Module: English and Communication: Writing Skills for Social Work potx

Module: English and Communication: Writing Skills for Social Work Hanze University Groningen : Applied Sciences Drs.. Introduction English & Communication is a foundational module that

Module: English and Communication:

Writing Skills for Social Work

Hanze University Groningen : Applied Sciences

Drs Marion Troia, m.troia@pl.hanze.nl

Introduction

English & Communication is a foundational module that helps students to strengthen their study skills since the Masters programme is entirely in English Students have an opportunity to improve skills needed to be able to carry out the assignments of other modules and courses, such as research papers or the final thesis Social Workers at a senior level need to be able to write not only

descriptive texts, such as case / client reports, they also need to write analytically Analytical writing

is not the same as narrative or descriptive writing in terms of both structure and language It is

important to note that English & Communication is not a remedial English language course Students

are expected to have a Common European Framework for Languages, (CEFL) level of higher B2 or low

C1, that is, upper intermediate to advanced The IELTS score expected is 6.5

Module aims

Students will be prepared for the study of Social Work at a graduate level in English in this module Writing tasks are similar to those that students will carry out for other modules and professional products Students will practice APA Style for both in-text citations and end- of - text reference lists The skills of English practiced in relation to these intercultural aspects of the module are both oral and written Students will write and improve a report of an authentic case to bridge the messy reality

of practice in the field with scientific and academic presentation of problems and solutions

On completion of the module students are able to ………

 Design texts according to the commonly agreed features of academic / professional writing in Social Work

 Apply the appropriate forms of layout and APA Style for in-text citation and the final reference list

 Apply editing tools to revise student texts

 Appraise and analyse intercultural interactions in welfare work using incidents from their own work experience

Competencies

Although this course will build skills needed for all professional roles, the main one is Practitioner-Researcher This module is particularly relevant for two generic competencies of the EMSW:

Competency 7 Professionalize

This module will provide students with chances to build up ‘professionalization competencies’ for producing both academic and professional products such as Advisory Reports, Project Plans, Project

Evaluation studies etc Students will practice writing analytical reports to learn these skills

Competency 8 Cooperate Internationally

A major element in international cooperation is competent communication Students will use role plays and discussions to explore intercultural issues and values in working with migrants and to

improve the capacity to bridge (inter) communication barriers sensitively

It is also highly relevant for two Dublin competencies:

Communication

Students will have opportunities to critically analyse with the intercultural communication skills and concepts central to transnational / multicultural welfare work These will focus specifically on

potential misunderstandings commonly experienced by social work practitioners in situations with clients from different cultural backgrounds

Learning Skills

By discussion of the principles and practice of academic writing for assignments, such as essays and/

or project reports and by carrying out peer editing, students will learn to improve their writing in English dialogically Students use a case study approach to provide input for writing, and small group discussion to provide opportunities to express ideas in English before and after writing They will learn to identify patterns in their own errors and to plan how to improve accuracy and rhetorical

power

Professional Role - Practitioner Research

By the end of this module students will use individual assignments, peer- feedback and participation

in collaborative activities that will strengthen them in being practitioner researchers They will have become familiar with the structural and linguistic requirements of research reports according to mainstream international standards Students will also focus on the writing process connecting theories, concepts and models to practice There will be a webpage in the EMSW home site with these and other links for academic and professional English

Organisation of the module

Before Meeting Week Assignments The following assignments are expected to take the student

approximately 9 hours

Task 1 is a short self assessment of each student’s proficiency as a writer The assessment form is on page 7of this Module Guide The student must fill in the assessment form and send it digitally to the teacher one week before the meeting week

Task 2 is completion of an online diagnostic test of English (Dialang) with and an online diagnosis of their general level of English with an indicator of strengths and weaknesses and identification of an individual learning goal The student should go to the website www.dialang.org, find the section on writing and take the writing test for English They must save the results and feedback on the test digitally and send it to the teacher one week before the meeting week

Task 3 is the preparation of a professional text, that is a short analytical report that requires the use

of primary (that is unpublished, internal documents) and secondary (that is published texts such as research articles by experts) sources The report will describe a critical incident with intercultural aspects that they have experienced at their work It will also attempt to carry out an analysis of this incident in terms of intercultural communication The guidelines for writing the report on are page

10 of this Guide

Meeting Week Activitie

In the meeting week a total of 16 hours will be used This includes homework after day one

Day 1 (Monday of the Meeting week) During the e-learning session, 2 hours will be spent in a

computer lab This time will be shared with the blended learning instructor Students will be

introduced to the online learning sites and procedures of the module They will focus on interactive sites for APA Students will form smaller groups and pairs that will continue in the online

environment

Day 2 (Thursday of the Meeting week)

There will be a 5 hour face – to – face session on one day This session will cover the content

elements of English and give a small amount of exposure to intercultural communication concepts English aspects include ‘workshopping’ the reports written in advance with peer feedback Included

in the exercises will be some practice in in-text citation Homework will include finishing an online tutorial for APA and rewriting their texts

