Chapter 1: Writing in Social Work in the United States: 1880s to the Present

WHY A GUIDE TO SOCIAL work writing? Every profession has its unique characteristics, but common to all is a focus on clear, unambiguous prose. Because social work is both an academic discipline and a profession, we have set out to acknowledge and examine writing issues important to both. Also, because contemporary social work practice is increasingly evidencebased, collaboration between practitioners and researchers is ever more welcomed and called for in professional publications. This guide will help social workers write with a keen awareness of the probable expectations of their reader—professor, supervisor, employer, journal article reviewer, grant proposal reviewer, and / or scholarship or admissions reader, to name a few. The guide presents a collection of essays that highlight writing issues important to social work students (from BSW to PhD), practitioners in the fi eld, scholars, and educators. We’ve tried to emphasize the issues that will contribute to professionalism in one’s writing, whether it be academic and scholarly writing or writing in fi eldwork, clinical practice, administration, advocacy, evidence-based practice, or grant and program proposal application. Predominant throughout is a focus on process, that is, on thinking about and approaching one’s subject in a manner that will lead to writing that is clear, purposeful, and comprehensive. Case vignettes, descriptions of best practices, and models of good writing, as well as excerpts and author commentary, are presented.