Writing Guide

Professional social workers create a variety of documents, including proposals, case reports, and treatment itineraries. Social work programs prepare students for these tasks through writing assignments such as research papers and essays. To prepare for these writing assignments, students should have a basic understanding of grammar, punctuation, citation styles, and essay formats before entering a social work program.

Professional social workers create a variety of documents, including proposals, case reports, and treatment itineraries.

Social workers handle vital information, which makes the ability to communicate clearly in writing a crucial skill. For example, a child welfare worker gathers information concerning the wellbeing of a child. If the phrasing in the related case report is too complicated, the professional may overlook safety details, which could endanger the child. Additionally, concise wording is important. Wordy documents can take excessive amounts of time to read, which could prevent social workers from considering other cases on a suitable schedule. To master the social work writing style, students should learn to provide necessary information succinctly.

Social work programs may begin assessing writing abilities during the application process through personal statements, so applicants should polish their writing skills before applying.

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Types of writing social workers will do in school, personal statements.

Many applications require a personal statement that provides in-depth information highlighting the candidate’s qualifications and positive traits. Whereas a resume may briefly reference a volunteer opportunity at an organization, a personal statement could describe lessons learned while volunteering or elaborate on personal contributions that benefited the organization.

Schools examine these qualifications while reviewing statements, but they also consider the statements as social work writing samples and evaluate each applicant’s writing skills. For this reason, candidates should proofread these documents and include the standard introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. By following these practices, applicants demonstrate their understanding of college-level writing concepts.

Applicants should focus on strengths and experiences related to social work and avoid vague statements and cliches. Instead of noting their lifelong passion for the field, a student could address a single incident that sparked interest in social work. The school may provide a prompt on which applicants should base their statements. These prompts may involve career goals or ambitions in the social work field.

If the school lists personal statements as optional, applicants should consider submitting a statement to demonstrate their work ethic. However, if the school makes no mention of personal statements, students should refrain from submitting one, given the amount of application materials each school must review each year.

Social work courses may include essay examinations during which learners must answer questions in a limited time frame. Students rarely see the questions in advance. To prepare, students should become familiar with all major course components by attending classes, taking clear notes, and keeping up with readings and assignments. Study groups may also be beneficial.

To prepare, students should become familiar with all major course components by attending classes, taking clear notes, and keeping up with readings and assignments.

During the exam, students should begin by outlining the thesis and supporting evidence. This outline guides the student through the writing process and ensures the response remains on-track. These assessments often require three main supporting points, so students may include five paragraphs within these outlines: the introduction, three body paragraphs, and the conclusion.

Learners should also use time-management techniques during these assessments. Students may allot a certain amount of time for each paragraph, plus time to proofread. Using this strategy, students can write and polish each paragraph.

Candidates should carefully answer the assigned question, ensuring they read the question correctly. A single word can alter the prompt’s meaning. For example, an essay explaining how an event happened is different than one detailing why the event happened.

Research Papers

Whereas an essay may include personal opinions, a research paper focuses on facts. For example, an essay discussing a novel could include the student’s thoughts about the work. A research paper would use scholarly evidence to examine aspects of the novel, such as themes, characters, and historical significance.

Essays and research papers also differ in length. An essay may require only five paragraphs. A research paper, however, may be 10 pages or longer.

Students in social work courses can research topics such as drug or alcohol issues, government policies, child welfare, community involvement, and mental wellness. Social work research papers often include sections for methodology, literature, and research results, as well as an abstract and a reference list that fulfills APA requirements.

Students should use a variety of primary and secondary sources when writing research papers. Citing multiple sources reinforces the student’s claims. However, students should refrain from relying too heavily on quoted material; excessive quotations implies the writer does not understand the topic well enough to paraphrase the source information.

Learners may also submit papers to tutoring services before submitting to reduce the chances of spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors.

How Do You Write an Essay?

Social work programs may require various writing assignments to prepare students to complete professional writing for social work practice. Each form of academic writing serves a distinct purpose, and an understanding of various writing styles provides a foundation to help students during these assignments.

Narrative papers often depict personal experiences, such as memorable vacations or first attempts at hobbies. Narrative works also include opinion pieces, such as book reports. When writing a narrative essay, students should have a clear focus.

Expository writing explores a specific topic and requires the writer to carefully examine the topic. The facts presented in an expository piece can come from research or, if the assignment’s structure limits research time, through means such as logic or an example. Cause and effect pieces, compare and contrast works, and process descriptions may all qualify as expository writing if they are meant to present information. All expository pieces should include a thesis and logical transitions.

Persuasive writing requires students to take a stance on a topic and to support that stance with evidence. Research is crucial to persuasive writing, and students should incorporate multiple sources to support their thesis. Additionally, writers should present countering opinions and prove the instability of opposing viewpoints through facts, logic, and examples. Ultimately, persuasive writing should convince readers that the writer’s position is the accurate stance on the topic.

Comparative

These assignments require students to compare two or more similar concepts, such as political positions, marketing plans, or fictional themes. Professors may assign topics or allow students to select their own. Before writing, learners should brainstorm similarities and organize them into body paragraphs. For instance, a student comparing two artistic pieces may construct paragraphs about color, medium, and setting.

Cause and Effect

This type of paper explains a presumed cause for a specific occurrence. For example, a student may claim that limited health insurance options lead to untreated illnesses in the United States. With this topic, the student could divide supporting evidence into separate paragraphs, such as the cost of health insurance, the benefits of health insurance, and the process of finding insurance information. Using this strategy, the writer covers various health insurance problems to verify the paper’s main point.

Citations Guide for Social Work Students

Using source information without proper citation leads to plagiarism, the act of claiming a source’s ideas without giving the source due credit. Consequences for plagiarism can include failing assignments, failing courses, being expelled from school, and enduring a lawsuit. Since departments require different citation styles, degree candidates should ensure they use the proper citation format for each assignment.

American Psychological Association (APA) Style

APA format was established in 1929 to create a common format for writing. These guidelines allowed writers to more easily interpret one another’s findings. Professionals in fields including psychology, criminology, and business use APA style.

APA format requires specific headers, page numbers, a cover page, an abstract, divided sections, and a reference list. APA in-text citations specify the author’s last name, the year of publication, and the page number. Students may substitute these details for the work’s title, “n.d.” (“no date”), and a paragraph number or section title, respectively, if the primary information is not available.

The company decided that the new marketing policy was “their best idea in 20 years” (Simmons & Hatfield, 2016, p. 23).

Chicago Manual of Style (CMS)

In 1906, the Chicago University Press established this citation style, which professionals in fields including history and philosophy employ today. Students following Chicago style may use in-text citations but often use footnotes or endnotes instead. Chicago style also requires a specifically structured cover page, page numbers, and a bibliography.

Footnotes and endnotes resemble bibliography entries but have different punctuation. In a bibliography, students use periods to separate a book’s publisher, publication place, and publication year. In footnotes and endnotes, this information is in parentheses. Additionally, endnotes and footnotes should include page numbers.

The company decided that the new marketing policy was “their best idea in 20 years” (Simmons and Hatfield 2016, 23).

Modern Language Association (MLA) Format

Established in 1883, the Modern Language Association supplies guidelines that many English, literature, and communication departments adopt.

MLA format includes a works cited page at the end of the document and specific page headers and numbers in the upper right-hand corner of each page. Basic assignment information, such as the student’s name, the date, and the course title, appears in the upper left-hand corner of the first page. MLA does not require a cover page, which separates this format from other styles. MLA in-text citations include the author’s last name and the page number.

The company decided that the new marketing policy was “their best idea in 20 years” (Simmons and Hatfield 23).

Associated Press (AP) Style

This style, established in 1977, covers wording, organization, and source documentation. Journalists and news reporters often use this format.

AP style uses brief paragraphs and concise sentences to quicken the pace of the writing. The style requires writers to abbreviate certain words, use a person’s first name only on the initial mention, and eliminate titles. Writers should also replace vague words with more specific options.

Instead of using parenthetical citations, writers can reference the sources in dialogue format. This detail and the lack of reference list are AP style’s distinct elements.

The company decided that the new marketing policy was “their best idea in 20 years,” according to Simmons and Hatfield.

The Best Writing Style for Social Work Majors

Most types of writing in social work require learners and professionals to use APA format. This style is ideal for social work professionals, who often work with documents containing vital information. When dealing with these types of documents, clear details and concise wording are essential. The rigidness of APA style helps writers provide an organized overview of the document’s topic.

Common Writing Mistakes Students Make

Active vs. passive voice.

When writing in active voice, writers state the doer of the action before the sentence’s verb. An example of an active construction would be, “He wrote the book.” Passive voice places the object of the action prior to the verb: “The book was written by him.” Though the information remains the same, active voice states the message more concisely.

