Writing & Communication Skills for Family & Community Social Services PDF

WRITING & COMMUNICATION SKILLS FOR FAMILY & COMMUNITY SOCIAL SERVICES CSS 1210 LECTURE 1 WELCOME TO THE COURSE! DR. DON MOORE [email protected] OFFICE HOUR: BY APPOINTMENT VIA ZOOM INTRODUCTION / COURSE OVERVIEW INTRODUCTION: WRITING AND THE SOCIAL SERVICES REA...

WRITING & COMMUNICATION SKILLS FOR FAMILY & COMMUNITY SOCIAL SERVICES CSS 1210 LECTURE 1 WELCOME TO THE COURSE! DR. DON MOORE [email protected] OFFICE HOUR: BY APPOINTMENT VIA ZOOM INTRODUCTION / COURSE OVERVIEW INTRODUCTION: WRITING AND THE SOCIAL SERVICES READINGS SYLLABUS ASSIGNMENTS 1. THE ETHICS OF SOCIAL SERVICES WRITING WRITING FOR 2. EMAIL ETIQUETTE 3. STRATEGIES FOR ACADEMIC WRITING IN THE SOCIAL SERVICES THE SOCIAL SERVICES “In Social Services work, writing well is not just a peripheral job requirement, but A KEY SKILL you have to develop, not only to be successful in your career, but in order to ethically, sensitively, and correctly serve your clients.” ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR SOCIAL SERVICES WRITING CLIENT-FOCUSED WRITING CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION – BE CAREFUL! ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR SOCIAL SERVICES WRITING DIFFERENT GENRES OF SOCIAL SERVICES WRITING: MARKETING MATERIALS ORGANIZATIONAL MANUALS ACADEMIC PORTFOLIOS (LECTURES; JOURNAL ARTICLES; CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS) SOCIAL WORK RECORDS AND CASE NOTES ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR SOCIAL SERVICES WRITING VALUES AND PRINCIPLES: SOCIAL JUSTICE RESPECT FOR PERSONS PROFESSIONAL INTEGRITY ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY ACCURACY, JUDICIOUSNESS, AND CREDIBILITY REFLEXIVITY AUTHENTICITY SENSITIVITY PURPOSE UNFORESEEN CONSEQUENCES OF POOR WRITING IN A SOCIAL WORK CONTEXT A SOCIAL WORKER DESCRIBING A FAMILY SITUATION NOTED IN HER CASE NOTES THAT A ‘TOUCHING EVENT’ HAD OCCURRED BETWEEN A 12 YEAR OLD BOY AND HIS 10 YEAR OLD STEPSISTER. HOWEVER, WHEN THAT BOY WAS 14 YEARS OLD, A NEW SOCIAL WORKER WAS CALLED TO THE FAMILY HOME FOR AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT REASON, AND IN WRITING UP HER CASE NOTES REFERRED TO THE EVENT OF TWO YEARS EARLIER AS ‘SEXUALIZED BEHAVIOR’. A VISIT BY A THIRD SOCIAL WORKER A FURTHER TWO YEARS LATER RESULTED IN THE BOY’S RECORDS BEING UPDATED TO LABEL HIM AS A ‘SEX OFFENDER’ BASED ON HER READING OF THE ONE ‘TOUCHING EVENT’ RECORDED FOUR YEARS EARLIER. THE BOY, BY NOW 16 YEARS OLD, WAS FORBIDDEN TO BE LEFT ALONE WITH HIS 14 YEAR OLD SISTER—EVEN THOUGH NO FURTHER COMMENT OR COMPLAINT ABOUT ‘TOUCHING’, LET ALONE ‘SEX OFFENCES’, HAD BEEN MADE BY ANY FAMILY MEMBER. (CHILD PROTECTION WORKSHOP NOTES, 16MAY 2012) EMAIL ETIQUETTE “RICH” VS. “LEAN” COMMUNICATION THE FOUR “C”’S OF EMAIL COMMUNICATION: 1. CLEAR 2. CONCISE 3. CORRECT 4. CONVERSATIONAL STRATEGIES FOR ACADEMIC WRITING IN THE SOCIAL SERVICES WRITING AND THINKING GO HAND-IN-HAND THE BENEFITS OF “FREE WRITING” LITERATURE REVIEW (SKIMMING SCIENTIFIC ARTICLES, SEE PAGES 30-31 GREEN) CRITIQUING ARTICLES (SEE PAGES 33-34) READ WITH A PEN! NARROW AND FOCUSED RESEARCH QUESTION – A GOOD PLACE TO START BASIC PERSUASIVE ESSAY STRUCTURE (OSHIMA & HOGUE, 1998) GRAMMAR THE PARTS OF SPEECH TUNE-UP  Clause = A basic sentence (subject/verb combination) Phrase = a group of words without a subject/verb combination The “parts of speech” are all the word types that, put together in different combinations, make up sentences.  