How to write professionally
Learning Objectives
After considering this resource, you should understand the characteristics of a professional writing standard in social work.
Written communication is an important way that social workers interact with service users, agencies and inter-professional colleagues. As students you will be used to the standards of academic writing expected at university. However as future social workers you will also have to familiarise yourself with the specific challenges of professional writing. This article by Lucy Rai discusses some of the different forms of professional writing (such as case notes and reports) and looks at some of the key issues that are common to them all.
Reflective Questions
- Think about the different kinds of writing that you have undertaken during your studies in both the academic and practice context. What similarities and differences have there been between them?
- What are the challenges of involving service users in recording based upon the service user group that you are most familiar with? What strategies can you think of that may help overcome them?
- Why do you think that including your professional judgement is important in your case recording and in formal reports? Why do you think some social workers may have concerns about committing their own professional judgements to 'paper'?
- The law requires public bodies to allow service users to view records written about them; what challenges does this pose for social workers and can you think of ways in which you can use this requirement to improve your practice?