Passive voice is a style error, not a grammar issue, and can even be useful in certain situations. Writers may use passive voice when the noun or pronoun undergoing the action supplies the sentence’s emphasis, such as in the following sentence: “The U.S. was founded in 1776.” Because passive voice serves certain purposes and has no technical grammar flaws, using unnecessary passive constructions is a common error.

In most cases, students should choose active voice for concision and clarity. Consider the sentence, “The food was enjoyed.” The reader cannot tell who enjoyed the food, whereas an active sentence with an equal number of words answers this question: “Jane enjoyed the food.”

Punctuation

Punctuation marks include periods, commas, semicolons, dashes, and quotation marks, and confusing their purposes may lead to flawed sentence structures. For example, a semicolon joins two independent clauses, or phrases that can stand alone: “The dog barked; it was loud.” Using a comma in this situation constitutes a grammatical error called a comma splice: “The dog barked, it was loud.”

Punctuation missteps can also alter meaning. In the sentence, “Please stop, David,” the comma before the name directs David to stop. “Please stop David,” on the other hand, would instruct an unknown person to stop David from performing a task.

Writers may confuse colons and semicolons. Colons indicate a pause before an emphasized idea, such as in the sentence,”She knew where to drive: Montana.” The colon places importance on the destination, Montana. Semicolons, on the other hand, may separate nested lists, as in the following sentence.

“The attendants choose between hiking, swimming, and basketball; running, yoga, and tennis; or weightlifting, bicycling, and baseball.”

Writers should become familiar with punctuation rules to craft accurate and clear sentences.

Grammar refers to language rules for phrasing and wording, including concepts such as verb tense and noun-pronoun agreement. Students may struggle with grammatical details, since the language includes irregularities that alter guidelines. For example, constructing past tense verbs often involves adding “d” or “ed.” However, irregular verbs use different formats; the past tense of “eat” is “ate,” and the past tense of “go” is “went.”

Writers may also struggle with homophones, which sound similar but have distinct meanings. Commonly confused homophones are “there,” “their,” and “they’re,” which indicates a place, shows possession, and is a contraction for “they are,” respectively. To avoid grammatical mistakes, learners should thoroughly study the language’s structure.

Writing Resources for Social Work Students

  • Paradigm Online Writing Assistant This website guides learners through various stages of the writing process, including topic selection, revisions, and idea organization. Additionally, students may find information on different types of writing, such as argumentative works and informal pieces.
  • Write Content Solutions This website provides tips on grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure and assists students with researching and citing sources. Students can improve their writing skills using practice worksheets available through the website.
  • Purdue Online Writing Lab The Purdue OWL offers information on the writing process and assists applicants to undergraduate and graduate programs. Students can explore MLA, APA, AP, and Chicago formats through the writing lab.
  • Writer’s Digest This website provides articles on creating pieces in specific genres, for individuals with particular levels of writing expertise. Topics include homophones and time management. The website also provides information about writing conferences and publications.
  • TutorMe This website assists students struggling with essay structure or citation format. Tutors may help learners polish their writing through grammar and punctuation checks and general proofreading.

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How to write more critically in social work assignments

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Writing Guide for Social Workers

Social workers serve as a link between clients and community resources, providing vital human services that assist underserved populations. Writing is a key part of the job; social workers frequently write documents such as assessment reports, case notes, letters, emails, and support plans. Often, social workers are responsible for procuring and providing services for clients, and their writing skills must be strong to enable the best support possible. The social work field has a reputation for bureaucratic red tape and paperwork, but it’s up to skilled social workers to navigate these systems and secure the most useful resources and social services for their clients.

This guide examines the ins and outs of professional writing for social work practice, exploring the main types of writing you’ll likely encounter while studying social work in college. Along with a breakdown of common types of writing, you’ll also find information on style and citation formats relevant to academic writing. Additionally, this guide includes common writing mistakes to avoid, resources to help you improve your general writing skills, and writing resources specifically for social workers.

Types of Writing Social Workers Will Do in School

Personal statements.

The personal statement is a written representation of your interests and abilities, giving colleges a sense of who you are and why you’re interested in social work. Specific topic requirements vary between schools, but the statement of purpose typically calls for you to describe your personal and professional experiences and relate them to the goals of a specific social work program. Schools also use the statement as a social work writing sample, gauging your career motives as well as your creativity, self-awareness, critical thinking skills, and overall writing ability. Common prompts may include describing your background, the development of your interest in social work, your experience with diversity, or your work experience in the field.

A strong personal statement answers all required prompts in a cohesive narrative. The essay should explain your experiences and how they relate to your aspirations while avoiding clichés and overly generalized statements. Almost everyone who goes into social work wants to help people; distinguish yourself from other applicants by explaining precisely why and how you want to help, and what makes this desire unique. Some schools don’t require the statement of purpose, but you should always complete one if you have the option, as it gives the admissions committee a clearer sense of who you are as a student and a social worker.

In many social work programs, exams take the form of essays completed during class. Professors rarely announce the essay topics in advance, but you can prepare by examining the syllabus and determining major course ideas and themes. You may also be able to anticipate potential essay topics by examining previous course materials and looking for patterns in the type of questions the professor assigns. A study group can also help you prepare for essay exams by reviewing the course curriculum and devising possible essay topics with other students.

Before you begin writing an essay, you should first determine exactly what the prompt asks, which ensures that you’re fully prepared to answer the question. Next, compose an outline with a thesis and at least three main points that support your idea. Ideally, you should spend 10-20% of your allotted time devising your main ideas and drawing up an outline. Essay exams must follow the same logical progression of ideas that characterizes conventional expository writing, so be sure to organize your supporting paragraphs properly. While writing the essay should occupy most of your exam time, try to give yourself a few minutes at the end of the exam to proofread your work and make minor revisions.

Research Papers

Of all social work writing, the research paper ranks among the most common. You’ll likely complete several extensive research papers throughout the course of your studies, requiring you to examine and synthesize many information sources on a specific topic. While a research paper is similar to an essay, several key factors distinguish the two forms: an essay typically expresses your own perspective, while a research paper uses the work of others to draw new conclusions on a topic. Research papers are typically longer than essays and require a greater depth of knowledge on a topic. Potential topics for social work research papers vary as much as the field itself and may cover subjects like substance abuse, child and family services, community organizing, or education.

Most research papers either make an argument on a topic or explore overall perspectives on a topic, and some do both. Like other forms of writing, a research paper needs a thesis and supporting information, though the thesis often changes as further research occurs. Since research papers call for substantial information gathering and presentation, outlining and organization are particularly important, and a topic must be complex enough to sustain significant research.

How Do You Write an Essay?

Regardless of your area of study, you’ll likely complete several types of writing throughout the course of your degree. Different essay styles call for different approaches, and the following section outlines the most common essay forms you’re likely to encounter, along with tips for writing them.

  • Narrative : A narrative essay allows you to tell a personal story, typically with more freedom than most forms of writing. However, the narrative essay must fulfill certain requirements, such as telling a cohesive, interesting story with a beginning, middle, and end. A narrative essay must also serve a purpose; readers need to understand why you’re telling your story and come away with a message or lesson.
  • Expository : The expository essay requires you to explore a topic and make a compelling argument based on your research. An expository essay begins with a clear thesis statement, moves into body paragraphs that support your argument, and ends with a conclusion that sums up your main ideas. Expository writing encompasses many styles, including comparative writing and cause-and-effect writing.
  • Persuasive : Similar to the expository essay, the persuasive essay requires you to research a topic and make an argument based on your assessment. However, persuasive essays differ in that they require more extensive research and often entail more writing. Expository essays may occur as in-class assignments or as parts of exams, while persuasive essays often function as final assignments with more time to complete. A persuasive essay still requires a strong, evidence-based thesis and extensive supporting details in its body paragraphs.
  • Comparative : A comparative essay examines the similarities and differences between two or more items, which could be anything from political systems to literary texts. After analyzing these items, you must develop a thesis that makes an argument about their similarities or differences. Some comparative essays focus more on similarities to develop a thesis, while others focus on differences. Like other essay forms, the comparative essay needs well-organized points that support a thesis.
  • Cause and Effect : This essay type examines a certain event or pattern and attempts to analyze the factors that caused it, making an argument about why the event occurred in such a way. For example, an essay on the Great Depression and the stock market crash of 1929 might examine the various economic and social factors that led to the depression, making an argument about how these factors functioned together to create the situation.

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Citations guide for social work students.

Citation plays an important role in all forms of academic writing, as it ensures that writers properly attribute their research sources and avoid plagiarism. Failure to cite your sources properly can cause major problems in your academic career, and even unintentional plagiarism can result in heavy penalties in the academic world, particularly at higher levels of study. This section outlines the major citation styles used for academic writing, highlighting key differences and presenting examples of each style’s citation format.

