to instil that passion on others. Within these challenging social and political contexts this book is important for all social workers in all fields of practice as they seek to reaffirm social works commitment to those it serves and to ensure other social work commands the respect of other professionals with whom practitioners work.
Professor Jonathan Parker, Bournemouth University
Greta Bradley, University of York
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank the editorial team from Learning Matters for their advice, support and guidance, and the numerous educators, colleagues and students who have contributed to my learning and continue to do so.
Introduction
My overarching aim in writing this book is to communicate with you, the reader, and to communicate in a clear, unambiguous manner that writing well matters, that it is important. I want you to consider the quality of your written expression as a form of how you present yourself. Irrespective of whether you are on an undergraduate or a masters programme or undertaking post-qualification studies, I want to encourage you to enjoy writing and to take pride in your written expression. In short, I want to ignite your enthusiasm to express yourself as well as you can at present and to strive to improve. The information contained in the book, if learnt from and employed, will help you develop the skills to write well. Most pieces of writing can be improved upon. Ultimately, the end of a piece of work has to come if it is ever to be finished, so a compromise has to be struck. However, a piece of work may still be as good as it can be even within the constraints of time, effort and skills available.
Although you are likely to be currently engaged in a process of vocational qualification, or post-qualifying study, you will soon come to realise that the social worker is never trained but is engaged in a process of continual professional development that will last the length of a career. Accordingly, you will not make a better investment in that career than learning how to write well at this point. This book is not written solely for students embarking on a qualifying degree in social work but also for practitioners involved in higher education through undertaking post-qualifying courses. Students should find this book highly relevant to their learning where they are required to express themselves in writing, but specifically in writing academically and for competence-based assessments and portfolios of practice.
The first chapter, Writing for university, is for students engaged in pre- and post-qualifying courses and addresses the academic component of writing at university. The skills required to write well at university are identified and you will be invited to undertake an appraisal of the skills you have so as to better identify areas for development. The chapter has an emphasis on how to achieve a good standard of written English and uses exercises and case studies to illustrate the correct use of grammar and punctuation. It includes guidance on interpreting the assignment task and understanding what is required. Errors that constitute academic offences are explained and the chapter concludes with advice regarding the presentation of your work.
The second chapter, Placement preparation and practice, is dedicated to issues concerning practice placements. It begins with identifying the criteria your practice will be assessed against while on placement and stresses the importance of acquiring a working appreciation of the occupational standards students are required to achieve. Consideration is given to placement choice, location and some practical factors when on placement. Important personnel and their roles within the placement structure are identified, as are significant meetings during the placement and the importance of preparing for them. The chapter concludes with examples of problems on placements and how to avoid them.
