Effective writing in professional social work practice

Introduction

This course introduces you to professional writing which is an integral aspect of social work practice. Social workers need to consider how their writing forms part of their communication and record keeping. Ensuring people who are being written about are at the centre of writing about their lives is a key guiding principle. Learning writing and critical analysis skills is a core part of professional development across the social work career.

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Photograph showing a young woman studying in home environment.

Figure 1

The course is organised in four sections about professional writing for social workers:

1. Writing in social work
2. The functions of writing
3. Writing style
4. Writing about yourself and others

Professional writing is an important part of social work practice. Social workers spend a significant proportion of their time doing a broad spectrum of written tasks. This part of social work is often presented as a burden outweighing other activities but it is actually a crucial way that social workers communicate, negotiate, present, articulate recommendations and demonstrate their values in action. The four sections will explore the nature of social work writing, some key issues to think about and draw from extensive research to highlight the skills that are involved. The course is relevant for social workers who are already qualified and those who are students. Ideas from the course may also be helpful to other health and social care practitioners who want to learn about writing in their practice.

This OpenLearn course is an adapted extract from the Open University Social Work courses [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] .