American Psychological Association Style

APA style is the citation method of choice in most social science courses, and this format generally serves as the default social work writing style. Since research in the social sciences constantly changes, APA emphasizes the dates of sources to help readers determine their recency and relevance. For in-text citations, APA style uses the author’s name, the date of publication, and the page number. Book citations used in a reference list typically include the author’s name, year of publication, book title, city of publication, and the publisher.

“If the manner of a man’s dying seems arbitrary, his morality is inescapable” (Anderson, 1983, p. 10).

Anderson, B. (1983). Imagined Communities. New York, New York: Verso.

Chicago Manual of Style

The Chicago style ranks among the most comprehensive and complex of formatting choices, and it often serves the needs of high-level academic writing, particularly in the field of history. Unlike most other styles, Chicago calls for the use of either footnotes or endnotes for in-text citations. Numbered in-text citations correspond to notes that indicate the author’s name, book title, publisher information, publication date, and page number. Chicago style formatting also typically includes a formal bibliography at the end of the text.

“If the manner of a man’s dying seems arbitrary, his morality is inescapable.”[1] [1] Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities (New York: Verso, 1983), 10.

Anderson, Benedict. Imagined Communities. New York: Verso, 1983.

Modern Language Association Format

MLA formatting most commonly occurs in humanities and liberal arts writing, such as English and philosophy. This format emphasizes authorship, with in-text citations that indicate the author’s name and page number at the end of each quotation. For reference lists, MLA format calls for writers to include the author’s name, the title of the work, the publisher, and the year of publication.

“If the manner of a man’s dying seems arbitrary, his morality is inescapable” (Anderson 10).

Anderson, Benedict. Imagined Communities. Verso, 1983.

Associated Press Style

AP style isn’t commonly used for academic writing, but you may find yourself using this style if you’re writing a more journalistic piece. Created for newspapers and other forms of mass media, the AP style emphasizes consistency, clarity, accuracy, and brevity. Since it’s not academic, there aren’t concrete rules for citing particular types of texts, but generally the style calls for the citation of a source directly before or after a quote, often using the words “said” or “stated.”

“If the manner of a man’s dying seems arbitrary, his morality is inescapable,” said Anderson.

The Best Writing Style for Social Work Majors

Social work combines many academic disciplines, but typically, social work courses call for assignments to be formatted in APA style, though this may vary between schools, programs, and individual professors. Your faculty will likely indicate which format they prefer in the course syllabus, but it never hurts to ask. Always be sure to follow formatting instructions exactly, as professors may penalize you for disregarding specific formatting requests.

Common Writing Mistakes Students Make

Active vs. passive voice.

One of the most common mistakes among developing writers is the use of passive voice, which makes sentences wordier, less immediate, and less clear. In the active voice, the sentence’s subject performs the action. Using passive voice, the subject receives the action. Passive construction occurs everywhere in writing, but there are easy strategies to help you locate it and convert your sentences to active voice.

Certain keywords and phrases, such as “by,” “was,” and “it was” often indicate the use of the passive voice. When revising your writing, look for these words and determine if they form part of a passive sentence. For example, if you notice the word “by” connected to the subject of the sentence, see if you can alter the construction so the subject occurs closer to the beginning of the sentence.

Punctuation

Improper comma usage often leads to confusion in writing. One of the most common errors is the comma splice, which occurs when a writer connects two independent clauses using only a comma. For example: “I don’t like accounting class, it’s too difficult.” Both “I don’t like accounting class” and “it’s too difficult” are independent clauses, meaning they can stand as separate sentences. To link these clauses correctly, a comma isn’t enough; you can often correct a comma splice by either creating two separate sentences, using a semicolon to link the two clauses together, or using a coordinating conjunction like “because.”

Incorrect semicolon and colon usage also causes problems for many writers. While they function similarly, these two punctuation marks serve different purposes. A semicolon links two separate, but related, thoughts: “I’m glad I’m going to Europe; I really need a vacation.” A colon typically sets off a list or an example: “I always bring three things on vacation: my camera, my suitcase, and my sunglasses.”

Grammar mistakes hinder writers of all skill levels. In an abstract sense, grammar forms the entire structure of a language and its usage, but in practice, many simple rules exist to help you keep track of and avoid common mistakes. For example, many writers struggle with the use of there, their, and they’re, but the differences in the words are quite pronounced. There indicates a location. Their is the possessive form of they. Finally, they’re is a contraction of “they” and “are.”

Another common grammatical mistake hinges on the confusion between its and it’s. The word its is a possessive that indicates ownership. On the other hand, it’s is a contraction of “it” and “is.”

Writing Resources for Social Work Students

  • Purdue OWL : Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab offers support for all types of writing, with a wealth of instructional material that covers general writing strategies and the specific facets of academic writing.
  • WiSP : Writing in Social Work Practice seeks to examine the role of writing in the field of social work, with the goal of improving the overall efficiency and effectiveness in social work writing practices.
  • Foundation Center : Grant writing plays a major role in social work, and the Foundation Center offers resources to connect social workers with philanthropic organizations and improve grant writing skills.
  • Grammar Girl : Casual and conversational, Grammar Girl offers general writing tips for all types of writers. Most articles highlight common writing mistakes and offer strategies for recognizing and fixing them.
  • Council on Foundations : Another major resource for grant writers, the Council on Foundations offers online learning and mentorship services that help social workers develop their grant writing and public policy knowledge.

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Introduction to Writing for Social Work

Example social work papers, resources for social work writing.

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by Linda Macdonald and Robin Greene

In the field of Social Work, you may be asked to write in a variety of forms-- research proposals and reports, academic essays, case studies, and reflective writings, for example-- and for a variety of audiences-- for example, your professors, your colleagues, or public agencies. As in any discipline, it is essential to understand the forms of writing common in your field. 

This page is dedicated to the types of writing required in Social Work. While many elements of writing in Social Work overlap with other fields (for example, the basic form of the essay) and are addressed elsewhere in this LibGuide, other forms are particular to Social Work (for example, critical reflective writing). The Writing Centre has tutors familiar with the work in your field. If you need help in addition to what you find here, please contact us.

  • Reflective Paper
  • Sample paper for Social Work Social Work courses often require writing that combines the use of secondary sources with reflexive writing. This student paper exemplifies many of the qualities of a good paper in Social Work. The assignment was to look at an author and theory, to apply this theory to a particular group, and to reflect on one's own interactions with that group. The sample is annotated, offering comments on the techniques and organisational strategies the writer employs.
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Social workers provide assistance to populations in need, linking them to key resources and ensuring that they receive the help they need. As social workers, writing is one of our most powerful advocacy tools available and is vital to solving the demanding social problems we are currently facing. Success in writing can be key to gaining your clients the help and resources they need—writing in Social Work has real-world consequences!

Writing in Social Work is, for the most part, good writing in most contexts. Social Work writing needs to be clear, organized, targeted to a specific audience, on point, and use sources wisely. Research needs to be credible and drawn from credible Social Work journals in the United States.

There are two types of writing in social work: practitioner-based writing and scholarly writing. The practitioner is experienced-based and may conduct interviews with clients for writing reports; generally, this form of writing is more technical and precise. The scholar uses research and relies on sources and formal organization to compose texts and make original contributions to the body of knowledge within the field.

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CLEAR —Use direct language

  • For example, “This person is at risk.” This is JARGON. It is not clear what the person is at risk for. The statement is too general.
  • Instead, describe the condition. “This person likely to relapse in their drug use” provides more description about the precise problem. Be specific.
  • Use appropriate terminology. Make sure that your intended audience will know what the specific words mean. If you are unsure, always opt for simpler language.
  • Employ a simple sentence structure. Avoid using multiple clauses within a sentence as this can inhibit comprehension.

ORGANIZED —Have a clear beginning, middle, and end along with a logical progression of ideas.

  • Your introduction should answer the following questions: What is the reader looking at?; Why is it important?; What is the purpose?
  • The body of your text should develop your points fully. Each paragraph should have a main idea and that main idea should be fully developed.
  • Consider following the Assertion-Support Analysis (ASA) model when constructing your body paragraphs. Begin with an assertion that makes an arguable claim. Then provide support via observational or scholarly evidence. Most importantly, remember to provide analysis that explains why the evidence supports your assertion—readers will not always make the same connections as you!
  • The conclusion should pull your ideas together, restate what you have addressed, and provide any relevant implications from your work.

TARGETED TO AN AUDIENCE —Know who you are writing to and the most effective methods for conveying information to them.

  • Go beyond your instructor as audience to reach a general social work audience. Do not assume any specific knowledge unless your instructor has indicated you are dealing with a specialized audience.
  • Be aware of genre. The assignment will determine whether you will be writing as a practitioner or as a scholar.
  • Practitioners do not rely on APA style rigidly.
  • Practitioners are experience-based. They are reporting on interviews and observations in order to write summaries and analyses.
  • Practitioners write in a technical fashion. Clarity of communication is critical and short, succinct sections are the most impactful. Be brief but specific.
  • The art of writing as a practitioner is in pulling out the relevant material for a reader so that they can make informed decisions.
  • Scholars rely on APA style and adhere precisely to its standards.
  • A more formal organizational structure is used for scholarly writing, usually including an introduction, literature review, methods (potentially), and conclusion.
  • Writing for a scholarly audience relies on placing credible sources in conversation with one another to advance knowledge.

