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Table of Contents

Introduction: A Guide to Writing in Social Work
Thinking like a writer in social work
Questions social workers ask
Kinds of evidence social workers use
Ethics in social work

Researching social work
Using databases for research in social work
Strategies for database searches
Books and other sources
Primary and secondary sources
Checklist for evaluating sources

Reading in social work
Active reading
How to read research articles and case studies
How to read qualitative and quantitative data

The process of writing papers, projects, and presentations in social work
Considering your purpose
Understanding your audience and their expectations
Checklist for assessing the writing situation
Considering the “So what?” question
Distinguishing fact, opinion, and value
Organizing and drafting
Revising and editing
Four approaches to revising thesis statements

Writing conventions in social work
Sentence structure
Word choice

Integrating, citing, and documenting sources
Avoiding plagiarism and recognizing intellectual property
Quoting and summarizing sources
In-text citations in APA style
Reference list in APA style
Presenting data in APA style
APA manuscript format

Genres of writing in social work
Reflective writing
Argument or position paper
Analytical paper
Case study analysis
Treatment plan
Policy paper
Annotated bibliography
Literature review
Research proposal
Research paper
Poster presentation

Glossary of vocabulary in social work
References
Additional resources for reading and writing in social work
Practice activities
Practice activity: Questions social workers can answer
Practice activity: Developing a hypothesis
Practice activity: Evaluating online resources
Practice activity: Developing a research strategy
Practice activity: Reading and evaluating research studies
Practice activity: Understanding your audience
Practice activity: Writing a thesis for a research project
Practice activity: Editing references in APA style
Answers to selected activities

Sample student writing: Social work
Literature review: Anorexia Nervosa
Reflective essay: Volunteer Experience, Sober House
Research proposal: School Bullying
Treatment plan: Treatment Plan for Sobriety and Parenting

More help with documentation: APA style
APA-style reference list: Additional examples

Editing strategies
Subject-verb agreement
Pronoun agreement, reference, and case
Strong verbs
Sentence fragments
Run-on sentences
Distracting shifts
Parallel structure
Clear, uncluttered sentences
Sentence emphasis
Commas
Apostrophes
Quotation marks

Authors

Stephen A. Bernhardt

Stephen A. Bernhardt is Professor of English and the Andrew B. Kirkpatrick Chair in Writing at the University of Delaware, where he teaches composition, grammar, and technical writing. His professional interests include computers in composition/distance education, writing across the curriculum, professional and technical communication, and visual rhetoric. He has also taught at New Mexico State University and at Southern Illinois University. The author of many journal articles and technical reports, Bernhardt is also the author of Writing at Work (1997) and coeditor of Expanding Literacies: English Teaching and the New Workplace (1998). Bernhardt designed the research plan and reworked content for Writers Help.

Nancy Sommers

Nancy Sommers, who has taught composition and directed composition programs for thirty years, now teaches in Harvard’s Graduate School of Education. She led Harvard’s Expository Writing Program for twenty years, directing the first-year writing program and establishing Harvard’s WAC program. A two-time Braddock Award winner, Sommers is well known for her research and publications on student writing. Her articles “Revision Strategies of Student and Experienced Writers” and “Responding to Student Writing” are two of the most widely read and anthologized articles in the field of composition. Recently she has been exploring different audiences through publishing in popular media. Sommers is the lead author on Hacker handbooks, all published by Bedford/St. Martin’s, and editor of Tiny Teaching Stories on Macmillan Learning’s Bits Blog.

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