After Meeting Week Assignments

Students will use the remaining 40 to carry out tasks in the EMSW virtual learning environment (VLE) The main task is to take an essay or report written for another module and rewrite it using what the student has learnt about professional English Several sub-tasks are carried out to help the student complete this main task One of these is to exchange texts with a partner student The tasks are set out on the following page but to be clear they are also given here:

A revised / rewritten essay or report accompanied by:

- the original essay or report submitted in another module

- a completed Improvement Plan (page 8)

- copies of 6 exercises from the site UEfAP www.uefap.com : 2 functional, 2 grammar, 2 vocabulary

- a completed Peer Feedback Form from a fellow student (page 11)

Study load

2 ECTS which represents a total of 56 hour work load for the student

Assessment: (weighting and compulsory information) The assessment consists of a completed

Portfolio including: (nos 1,2, & 3 are prepared in advance)

1 Self-assessment: What kind of writer are you? (page 9)

2 Intercultural incident report (page 10 for guidelines)

3 Dialang writing test score

4 Outcome APA tutorial (score or reflection)

5 Revised / rewritten essay or report accompanied by:

6 Original essay or report submitted in another module

7 Completed Improvement Plan (page 8)

8 Copies of 6 exercises from the site UEfAP www.uefap.com : 2 functional, 2 grammar, 2 vocabulary

9 Completed Peer Feedback Form from a fellow student (page 11)

Requirements

All assignments must be submitted in order for the mark to be awarded Any missing assignments will result in a fail For the essay or report a 10 point rating scale is used See page 7 for criteria The minimum pass mark is for the re-written essay or report text is 5.5 Students awarded between a 4.9 and 5.5 can improve their tasks within a month Students who have failed through incompletion of the portfolio (or who had a mark of 4.8 or lower) will not be allowed to improve their texts They will have to attend some sessions again in year two and /or choose a new text to re-write

Assignment & Procedures type of mark &

teacher support

Deadlines

3 Pre-meeting tasks:

a)Self assessment

b)Report based on a critical case with

intercultural aspects

c) results of Dialang writing test (only)

http://www.dialang.org/

Selected exercises on writing:

at least two functions- exercises from –

http://www.uefap.com/writing/writfram.htm

at least two vocabulary exercises

at least two grammar exercises

Peer text exchange and feedback online:

Send an original text of an essay or report to

another student and

Edit / give feedback on one essay or report of

another student in terms of Quality of

Structure and Quality of Language (see form

page 11)

Pass/ fail mark Pass = completed task

Teacher can be asked to help with feedback giving and will give a general evaluation of feedback task of the group

One week before Meeting Week

Week 10 semester

Week 14 of semester to send own text

to partner Week 16 to send feedback form to partner Receive and use feedback from another

student to rewrite an essay or report etc

required for another module + analysis of

patterns of error and plan for improvements

(See Improvement Plan in this Guide)

100 %Graded :see criteria page 7 Teacher will look at drafts if requested

Week 20 for submission of:

1.original text with feedback 2.rewritten essay/ report 3.improvement plan

Rewritten Essay or Report / Assessment Sheet

Introduction

 lead-in ( background, etc.)

 statement of purpose, going from general to specific

 includes problem statement or main issue and main points or research questions

(if applicable)

 preview of the contents of the paper

/15

Body paragraphs

 clear sections with introduction/link in each section

 sufficient support (examples, statistics, expert opinions, etc.)

 ideas from outside sources are relevant, sufficiently elaborated, and synthesised

 all point develop the topic (no irrelevancies)

/25

Correct APA Referencing Evidence of PLAGIARISM = 0 marks for the whole assignment

= a high level of mistakes = an automatic rewrite

 in-text citation

 paraphrasing (clearly in student’s own words)

 direct quotations (no more than 10% of final copy)

 technique : citations fit into the text appropriately & grammatically

 effectively implements APA workshop material

/10

Reference list/ Works Cited list is correct according to APA /5 Style

Formality (appropriate style of language for the assignment)

 written in an audience orientated way

 balance between formal and informal

/ /5

Variety and accuracy of vocabulary

 correct choice of words

 vocabulary has variety and interest (avoids using simplistic expressions &or

repetition)

/5

Conciseness

 direct and to the point (avoids using wordy phrases)

/5

Coherence

 flow of sentences is smooth (avoids using awkward, ambiguous, confusing

sentences)

/5

Grammar

 complete sentences (lack of fragments, run-on sentences)

 use of transitional words and phrases (linking or connectors)

 correct word order

 correct use of tenses, verb/noun and singular/ plural agreement

 correct prepositions, correct word form (i.e endings)

/20

Mechanics

 correct use of capitals, commas,

avoid overuse of bold font, !, semi-colon

 spelling

/5

Improvement Plan

First, evaluate for yourself What did you do well? Where did you go wrong? How does this compare with your self - assessment of your writing proficiency?

Second, read and absorb the feedback from your partner Make a list of your structural and language errors, see if you can find any patterns of error Check the in-text referencing using the websites and your set book (Swales & Feak) correct the citations in text and the reference list as required

Third, make a new plan for the essay/report; how are you going to solve the language problems, how are you going to make the content better and present your points with convincing support?