STAY ON POINT ——Avoid unnecessary detail.

  • Move beyond the descriptive to the most pertinent, relevant facts.
  • Avoid information that has nothing to do with your text.
  • Support your observations and opinions with evidence and details. (e.g. “The house is dirty” is not supported by evidence.) Be specific with what you observe and find. (e.g. “There were dishes stacked three feet high in the sink, and all of the furniture had a 1-inch layer of dust on it” provides evidentiary support for your observations and opinions.)

USE SOURCES WISELY ——Conduct proper research and present your findings professionally.

  • Consult a librarian—they are more than willing to help.
  • Employ databases and be specific with your search terms in order to ensure specific results.
  • Use credible journals and books from the United States. If you are unsure if a journal or book is credible, look for Social Work in its title.
  • For online and other print sources, aim for information and materials which come from reputable professional organizations, non-profits, or government sources. Avoid sites by organizations that do not have standing in the Social Work community as well as personal sites.
  • The more often a source is cited, the more likely it is credible.
  • When you find a strong source, look up the sources from its reference page. You do not have to reinvent the wheel!
  • Draw from sources that have been published in the last 10 years unless you have good reason to use older sources.
  • Paraphrase whenever possible. Avoid direct quotations unless absolutely necessary. (Unless the specific words gain you something a paraphrase cannot, opt to paraphrase.)

Helpful Resources

The UWC’s APA Jumpstart APA PowerPoint Purdue OWL APA Purdue OWL Professional, Technical Writing

Need help with an assignment? Click here to make an appointment with a tutor

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Help with writing assignments

You can improve your skills at writing assignments for your subject area in a number of ways: 

  • Read the guidance or view the online tutorial on this page.  They both go through the TIME model (Targeted, In-depth, Measured, Evidence-based) to explain what's required in academic writing.
  • Attend one of our Succeed@Tees workshops. We run a workshop on academic writing, as well as on other types of writing (including critical writing, reflective writing, report writing).  See Succeed@Tees workshops  for more information, including a list of dates and times.
  • Book a one-to-one tutorial with our learning and development team . We can provide guidance on your structure and writing style.

Guidance on academic writing

Evidence-based.

  • Bringing it all together
  • Finally ...

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  • Writing an assignment takes time, more time than you may expect.  Just because you find yourself spending many weeks on an assignment doesn’t mean that you’re approaching it in the wrong way.
  • It also takes time to develop the skills to write well, so don’t be discouraged if your early marks aren’t what you’d hoped for.  Use the feedback from your previous assignments to improve.
  • Different types of assignments require different styles, so be prepared for the need to continue to develop your skills.

We’ve broken down TIME into 4 key elements of academic writing: Targeted, In-depth, Measured and Evidence-based.

time togos

  • What is an academic piece of work

Target logo

Your assignment needs to be targeted .  It should:

  • Be focused on the questions and criteria
  • Make a decision
  • Follow an argument
  • How to be targeted
  • Academic keywords or clue words

in-depth logo

Your assignment needs to be in-depth .  You should consider your questions and criteria thoroughly, thinking about all possible aspects, and including the argument both for and against different viewpoints.

You should:

  • Identify topic areas
  • Plan your assignment
  • Think about your introduction and conclusion
  • How to be in-depth
  • How to read quickly

measured logo

An academic writing style is measured. By this, we mean that it’s:

  • Emotionally neutral
  • Formal – written in the third person and in full sentences
  • How to be measured

evidence-based logo

Your assignment needs to be evidence-based . You should:

  • Reference all the ideas in your work
  • Paraphrase your evidence
  • Apply critical thinking to your evidence
  • How to be evidence-based
  • How to paraphrase

Once you’ve found all your evidence, and have decided what to say in each section, you need to write it up as paragraphs.  Each paragraph should be on a single topic, making a single point.  A paragraph is usually around a third of a page. 

We find Godwin’s (2014) WEED model very helpful for constructing paragraphs.

W is for What

You should begin your paragraph with the topic or point that you’re making, so that it’s clear to your lecturer.  Everything in the paragraph should fit in with this opening sentence.

E is for Evidence  

The middle of your paragraph should be full of evidence – this is where all your references should be incorporated.  Make sure that your evidence fits in with your topic.

E is for Examples

Sometimes it’s useful to expand on your evidence.  If you’re talking about a case study, the example might be how your point relates to the particular scenario being discussed.

D is for Do

You should conclude your paragraph with the implications of your discussion.  This gives you the opportunity to add your commentary, which is very important in assignments which require you to use critical analysis. 

So, in effect, each paragraph is like a mini-essay, with an introduction, main body and conclusion.

Allow yourself some TIME to proofread your assignment.  You’ll probably want to proofread it several times. 

You should read it through at least once for sense and structure, to see if your paragraphs flow.  Check that your introduction matches the content of your assignment.  You’ll also want to make sure that you’ve been concise in your writing style. 

You’ll then need to read it again to check for grammatical errors, typos and that your references are correct.

It’s best if you can create some distance from your assignment by coming back to it after a few days. It’s also often easier to pick out mistakes if you read your work aloud.

  • How to proofread

Online support for academic writing

We have a skills guide dedicated to academic writing , with an online tutorial and an  Adobe visual guide  to support you.

School Guidelines for Academic Writing and Presentation of Assessed Written Work

  • School of Health & Life Sciences Student Guidance for the Presentation of Assessed Written Work (2021)

Tutorials for academic writing and study skills support

For help with writing or academic skills, book a tutorial with one of our learning development team: Yvonne or Sue. We can offer support face to face at our Middlesbrough campus, via email or Teams. 

Please book a time via the link below. Please indicate on the form what type of appointment you would like.  If you want email support, you don't need to be free at that time, but we will use that time to read through your work and then send feedback for you to review. Please send your work before the time slot.

If you want Teams or face-to-face support, please send the work the day before, so we can read through it and then we will use the appointment time chatting to you about the work.

Book a tutorial at  https://tees.libcal.com/appointments?lid=11&g=156

Appointment are released 2 weeks in advance, so please check daily for new appointments or cancellations

Yvonne Cotton

If there are no convenient times available please contact: [email protected] or [email protected].

Booking tutorial appointments

Appointments become available two weeks in advance.

We recommend making an appointment as soon as possible, as demand is always very high.  If no appointments are available, you can be added to the waiting list for email-only tutorials.  Requests will be prioritised based on need, so if you want to access this support, please email [email protected] with the following information:

⦁          Your hand-in date or last date when feedback would be useful

⦁          Reasons why your tutorial is necessary

⦁          Your draft work and criteria (attached)

Please note, that if you are on the waiting list, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to read your work.

We have online support available via the skills guides in the Learning Hub section of the library website: https://libguides.tees.ac.uk/LearningHub?b=s&group_id=6925

 that may help. Please let us know whether you have already looked at this guidance.

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Writing social work papers

Social work papers should.

  • Address all parts of the prompt.
  • Be concise and clear. 
  • 12 pt, Times New Roman font
  • Double-spaced with 1” margins
  • No longer required in APA 7, however check for instructor specific instructions.
  • Page numbering starts on the cover page
  • Double-spaced
  • ½ ” hanging indent from the margin on all lines after the first in an entry
  • See “References” page for examples

Dos and Don’ts

  • Passive: The experiment was conducted by Roberts.
  • Active: Roberts conducted the experiment.
  • Know what type of paper you are writing. “I” and “we” are appropriate and necessary for reflective essays but not for research papers. In research papers, use “I” and “we” sparingly or not at all, and only use “I” and “we” when referring to researchers, not when referring to people in general.
  • Use person-first language. For example, “people with autism” instead of “autistics.”
  • Remember that “data” are always plural.
  • Use the word “participants” instead of “subjects.”
  • Keep your audience in mind.

Don’t

  • Use direct quotes (they can be used, but should be used sparingly. Paraphrase whenever possible).
  • Use absolutes such as “completely,” “absolutely,” “always,” etc.
  • Use immodest expressions such as “prove”. Use words such as “suggest,” “support,” “show,” or “indicate” instead.
  • Use overly complex sentence structures. The goal is clarity.
  • Use colloquial or informal writing style, especially slang.
  • Use contractions.
  • The male pronoun (he) does not refer to everyone.
  • Define people by what they aren’t. Rather than saying someone is “non-White,” say they are Latino, for example.
  • Assume readers will know what you mean. Define all acronyms, jargon, theories and ideas fully.

Know what is expected in common types of writing

Research papers.