WHAT IS A NOUN? - A PERSON, PLACE, OR THING SOME DIFFERENT NOUN TYPES: COLLECTIVE NOUN COMPOUND NOUN CONCRETE NOUN ABSTRACT NOUN PROPER NOUN COMMON NOUN PRONOUNS - PRONOUNS REPLACE THE ACTUAL NOUN AFTER IT HAS BEEN STATED IN A SENTENCE. PRONOUNS: CASE AND REFERENCE Subjective case: pronouns are capitalized (I am going to the store; She is late). Objective case: pronouns function as objects: (She saw him perform in the park). Possessive case: indicates ownership (His contract expired; the musician’s instrument broke). Six main kinds of Pronouns: 1. Personal “I will put out the garbage.” 2. Relative “Those are the apples that went bad.” 3. Demonstrative “These are the right ones.” 4. Indefinite “Anything would be better than that.” 5. Interrogative “Which of them do you want?” 6. Reflexive “Myself, I would never eat that.” COMMON PRONOUN ERROR… WHEN DO I USE WHO, WHOEVER, WHOM, AND WHOMEVER? I WONDERED WHO/WHOM WOULD VOTE FOR DAVE. TEST: I WONDERED IF HE/HIM WOULD VOTE FOR DAVE. (WHO GOES WITH HE; WHOM GOES WITH HIM) A: I WONDERED WHO WOULD VOTE FOR DAVE. (TEST:) I WONDERED IF HE WOULD VOTE FOR DAVE PRONOUN ERRORS CONT… WHAT PRONOUN TO USE AFTER THAN OR AS? PICK THE RIGHT ANSWER: 1.MY SISTER LOVED THAT DOG MORE THAN I. 2.MY SISTER LOVED THAT DOG MORE THAN ME. A: BOTH ARE RIGHT, BUT MEAN DIFFERENT THINGS. MY SISTER LOVED THAT DOG MORE THAN I [LOVED IT]. MY SISTER LOVED THAT DOG MORE THAN [SHE LOVED] ME. PRONOUN ERRORS CONT… PRONOUN REFERENCE (COMMON ERROR): PRONOUNS MUST RELATE PRECISELY TO AN ANTECEDENT. GUIDELINES: 1. PLACE PRONOUNS CLOSE TO THEIR ANTECEDENTS; 2. DON’T OVERUSE PRONOUNS; 3. IF YOU INTRODUCE AN ANTECEDENT IN A SENTENCE, THE PRONOUNS FOLLOWING IT—AS LONG AS THEY RESEMBLE IT CORRECTLY—WILL GENERALLY REFER TO THAT ANTECEDENT.  REVISE SO THAT EACH PRONOUN REFERS CLEARLY TO ITS ANTECEDENT: EXAMPLE PIERRE TRUDEAU BECAME PRIME MINISTER OF CANADA THE YEAR AFTER EXPO 67, THE WORLD’S FAIR THAT PRESENTED IT AS YOUTHFUL, EXCITING, AND SELF-CONFIDENT. THESE WERE THE QUALITIES THAT HE EMBODIED TOO. PIERRE TRUDEAU BECAME PRIME MINISTER OF CANADA THE YEAR AFTER EXPO 67, THE WORLD’S FAIR THAT PRESENTED CANADA AS YOUTHFUL, EXCITING, AND SELF-CONFIDENT. THESE WERE THE QUALITIES THAT TRUDEAU EMBODIED TOO. CHOOSE THE CORRECT PRONOUN… 1. IT IS UP TO US/WE STUDENTS. A: US 3. WE TALKED TO RUDY AND HIM/HE. A: HIM 4. IT IS I/ME. A: I 5. TALK TO STEVEN AND THEY/THEM BEFORE MAKING A DECISION. A: THEM WHAT IS A VERB? - A VERB EXPRESSES AN ACTION (PEOPLE DANCE), AN OCCURRENCE (CHRISTMAS COMES ONCE A YEAR), OR A STATE OF BEING (IT WILL BE WARM TOMORROW). VERB TYPES PAST PARTICIPLE: THE FORM OF A VERB, TYPICALLY ENDING IN -ED IN ENGLISH, THAT IS USED IN FORMING PERFECT AND PASSIVE TENSES AND SOMETIMES AS AN