3.2 Professional language?
In the previous activity you saw how social workers need to use different language for different kinds of document. These differences in style of writing include not only the level of formality / informality and balance between description and analysis, but also decisions about the kinds of words you use, whether to include abbreviations and whether the document can be written as notes (with bullet points for example) or must include full sentences.
To illustrate this, complete the following activity and match the language styles to the examples.
Activity 7 Formal or informal?
Read the short extracts from genuine social work documents. Using the drop down menu, select which language type you think corresponds to the extract. Some extracts are listed more than once and therefore are examples of more than one language type. These are the language types included in this activity
- Formal language
- Informal language
- Professional language
- Full sentence
- Notes
- Abbreviations / acronyms
Answer
| Example | Style |
|---|---|
| The chronology indicates that there is a pattern of domestic violence and concerns around alcohol use. | Formal language |
| Hello, hope all well with you. | Informal language |
| When Mary is low in mood she lacks motivation to complete daily tasks. | Formal language |
| A pattern of domestic violence. | Professional language |
| The chronology indicates that there is a pattern of domestic violence and concerns around alcohol use. | Full sentence |
| Explained mum needs to check baby skin. | Notes |
| Lacks motivation. | Professional language |
| T/C to father. | Abbreviations/acronyms |
| When Mary is low in mood she lacks motivation to complete daily tasks. | Full sentence |
Having looked at these examples, do you think that some aspects of style are more appropriate for some texts and not others? Are there aspects of style that you personally feel strongly about and if so what are these?