  • Introduction
  • Literature review (past tense: “Roberts showed” or present perfect tense: “researchers have shown”)
  • Methods (past tense or future tense in the case of a proposal)
  • Results (past tense)
  • Discussion (present tense)
  • Appendices (if needed)

Reflective papers

  • Summarize reactions and feelings regarding an experience
  • Analyze the meaning of the experience
  • Use “I” statements
  • Do not require thesis statements
  • Do have an introduction, body and conclusion

Social policy analysis

  • Goal is to critically evaluate the effectiveness of a social policy.
  • The Issue: Clearly define the social problem the policy addresses.
  • Background: Describe the historical development and original intent of the policy and how it attempts to address the social problem in question.
  • Analysis: Analyze the social policy, focusing on its strengths and limitations in addressing the problem.
  • Recommendation: Propose social policy alternatives that might better address the problem.

Professional writing assignments

 (University of Montana Writing Center)

  • Support all opinions with facts.
  • Are as concise and thorough as possible.
  • Case Notes— objective descriptions or observations of a situation. They are accurate, clear, and concise. They represent observations, not personal opinions.
  • Assessments—descriptive compilations of data gathered to present a cohesive view of an individual or family. They describe what a profession thinks professionally, personally, and are descriptive, not diagnostic.
  • Treatment Plans—outline an intervention that includes specific goals and objectives. Goals are usually broad statements while objectives are measureable actions to be taken.

Personal statements

  • Answer all questions fully and clearly.
  • Why social work as a profession
  • Student experiences (and how they connect to the field of social work)
  • Work experiences (and how they connect to the field of social work)
  • Why this school
  • The six core values of social work (dignity and worth of a person, competence, integrity, service, social justice, and importance of human relationships)

Other useful tips and tricks

  • Make sure everything is cited, and cited correctly.
  • Avoid common grammatical errors.
  • Write the paper over time instead of in one sitting, and edit and proofread over time.
  • Never be afraid to ask a professor for clarification if something is unclear.

American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American psychological association. (7th ed.). American Psychological Association.

Angeli, E., Wagner, J., Lawrick, E., Moore, K., Anderson, M., Soderlund, L., & Brizee, A. (2013, March 1). General format. Retrieved from http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01.

Mertens, Maggie. (1999-2003). Tips on writing a reflection paper. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/way_5184362_tips-writing-reflection-paper.html.

Olson, K. & Meyersburg, C.A (2008). A brief guide to writing the psychology paper. Retrieved from http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic526630.files/BG%20Psychology.pdf.

Prichard, David C. (1996). Graduate school admissions: Writing an effective personal statement. Retrieved from  http://www.socialworker.com/admissio.htm.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Social Work. (n.d.). Writing tips for the MSW program. Retrieved from http://ssw.unc.edu/files/pdf/2013Adv.Standing-WritingandAPAworkshop-revised5-14-13.pdf.

University of Montana Writing Center. (n.d.). Writing in social work. Retrieved from http://www.umt.edu/writingcenter/docs/resourcesforwriters/writinginsocialwork.doc.

University of Washington. (2010). Style points for scientific writing. Retrieved from http://www.psych.uw.edu/writingcenter/writingguides/pdf/style.pdf.

Wolfe, Conie. (n.d.) General tips for writing a paper for psychology. Retrieved from http://www.muhlenberg.edu/depts/psychology/writingtips.htm

Teaching & Learning in Social Work

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Using Rubrics to provide Strength-based Feedback for Social Work Assignments

Posted By Laurel Hitchcock on Feb 4, 2019 | 0 comments

social work writing assignments

Editor’s Note: I am excited to welcome back Kristen Samuels, MSW, MS, MEd , the Field Director for University of Phoenix’s Department of Social Work , for this month’s guest educator blog post. Back in December 2018, I sent a tweet asking for advice on how to improve my grading practices, and turned the responses from colleagues into a blog post . Kristen was one of those colleagues and I asked her to turn her own tweets about strength-based feedback and rubrics into this blog post. Kristen can be reached at [email protected], or @KristenMSamuels on Twitter.

I recently returned to the classroom as a student in an EdD program. Although I certainly struggle with the workload, committing to life-long learning and taking the role of the student has made me a better instructor. As I am reminded of the anxiety that comes with unclear expectations or inconsistent grading practices, I become more aware of my own approaches for delivering feedback in my online classrooms. In discussions with my peers about the rigor and intensity of the doctoral writing process, we reflected on our individual fears in presenting written assignments to any of our former professors. Writing is an incredibly complex and emotive process. Students are asked to read, comprehend, apply, analyze, summarize, etc., and then present content in an integrated, accurate, and convincing way. It would be easy to miss a step and lose confidence in our position, and in that way, students are vulnerable when turning in written assignments. After putting forward long thought-out interpretations and opinions of the material, it is difficult to not view feedback as a personal attack on our intelligence. We wind ourselves up in self-doubt, and add undue stress when we throw in the impossible task of deciphering tone from an instructor’s feedback.

Strength-based feedback for Social Work Assignments

For this reason, and particularly for us as Social Work educators, we owe it to our students to present feedback with care. This can be as simple as avoiding capitalizing words (the online equivalent of shouting), and intentionally leading/ending feedback with what the student has done well in the assignment. Research on feedback tells us that affirmative comments acknowledges students’ efforts and encourages learning, instead of emphasizing grades (Stipek & Chiatovich, 2017). It is also an excellent way to model strengths-based approaches with our students!

This does not ignore our responsibility to offer corrective feedback, but in a way that promotes growth and ensures comprehension of the course objectives. Providing specific comments in areas where points were lost, can signal need for additional review and points of focus for future submissions. As supported by Gallien & Oomen-Early (2008), our responses should be an even mix of acknowledging their strengths and noted growth, as well as include strategies to promote reflection and deeper learning.  The major dilemma for any social work educator is how to give thorough and timely individualized feedback, which is critical to student success and helps maintain academic standards long term, while managing the process of grading including the amount of time and energy needed.    

For example, written assignments take a significant amount of time to thoroughly read and provide substantive feedback on. If the course objectives are best met through this means of assessment, your time will be well spent if you develop a rubric at the same time as the assignment. The audience of this blog is likely familiar with the term “rubric”, but you may want to consider the phrase “grading guide” with your students.

I prefer to provide written feedback to my student’s as opposed to verbal feedback by recording my reactions. My reason for this is accessibility. Although we assume that our students are connected with the services and tools that they need to be successful for our online courses, not all students self-report their needs, and I do not want them to miss out on this critical piece of learning. If the tool is embedded in your learning management system (LMS) such as Voicethread, it likely meets your institutions accessibility standards and is a fine alternative.

How I develop a rubric

As an instructor, I begin by developing an assignment in alignment with the course objective(s), and simultaneously develop the rubric. The objective(s) to be assessed in your assignment should be directly reflected in the assignment instructions, and then mirrored in the rubric. For example, if your objective is to “Describe typical stages of grief and explain how cultural, religious, and spiritual practices affect the bereavement process”, the assignment should expand on your expectations, and a line of your rubric should reflect measurement of those goals.  For example:

Course objective to be assessed in this assignment: “Describe typical stages of grief and explain how cultural, religious, and spiritual practices affect the bereavement process.”

(Relevant portion of) Assignment instructions: Briefly describe each of the stages of grief from the text. Identify at least 3 examples of cultural, religious, or spiritual practices from the case study provided. How might this affect the clients’  bereavement process?

(Relevant portion of) Assignment Rubric:

social work writing assignments

Final comments: “Well done, Alex! You’ve earned XX out of XX points for this assignment. You’ve done well identifying and explaining the 5 stages of grief, and 3 examples of cultural practices that influenced the client’s bereavement. Your interpretation of the client’s spiritual ritual was fascinating, I hope you’ll share this perspective with the class in our discussion forum! I would add to your “bargaining” stage that this serves an important role for the client, where they temporarily escape from their pain and take time to process their new reality. In this stage the clients’ emotional needs are high, so it is important to review their support system of family and friends.  I am seeing marked improvement in your writing style and APA, thank you for your hard work! This attention to detail will pay off not only in the course, but long term in your documentation skills in practice. Remember that a “Writing Guide” is posted in our course homepage with additional support including samples, resources, and best practices in formal writing. Overall, well done this week, Alex, I’m looking forward to seeing your work in Week 3. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to assist you before then!”

This final comments script can be easily altered for each student, keeping the basic framework and editing individual details. I prefer to use the indicators above – “Does not meet expectations”, “Approaches Expectations”, and “Meets Expectations” in my rubrics. I do not believe that “exceeding expectations” is fair to grade upon, but instead belongs in specific comments of praise and acknowledgement in the final feedback section. Generally, I develop my rubrics as follows:

  • 70% content – listing each specific requirement to be addressed, as outlined in course/assignment objectives. Examples may include: Relevant content or analysis is accurately described and supported by research. Use of theory, examples, or other language are correct, comprehensive, and persuasive.
  • 15% Organization and Structure – Effectively organized: introduction to provide background and preview points, body with logical transitions and appropriate tone, and conclusion reviewing major ideas.
  • 15% Mechanics and APA – rules of grammar, spelling, usage, etc. are followed, intellectual property is appropriately cited consistent with APA formatting guidelines.