ADJECTIVE. EG: SHE LEFT A PIECE OF HALF-EATEN PIE. PRESENT PARTICIPLE: THE FORM OF A VERB, ENDING IN -ING IN ENGLISH, WHICH IS USED IN FORMING CONTINUOUS TENSES, E.G., IN I'M THINKING PERFECT PARTICIPLE: THE PERFECT PARTICIPLE INDICATES COMPLETED ACTION. YOU FORM THE PERFECT PARTICIPLE BY PUTTING THE PRESENT PARTICIPLE HAVING IN FRONT OF THE PAST PARTICIPLE. FOR EXAMPLE:- HAVING DONE, HAVING FINISHED, HAVING READ, HAVING SPOKEN. GERUND VERB: A PRESENT PARTICIPLE USED AS A NOUN: SINGING IS FUN. ACTION VERBS VS. LINKING VERBS AN ACTION VERB EXPRESSES AN ACTION. A LINKING VERB EXPRESSES A STATE OF BEING INSTEAD OF AN ACTION. COMMON LINKING VERBS: BE, ACT, APPEAR, BECOME, CONTINUE, FEEL, GET, GROW, KEEP, LOOK, PROVE, REMAIN, SEEM, SMELL, SOUND, STAND, STAY, TASTE, TURN. VERB EXERCISE ACTIVE AND PASSIVE WITH ACTIVE VERB FORMATIONS, THE SUBJECT OF THE SENTENCE PERFORMS THE ACTION OF THE VERB E.G. SHE WALKS HER DOG. WITH PASSIVE VERB FORMATIONS, THE SUBJECT OF THE SENTENCE, INSTEAD OF ACTING, IS ACTED UPON. E.G. SONGS WERE SUNG. ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS BOTH ARE MODIFIERS (EFFECT THE MEANING) OF OTHER WORDS; ADJECTIVES MODIFY NOUNS AND PRONOUNS (E.G. “THAT FEROCIOUS LION ATE MY LUNCH!”) ADVERBS MODIFY VERBS, ADJECTIVES, AND ADVERBS (E.G. “THAT VERY SCARY KITTEN BIT MY DOG!”) ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS WHAT ARE THE ADJECTIVES AND WHAT ARE THE ADVERBS? WHICH WORDS DO THEY MODIFY? BROKEN URINALS ARE INEXPLICABLY CAUSING MEANINGFUL RELATIONSHIPS IN CLAUSTROPHOBIC STUDENT DORMS. ADJ ADV BROKEN URINALS ARE INEXPLICABLY CAUSING ADJ ADJ ADJ MEANINGFUL RELATIONSHIPS IN CLAUSTROPHOBIC STUDENT DORMS. PREPOSITIONS: PREPOSITIONS DON’T MODIFY WORDS (LIKE ADJECTIVES OR ADVERBS), BUT IN LINKING ONE PHRASE TO ANOTHER, SHOW IMPORTANT RELATIONSHIPS. (E.G. ON THE CHAIR; OVER THE CHAIR; UNDER THE CUPBOARD) PREPOSITION EXERCISE IDENTIFY THE PREPOSITIONS AND THE PHRASES THEY INTRODUCE. 1. THEY WILL VOTE ON THE MOTION AT THIS MEETING. 2. WE FOUND HIS WALLET ON THE BACK SEAT. 3. WE FOUND YOUR POCKETBOOK IN THE HOUSE. 4. FLOWERS WERE PLANTED ALONG THE PATH. 5. HIS BIRTHMARK LOOKED LIKE A LARGE PLUM.  CONJUNCTIONS: HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=RPOBE- E8VOC THREE TYPES: COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS CORRELATIVE CONJUNCTIONS COMMON CONJUNCTION ERROR… ONE CONJUNCTION FOR TWO CLAUSES. INCORRECT: BECAUSE HE IS INTELLIGENT SO HE GETS GOOD MARKS. CORRECT: BECAUSE HE IS INTELLIGENT HE GETS GOOD MARKS. OR HE IS INTELLIGENT SO HE GETS GOOD MARKS. RUN ON SENTENCE DUE TO OVERUSE OF CONJUNCTIONS. INCORRECT: I WENT TO THE DOOR AND SHE WAS STANDING THERE SO I GOT THE PRESENT I WAS GOING TO GIVE HER BUT SHE SAID SHE DIDN’T LIKE IT AND SHE LEFT. BETTER: I WENT TO THE DOOR AND SHE WAS STANDING THERE. QUICKLY, I GOT THE PRESENT I WAS GOING TO GIVE HER. SHE SAID SHE DIDN’T LIKE IT AND LEFT. INTERJECTIONS: - USED TO EXPRESS STRONG EMOTION AND HAVE NO GRAMMATICAL RELATION TO THE REST OF THE SENTENCE. THEY ARE FOLLOWED BY AN EXCLAMATION MARK, OR, IF THE EMOTION IS NOT AS STRONG, A PERIOD. E.G. ZOINKS!! ROOOBY-DOOBY-DOOO! DARN.