Running head: PROBLEMS WITH WRITING IN SOCIAL WORK 1

Topic Selection Paper:

Problems with Writing in Social Work

Genifer S. Heath

The University of Texas at El Paso

RWS 1302

Dr. Vierra

February 8, 2020
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Abstract

Social work is a broad term to describe a professional that belongs to a collection of occupations

that has the main goal of bettering the lives of families or individuals in a community. It is not

simple, or even possible to have a single definition of a profession that can place its employees

anywhere vulnerable populations are found, such as, schools, hospitals, prisons, counseling

centers, shelters, rehabilitation centers, and more. Obtaining an education is vital to serving

society as a social work professional. Specifically, writing plays an important role considering

that this is an occupation that relies heavily on documentation. Having inadequate writing skills

can impact a social worker’s ability to effectively communicate and can have detrimental effects

if reports are not properly devised. Although it is a common consensus among professionals,

most social work students lack the required writing skills and some professionals disagree with

the importance of writing in the field.

Keywords: Social Work, Social Work History, Social Work Education, Writing
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Topic Selection Paper:

Problems with Writing in Social Work

“Child-Snatcher” is a common term wrongly associated with social work, but it is a

profession where educated and trained people make it their priority to help others in their

community by alleviating problems that pertain to their client’s personal situation. This

profession is as rewarding as it is misunderstood. The first thing that comes to many people’s

minds when they hear “social worker” is someone that is responsible for taking children from

their homes because of neglect or abuse. While social workers can work as advocates for these

children, not even a quarter of social workers perform this as a part of their job. Other places that

social workers are found include prisons, schools, rehabilitation centers, counseling centers,

homeless shelters, hospitals, and other places you would find poor, sick, or vulnerable

populations. The National Association of Social Workers (2020) summarizes the responsibility

of a social worker by stating, “Social workers help relieve people's suffering, fight for social

justice, and improve lives…” (section 2). According to one source, social work emerged as a

profession in the late 1800s, but the author believes that the idea behind social work started as

early as medieval times when the world was struck by the bubonic plague (Payne, 2005, p. 3).

What all sources had in common was that the late 1800s is when the profession was given a

name and it is when social work emerged as a community need in the United States. This is
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because of it being a time when work conditions were rough, many people were not paid enough

to meet their basic needs, and homelessness had plagued society. This sparked the need for

advocates to speak up for these communities and assist them in finding resources.

Writing in social work is generally seen as essential to the profession, but there are many

of today’s professionals that downplay its importance. This is a current problem in the

profession, considering that writing and communication can have detrimental effects on doing

this profession well. At first, it was simple to find research on the importance of writing in social

work. After all, writing is a widely used form of communication in the professional world, as

well as society in general. The University of Southern California social work department wrote

an article about the top five skills required for social work. It states, “If it isn’t documented, it

never happened” (USC staff, 2011, section 5). Even though there are many similar articles

stating that writing is vital to the profession, The University of Denver (2011) published an

article that said that students coming into their master’s program for social work do not have

adequate writing skills (para. 1). Like previously mentioned, others have combated that article by

downplaying the importance of writing in the social work field. There are many social work

professionals that believe that since the job only goes as far as case notes and reports, that it is a

waste of time to concentrate too deeply on writing skill. The author of the article clearly

disagrees and wants this problem acknowledged in order to find a solution. Professors and

mentors should stress the importance of writing, as it is important to a student’s success inside

the classroom and in their careers.

As with any profession, social work is not a career clean of issues and difficulties, so it is

also expected that any research pertaining to the field might provide solid researchable questions.

First, the history of social work profession does not show consistency between sources. In order
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to understand the field and what is important for social work, it is advised to have an idea of the

origins and evolution of the profession. Second, through the evolution of social work,

professions have started seeing writing skills and rhetoric education less and less important.

Some believe that since most of the job is case notes and reports, most writing classes in

university are meaningless and a waste of time. This can easily be a cause to the third research

question. Finally, to inquire about why an increase of students entering master’s degree programs

or the field, lack adequate writing skills. An entire paper could be written combing through the

importance of writing and why there is an increase in students who do not present themselves

with the proper writing and communication skills.

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References

Alter, C., & Adkins, C. (2011). Improving the writing skills of social work students Council on

Social Work Education. Retrieved from http://0-

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direct=true&db=edsjsr&AN=edsjsr.23043882&site=eds-live&scope=site

Hopps, J. G., & Morris, R. (2000). Social work at the millennium: Critical reflections on the

future of the profession. Social efficiency and social work research (pp. 249- 257). New

York: Free Press. Retrieved from http://0-search.ebscohost.com.lib.utep.edu/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=cat04704a&AN=nug.b1871500&site=eds-live&scope=site

Maynard, D. C., & Feldman, D. C. (2011). Underemployment: Psychological, economic, and

social challenges Springer. Retrieved from http://0-

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ebookcentral.proquest.com.lib.utep.edu/lib/utep/detail.action?docID=763358

National Association of Social Workers. (2020). Why chose the social worker profession.

Retrieved from https://www.socialworkers.org/careers/career-center/explore-social-

work/choose-the-social-work-profession

Nelson Reid, P., & Edwards, R. (2006). The purpose of a school of social Work—An american

perspective Routledge. doi:10.1080/02615470600738817

Payne, M. (2005). The origins of social work : Continuity and change. New York: Palgrave

Macmillan.

SocialWork.org Staff. (2020). Writing guide for social workers. Retrieved

from https://www.socialwork.org/resources/writing-guide/
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Social workers as super-heroes. TedxColumbia, S. C. (Director). (2017, April 10,).[Video/DVD]

Columbia, SC:

USC Staff. (2011). Top five skills in a social worker’s professional tool box. Retrieved

from https://msw.usc.edu/mswusc-blog/top-five-skills-in-a-social-workers-professional-

toolkit/