Designing detailed rubrics up-front saves time during the grading process. Making these available to the students along with assignment instructions clearly informs them of your expectations, provides them with an outline to organize their research, and helps minimize concerns of subjectivity in your grading process. It also speeds up the process for us as faculty, as you have already articulated what quality looks like in the final product, you simply need to provide detail on how they hit or fell short of these targets.

How do you use rubrics with your assignments?  Please post your comments and ideas below.

References:

Gallien, T., & Oomen-Early, J. (2008). Personalized versus collective instructor feedback in the online courseroom: Does type of feedback affect student satisfaction, academic performance and perceived connectedness with the instructor? International Journal on ELearning, 7 (3), 463-476. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.contentproxy.phoenix.edu/docview/210354848? accountid =134061

Stipek, D., & Chiatovich, T. (2017). The effect of instructional quality on low- and high-performing students . Psychology in the Schools, 54 (8), 773–791. https://doi-org.contentproxy.phoenix.edu/10.1002/pits.22034

How to cite this blog post: Samuels, K. (2019, February 4). Using Rubrics to provide Strength-based Feedback for Social Work Assignments [Blog Post]. Retrieved from: https://laureliversonhitchcock.org/2019/02/04/using-rubrics-to-provide-strength-based-feedback-for-social-work-assignments/

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Author: Laurel Hitchcock

Dr. Hitchcock served as the editor for this blog post. The author is the Guest Blogger (Social Work Educator or Student).

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Why Writing Matters

Why writing matters in social work.

A central objective of the Social Work program is that students "Use communication skills effectively to link diverse client populations and communities with resources and services."

~Social Work Department

Effective writing strategies are essential for success in the Social Work profession. At both the undergraduate and graduate levels, writing enhances student knowledge of specific social and/or psychological concerns relevant to current social work practice.

Typical Writing Assignments

Assignments are usually researched papers and sometimes research proposals. Course writing assignments are typically used for two purposes:

  • To demonstrate understanding of course concepts
  • To integrate theoretical material in an applied manner.

Thus, students write researched papers to demonstrate an ability to comprehend and use terminology specific to human services settings. Students research a topic related to the course and present current thought about the selected topic. Topics range from specific disorders such as depression and anxiety to broader topics related to treatment and prevalence of sexual abuse.

Qualities of Good Writing

Students begin the research process by reviewing current articles and publications on topics of interest, assessing their authoritativeness and relevance. These first steps develop the critical analytical abilities that undergird the selection and development of successful student research projects. The final researched paper should integrate relevant articles and demonstrate the student's comprehension of the topic.  Requirements and criteria for evaluation are instructor specific. Proper use of language and grammar are also evaluated.

Appropriate Types of Evidence & Support

Research should be drawn from current journals and research in the field.

Citation Conventions

It is departmental policy that all references and citations will follow APA format.  See the APA website,  http://www.apastyle.org/ , for further information.

Faculty Perspectives  on Writing:

Vanessa brooks herd.

Writing in Social Work

My Writing Story

Writing as a Professional Tool

social work writing assignments

social work writing assignments

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Reflective writing

You have now considered reflection as a way of thinking and learning. Now you will move on to think about reflective writing. Many of the expectations of reflective writing will be very similar to the kinds of writing you may already be used to, such as the requirement to acknowledge your sources by using references and using clear language that is easily understood by your reader. There are also, however, important differences which you will also need to think about, should you go on to study for the social work degree.

This is a photograph of someone writing in a notebook.

This is a photograph of someone writing in a notebook.

The questions may not require an ‘essay’ answer and may therefore need a different approach and structure from the conventional one of introduction, main paragraphs and conclusion.

While most professional writing (e.g. reports, records) are written in the third person, reflective writing requires that you write about your own experience and consequently the use of the first person (‘I’) is actually encouraged.

While you are still expected to use your reading or ‘theory’, this will need to be linked to your discussion of your own experiences and also what you have learned from these experiences.

If you already have experience of writing in higher education, reflective writing may feel odd at first. One social work student who was already a graduate commented that while her experience was that academic writing ‘is looking at writing in the third person’, reflective writing is about something different:

Well, you write that to your Auntie Jane, you don’t write it for a course, I’ve never written it for a course ... In this course you are going to be asked to write about yourself big style. You have got to be king. You have got to be in the centre.

Although reflective writing is not exactly like writing a letter to ‘Auntie Jane’ or a personal blog, this student was picking up correctly that reflective writing has something in common with writing a diary or journal (or blog) and that most academic writing does not encourage you to write about yourself and your own experiences.

Activity 13 Reflective writing

Spend 15 minutes writing as freely as you can about your thoughts on your learning so far. This writing is only for you to see, so don’t worry too much about how you organise your ideas or even about your language (words used, sentence construction, spelling, grammar, punctuation etc.). Just write from your own thoughts.

After writing for about 15 minutes, put your writing away somewhere safe.

Later, perhaps the next day, come back and re-read your writing. Note down your answers to the following questions:

  • Did you enjoy writing in this way, or did it feel difficult?
  • Did you feel able to forget about traditional expectations of ‘good’ writing and just let your thoughts flow?

Some people find this type of writing hugely enjoyable, as a way to put their feelings and thoughts on paper and even to develop creative ideas. For others this is an awkward, challenging and artificial task, particularly for people who would not commonly talk about themselves reflectively, never mind commit their thoughts about themselves to paper in this way. Some people also feel very inhibited by the thought of someone reading and judging their writing, which can get in the way of expressing themselves. Free writing can be a good way to overcome feeling anxious about expressing yourself. Free writing also has a lot in common with reflective writing, as the focus is on you, the writer, your thoughts and experiences as told in the first person. If you found this activity difficult in any way you might like to keep practising this free writing exercise. Remember, you can pick any topic, based on work or personal experiences and you can jot these down on paper, phone or computer or perhaps by using voice recording software.

  • Reflection can enhance social work practice.
  • Reflection involves drawing together your experiences, study and feelings to help you evaluate practice and think about intervention and outcomes.
  • Supervision plays an important role in supporting reflection.

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School of Social Work

Creative writing for social workers.

A light skinned woman with red curly hair speaks while two other people listen

32nd Annual Creative Writing Workshop for Social Workers

July 14-17, 2023 

About the Workshop

The University of Iowa is known nationally as " The Writing University ," and our institution boasts a rich tradition of great writing and an early and enduring commitment to the creative arts. Iowa’s tradition of writing has been guided by the principle that, though writing is a solitary practice, it’s one significantly enriched by interaction with other writers. There has also been a growing focus in recent years on how writing and language are critical in so many other professions and pursuits beyond the purely literary. It's fitting, then, that we continue to offer an annual opportunity for social workers and other helping professionals to gather in a workshop space for an intensive experience to work on their writing craft and learn how it can be leveraged, both in practice and in reflective self-care. 

This workshop will be conducted in person. Some assignments will be completed on your own time and some will be done during class sessions with the instructor and fellow participants.

Learning Objectives

Participants will:

  • Improve creative writing skill in fiction, non-fiction, poetry, essays, blogs etc.
  • Understand how writing can be used as a professional tool in human services work as counselors, educators, advocates, researchers, and practitioners.

The Process

The seminar will meet in person in Iowa City over the course of 4 days. Each day includes assignments completed on your own time and interaction in real time with the instructor and fellow participants. Activities include a mixture of presentations from guest authors, writing instruction and practice, and peer critiques of participants’ work. Several hours are reserved for one-on-one coaching sessions with the lead instructor. Participants may be beginners or experienced--and sometimes even published--writers. Most participants have not previously attended a writing workshop, or even thought of themselves as writers. Diversity of experience, and an active interest and curiosity about the possibilities inherent in creative writing, are the essential ingredients for a fresh and exciting workshop experience.

Cost & CEUs

$525 / 24 CEU hours — Participants who complete the workshop are eligible to enroll in future sessions of our Master Class in Creative Writing for Social Workers.

Ellen Szabo, lead writing instructor

About the Presenter

Ellen Szabo, M.Ed. , is the primary writing instructor for the course. She is the founder of Szabo Creative Consulting, promoting the use of creative writing for personal investigation, enrichment and social change. She earned her B.A. from Harvard College, with a concentration in English and American Literature, and her M.Ed. from Columbia University Teacher’s College, in Counseling Psychology. She writes and teaches with focus on how innovation and creativity can illuminate, inspire and advocate compassionate transformation. Guest speakers will share experiences with projects related to creative writing for social change, journaling for personal growth, and/or the written word as a tool for enhancing social justice.

CLASS IS LIMITED TO 12 PARTICIPANTS.

Creative Writing Master Class for Social Workers

July 18-19, 2023 

About the Master Class

Master Class will build upon the principles and instruction from the four-day Creative Writing for Social Work seminar. This workshop illuminates and explores various techniques for discovering and amplifying the spirit and purpose of each participant’s writing, with emphasis on how creative expression can facilitate personal transformation.

The focus is on exploration, experimentation, and discovery of each person’s unique writing voice. In a supportive, stimulating atmosphere, participants build upon their creative writing skills with additional instruction, writing prompts, and facilitated discussion of their work.

This workshop will be conducted in an in-person format. Some assignments will be completed on your own time and some will be done during live class sessions with the instructor and fellow participants.

Prerequisite : Completion of the four-day Creative Writing for Social Work workshop

CLASS IS LIMITED TO 6 PARTICIPANTS.

$525 / 12 CEU hours

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David Nield

17 Tips to Take Your ChatGPT Prompts to the Next Level

5 blue balls riding on 5 randomly arranged curved black tubes against a bright green backdrop

ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and other tools like them are making artificial intelligence available to the masses. We can now get all sorts of responses back on almost any topic imaginable. These chatbots can compose sonnets, write code, get philosophical, and automate tasks.

However, while you can just type anything you like into ChatGPT and get it to understand you. There are ways of getting more interesting and useful results out of the bot. This "prompt engineering" is becoming a specialized skill of its own.

Sometimes all it takes is the addition of a few more words or an extra line of instruction and you can get ChatGPT responses that are a level above what everyone else is seeing—and we've included several examples below.

While there's lots you can do with the free version of ChatGPT, a few of these prompts require a paid ChatGPT Plus subscription —where that's the case, we've noted it in the tip.

ChatGPT can give you responses in the form of a table if you ask. This is particularly helpful for getting information or creative ideas. For example, you could tabulate meal ideas and ingredients, or game ideas and equipment, or the days of the week and how they're said in a few different languages.

Using follow-up prompts and natural language, you can have ChatGPT make changes to the tables it has drawn and even produce the tables in a standard format that can be understood by another program (such as Microsoft Excel).

If you provide ChatGPT with a typed list of information, it can respond in a variety of ways. Maybe you want it to create anagrams from a list of names, or sort a list of products into alphabetical order, or turn all the items in a list into upper case. If needed, you can then click the copy icon (the small clipboard) at the end of an answer to have the processed text sent to the system clipboard.

Screenshot of ChatGPT

Get ChatGPT to respond as your favorite author.

With some careful prompting, you can get ChatGPT out of its rather dull, matter-of-fact, default tone and into something much more interesting—such as the style of your favorite author, perhaps.

You could go for the searing simplicity of an Ernest Hemingway or Raymond Carver story, the lyrical rhythm of a Shakespearean play, or the density of a Dickens novel. The resulting prose won't come close to the genius of the actual authors themselves, but it's another way of getting more creative with the output you generate.

ChatGPT can really impress when it's given restrictions to work within, so don't be shy when it comes to telling the bot to limit its responses to a certain number of words or a certain number of paragraphs.

It could be everything from condensing the information in four paragraphs down into one, or even asking for answers with words of seven characters or fewer (just to keep it simple). If ChatGPT doesn't follow your responses properly, you can correct it, and it'll try again.

Another way of tweaking the way ChatGPT responds is to tell it who the intended audience is for its output. You might have seen WIRED's videos in which complex subjects are explained to people with different levels of understanding. This works in a similar way.

For example, you can tell ChatGPT that you are speaking to a bunch of 10-year-olds or to an audience of business entrepreneurs and it will respond accordingly. It works well for generating multiple outputs along the same theme.

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Tell ChatGPT the audience it's writing for.

ChatGPT is a very capable prompt engineer itself. If you ask it to come up with creative and effective inputs for artificial intelligence engines such as Dall-E and Midjourney , you'll get text you can then input into other AI tools you're playing around with. You're even able to ask for tips with prompts for ChatGPT itself.

When it comes to generating prompts, the more detailed and specific you are about what you're looking for the better: You can get the chatbot to extend and add more detail to your sentences, you can get it to role-play as a prompt generator for a specific AI tool, and you can tell it to refine its answers as you add more and more information.

While ChatGPT is based around text, you can get it to produce pictures of a sort by asking for ASCII art. That's the art made up of characters and symbols rather than colors. The results won't win you any prizes, but it's pretty fun to play around with.

The usual ChatGPT rules apply, in that the more specific you are in your prompt the better, and you can get the bot to add new elements and take elements away as you go. Remember the limitations of the ASCII art format though—this isn't a full-blown image editor.

Screenshot of ChatGPT

A ChatGPT Plus subscription comes with image generation.

If you use ChatGPT Plus , it's got the DALL-E image generator right inside it, so you can ask for any kind of photo, drawing, or illustration you like. As with text, try to be as explicit as possible about what it is you want to see, and how it's shown; do you want something that looks like a watercolor painting, or like it was taken by a DSLR camera? You can have some real fun with this: Put Columbo in a cyberpunk setting, or see how Jurassic Park would look in the Victorian era. The possibilities are almost endless.

You don't have to do all the typing yourself when it comes to ChatGPT. Copy and paste is your friend, and there's no problem with pasting in text from other sources. While the input limit tops out at around 4,000 words, you can easily split the text you're sending the bot into several sections and get it to remember what you've previously sent.

Perhaps one of the best ways of using this approach is to get ChatGPT to simplify text that you don't understand—the explanation of a difficult scientific concept, for instance. You can also get it to translate text into different languages, write it in a more engaging or fluid style, and so on.

If you want to go exploring, ask ChatGPT to create a text-based choose-your-own adventure game. You can specify the theme and the setting of the adventure, as well as any other ground rules to put in place. When we tried this out, we found ourselves wandering through a spooky castle, with something sinister apparently hiding in the shadows.

Screenshot of ChatGPT

ChatGPT is able to create text-based games for you to play.

Another way to improve the responses you get from ChatGPT is to give it some data to work with before you ask your question. For instance, you could give it a list of book summaries together with their genre, then ask it to apply the correct genre label to a new summary. Another option would be to tell ChatGPT about activities you enjoy and then get a new suggestion.

There's no magic combination of words you have to use here. Just use natural language as always, and ChatGPT will understand what you're getting at. Specify that you're providing examples at the start of your prompt, then tell the bot that you want a response with those examples in mind.

You can ask ChatGPT for feedback on any of your own writing, from the emails you're sending to friends, to the short story you're submitting to a competition, to the prompts you're typing into the AI bot. Ask for pointers on spelling, grammar, tone, readability, or anything else you want to scrutinize.

ChatGPT cleared the above paragraph as being clear and effective, but said it could use a call to action at the end. Try this prompt today!

Screenshot of ChatGPT

Get ChatGPT to give you feedback on your own writing.

In the same way that ChatGPT can mimic the style of certain authors that it knows about, it can also play a role: a frustrated salesman, an excitable teenager (you'll most likely get a lot of emoji and abbreviations back), or the iconic western film star John Wayne.

There are countless roles you can play around with. These prompts might not score highly in terms of practical applications, but they're definitely a useful insight into the potential of these AI chatbots.

You can type queries into ChatGPT that you might otherwise type into Google, looking for answers: Think "how much should I budget for a day of sightseeing in London?" or "what are the best ways to prepare for a job interview?" for example. Almost anything will get a response of some sort—though as always, don't take AI responses as being 100 percent accurate 100 percent of the time.

If you're using the paid ChatGPT Plus tool, it will actually search the web (with Bing) and provide link references for the answers it gives. If you're using the free version of ChatGPT, it'll mine the data its been trained on for answers, so they might be a little out of date or less reliable.

Your answers can be seriously improved if you give ChatGPT some ingredients to work with before asking for a response. They could be literal ingredients—suggest a dish from what's left in the fridge—or they could be anything else.

So don't just ask for a murder mystery scenario. Also list out the characters who are going to appear. Don't just ask for ideas of where to go in a city; specify the city you're going to, the types of places you want to see, and the people you'll have with you.

Your prompts don't always have to get ChatGPT to generate something from scratch: You can start it off with something, and then let the AI finish it off. The model will take clues from what you've already written and build on it.

This can come in handy for everything from coding a website to composing a poem—and you can then get ChatGPT to go back and refine its answer as well.

You've no doubt noticed how online arguments have tended toward the binary in recent years, so get ChatGPT to help add some gray between the black and the white. It's able to argue both sides of an argument if you ask it to, including both pros and cons.

From politics and philosophy to sports and the arts, ChatGPT is able to sit on the fence quite impressively—not in a vague way, but in a way that can help you understand tricky issues from multiple perspectives.

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Bridge Repair Work Prompts Interstate Lane Closures in Hickman County

Nashville, Tenn. - The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) will be conducting alternating lane closures for the I-40 bridge over Sugar Creek in Hickman County.

The bridge at mile marker 150 needs to be repaired and resurfaced. Volunteer Paving contract crews have already been doing work with overnight lane closures, but weekend, daytime work will be necessary beginning Friday, Feb. 23.

One westbound lane will be closed continuously from Friday at 9 p.m. until Monday at 3 p.m. Work will continue the next weekend March 1 - 4, with eastbound lanes continuously closed from 9 a.m. Friday until 5 a.m. Monday.

All work is weather-dependent. Drivers are urged to slow down and allow for extra time to travel through the area.

Motorists can alert TDOT to potholes by calling the TDOTFIX Hotline at 833-TDOTFIX or by using this online form:  https://www.tn.gov/tdot/maintenance/maintenance-request.html . From your desktop or mobile device, get the latest construction activity and live streaming SmartWay traffic cameras at  www.TNSmartWay.com/Traffic . Travelers can also dial 511 for travel information.

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  1. A Writing Guide for Social Work

    Introduction Social work is a writing-intensive discipline. Whether we work with individual clients in direct practice, work with administrators in community organizing, or conduct social-work research, we will write, revise, and proofread for the rest of our professional lives.

  2. Writing Guide

    Social work programs prepare students for these tasks through writing assignments such as research papers and essays. To prepare for these writing assignments, students should have a basic understanding of grammar, punctuation, citation styles, and essay formats before entering a social work program.

  3. How to write more critically in social work assignments

    1 - Writing the question and keeping it in sight at all times. (I have it on a sticky note in my eye line when sitting at my desk). 2 - Creating a basic table in Microsoft Word can help to ensure you are planning your points in a way that directly corresponds with the marking criteria and its weighting. ( Example template below)

  4. PDF SWK-S 204 Writing in Professional Social Work (3 cr.)

    SWK-S 204 Writing in Professional Social Work (3 cr.) Page | 9 Assignment Details 1. Literature Review, using Project-Based Learning. Literature reviews can be about any social work relevant topic of interest. Students complete successive assignments that lead to a final literature review paper. Review 5 Social Work articles. These assignments ...

  5. PDF SW 410 Professional Writing course SPRING

    CURRICULUM THEMES The school's themes are Strengths Perspective: The writing assignments in the course place an emphasis on the talents, skills and resources that people bring to bear on their difficulties. This viewpoint is designed to supplant the perspective of social pathology when practicing social work with marginalized populations.

  6. PDF Writing in Social Work1

    In the case of a review of literature—an assignment that requires you to look at the relationships among texts—you must not only identify, summarize, and compare literature relevant to the topic under consideration, but also synthesize this literature in order to argue a point about the current state of knowledge.

  7. PDF Writing in Social Work

    The social work curriculum entails a significant amount of both writing and research. You will encounter assignments as varied ... It is important for you to understand the general stipulations of each of these types of writing assignments as well as be prepared to assess and work with the particular terms of each instructor's assignments. ...

  8. Professional Writing for Social Work Practice

    This invaluable guide helps social workers develop the writing skills necessary for a successful career. Actual examples drawn from all arenas of social work demonstrate strong and problematic writing. ... Provides instructor's resources including PowerPoints, a sample syllabus, and assignments, tips, and activities for using the book in ...

  9. The Social Work Assignments Handbook

    The Social Work Assignments Handbook is the complete guide to preparing for, carrying out and writing up a social work assignment or project. Designed to support students through their assignments from beginning to end, each stage is fully explained through friendly advice and practical guidance so that students can feel confident in their work, whether they're writing up quantitative ...

  10. Writing Guide for Social Workers

    ADVERTISEMENT Social workers serve as a link between clients and community resources, providing vital human services that assist underserved populations. Writing is a key part of the job; social workers frequently write documents such as assessment reports, case notes, letters, emails, and support plans.

  11. PDF WRITING FOR SOCIAL WORK

    SOWK 3890 | Writing for Social Work Page 4 In-Class Assignments (7) 70 points (total) Seven in-class assignments worth various points each. Attendance and Participation 80 points (total) 400 points (total) GRADING SCALE Percent Final Grade Quality Points 98-100% A+ 4.00 94-97.9% A 4.00 91-93.9% A- 3.67 88-90.9% B+ 3.33

  12. LibGuides: Writing Centre Online Resource Guide: Social Work

    Social Work courses often require writing that combines the use of secondary sources with reflexive writing. This student paper exemplifies many of the qualities of a good paper in Social Work. The assignment was to look at an author and theory, to apply this theory to a particular group, and to reflect on one's own interactions with that group.

  13. Writing in Social Work

    Social Work writing needs to be clear, organized, targeted to a specific audience, on point, and use sources wisely. Research needs to be credible and drawn from credible Social Work journals in the United States. ... The assignment will determine whether you will be writing as a practitioner or as a scholar. Practitioner Writing

  14. A Writing Guide for Social Work

    From either a student's or an instructor's perspective, a "good" assignment (and that means a document turned in as an "assignment" as well as a document that assigns an "assignment") should strive to produce a new and useful insight, not just rehash already established truths.

  15. The Social Work Assignments Handbook

    The Social Work Assignments Handbook is the complete guide to preparing for, carrying out and writing up a social work assignment or project.

  16. Index of Assignments

    School of Social Work Box 19129 501 W. Mitchell Street Arlington, TX 76019-0129. Phone (Local): 817-272-3181 | (Toll Free): 866-272-3181 Fax: 817-272-5229. The School of Social Work Admissions office is located in Suite 203 in the Social Work and Smart Hospital Building (501 W. Mitchell Street, Arlington, TX 76019).

  17. Assignments for Social Work

    Key Components for Effective Social Work Assignments Posted By Laurel Hitchcock on Jan 26, 2023 Photo by Arisa Chattasa on Unsplash As social work educators, we create assignments to give our students opportunities to learn about the profession and develop competencies needed for social practice.

  18. Writing Assignments

    Social Work Help with writing assignments You can improve your skills at writing assignments for your subject area in a number of ways: Read the guidance or view the online tutorial on this page. They both go through the TIME model (Targeted, In-depth, Measured, Evidence-based) to explain what's required in academic writing.

  19. Writing Social Work Papers

    Use person-first language. For example, "people with autism" instead of "autistics." Remember that "data" are always plural. Use the word "participants" instead of "subjects." Keep your audience in mind. Don't Use direct quotes (they can be used, but should be used sparingly. Paraphrase whenever possible).

  20. Using Rubrics to provide Strength-based Feedback for Social Work

    In discussions with my peers about the rigor and intensity of the doctoral writing process, we reflected on our individual fears in presenting written assignments to any of our former professors. Writing is an incredibly complex and emotive process. ... Strength-based feedback for Social Work Assignments. For this reason, and particularly for ...

  21. Social Work

    Course writing assignments are typically used for two purposes: To demonstrate understanding of course concepts To integrate theoretical material in an applied manner. Thus, students write researched papers to demonstrate an ability to comprehend and use terminology specific to human services settings.

  22. An introduction to social work: Reflective writing

    Activity 13 Reflective writing. Allow 30 minutes to complete. Spend 15 minutes writing as freely as you can about your thoughts on your learning so far. This writing is only for you to see, so don't worry too much about how you organise your ideas or even about your language (words used, sentence construction, spelling, grammar, punctuation ...

  23. Creative Writing for Social Workers

    32nd Annual Creative Writing Workshop for Social Workers. July 14-17, 2023 REGISTER . About the Workshop. The University of Iowa is known nationally as "The Writing University," and our institution boasts a rich tradition of great writing and an early and enduring commitment to the creative arts.Iowa's tradition of writing has been guided by the principle that, though writing is a solitary ...

  24. 17 Tips to Take Your ChatGPT Prompts to the Next Level

    ChatGPT can really impress when it's given restrictions to work within, so don't be shy when it comes to telling the bot to limit its responses to a certain number of words or a certain number of ...

  25. Utility Work Prompts Rolling Roadblocks on Interstate 40 in ...

    CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Drivers traveling on I-40 in Putnam County should be aware of upcoming road construction activities that will have an impact on traffic.On Sunday morning, February 25, 2024, from 6:00 am to 8:00 am local time, Tennessee Department of Transportation contract crews will perform rolling roadblocks on I-40 from mile marker 290 to mile marker 304 in both directions for ...

  26. Bridge Repair Work Prompts Interstate Lane Closures in Hickman County

    Nashville, Tenn. - The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) will be conducting alternating lane closures for the I-40 bridge over Sugar Creek in Hickman County. The bridge at mile marker 150 needs to be repaired and resurfaced. Volunteer Paving contract crews have already been doing work with overnight lane closures, but weekend, daytime work will be necessary beginning Friday, Feb. 23.