Please submit the pattern of error list and the answer to the third question with your rewritten essay/report and the original essay/report

Pre – meeting week task no 1: What kind of writer are you?

Complete the questionnaire by ticking (√) the appropriate column

Never| Often | Sometimes |Always

1 2 3 4

I am confident that my texts are convincing and

will be evaluated the way I want them to be

I do much of the research needed

before I start to write

I make an outline before drafting

I know how to adapt my style to the intended audience

I write a draft first and review it

I proof-read and revise my work before

handing it in

I know how to link ideas effectively

I am sure the reader understands my points

I understand the differences between

academic English and non-academic English

I know how to make a reference list in APA

I understand what constitutes plagiarism

I know how to paraphrase complex ideas in my own words

I have an idea of my own patterns of error

I support my points with accepted forms of evidence

My writing is clear

My writing is concise

I know how to proofread and edit academic writing

I am confident that my grammar, punctuation and spelling are correct

Pre – meeting week task no 2 Guidelines: Critical incident report

I INTRODUCTION

Background information on the organisational where the incident took place

II DESCRIPTION OF THE INCIDENT in DETAIL

Choose a problem, confusing or tense situation or puzzle involving client (s) or colleague(s) who have some kind of cultural differences

It can be a single incident or event but it can (also) be the result of a series of interactions that built

up during a project or module

Do not use general or vague descriptions - Be concrete; recount ‘who, what, when, where,’ in

sufficient detail

A misunderstanding between people from the same country is possible too

Identify as many context factors / elements as needed

Give a chronology

III ANALYSIS

Use concepts of intercultural (or intracultural) sensitivity/ communication to analyse what happened

IV CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATIONS

Go from specific to general; summarise the main points; consider what a practitioner could do to improve intercultural interaction in similar incidents/ situations in future

LIST OF REFERENCES

At least two academic sources must be used in the analysis

Length : 2 to 3 pages

Arial font 11 : 1.5 spacing

Peer Feedback Form Name of feedback giver ………

Name of writer………

I Quality of Structure – the feedback giver should write out the answers on a separate page in

Microsoft word

1 Were all of the elements of an essay included, i.e., is there an introduction from general to specific, with a main topic or thesis sentence included? Are there body paragraphs and a

conclusion from specific to general? Give examples

2 Is there a clear pattern of logic in the structure? If not give examples of confusing parts

3 Are the points consistent and convincing? Are there irrelevant points? If so identify them

4 Are the paragraphs well developed, i.e is there a topic sentence that expresses the controlling idea? Are the topics then explained or qualified? Is there sufficient support in order to prove the points through the use of examples, statistics, anecdotes, expert opinions? Give at least one example where support is insufficient

II Quality of Language -The feedback giver can use the editing tools of Microsoft for this section if desired and thus use red font, symbols in the text and comments in the margins of the text ,

renaming it “revised version”

1.What is the level of grammatical error? How many of the same type of errors are made? How serious are the errors, what type are they? Identify with examples from the writer’s text

1a fragments or run on sentences

1b problems with tenses

1c problems with prepositions

1d problems with word order

1e problems with the form of words (i.e confusion of Sing/plural or adj/adv)

1f problems with understanding due to the use of a completely wrong word

2 Are sentences linked coherently using linking words for referring back and phrases for signposting? Show where links are missing

3 Is there sufficient richness and variety in the vocabulary or is there a lot of repetition? What level

of interest does the vocabulary have, are similes or metaphors used? Is the appropriate level of formality used or is the language too personal/ informal etc?Sow examples of repetition or language that is too informal

4.Is the referencing correct according to APA rules? Where are the errors?

5.What is the level of mechanical error? How are commas used? How many mistakes are there in spelling? Are there formatting problems, etc.? Mask errors in yellow font

References

Set books and materials required for the module

Mullavey-O’Bryrne, C (1994) Intercultural interactions in welfare work, in R.W Brislin & T Yoshida,

(Eds.) Improving intercultural interactions: Modules for cross-cultural training programs (Chapter 11

pp 197 – 220) Multicultural Aspects of Counselling Series 3, Thousand Oaks: Sage (will be provided

in e-Reader)

Swales, J.M., & Feak, C (2004) Academic writing for graduate students: essential tasks & skills

(Second Edition) Michigan Series in English for Academic & Professional Purposes, Ann Arbor:

University of Michigan Press (set book)

Required for study support for the entire study

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 3rd Edition paperback (ISBN-13: 9780521674683) or CD ROM (ISBN-13: 9780521712675)

Required for selected tasks during the module or study support throughout the entire study

American Psychological Association (APA) Documentation (2010) The Writing Center, University of

Wisconsin-Madison, Retrieved from http://www.writing.wisc.edu

APA Tutorial (n.d.) University Libraries, the University of Southern Mississippi, Retrieved from,

http://lib.usm.edu/legacy/tutorials/apatutorial/tutorialindex.html APA Tutorial Test :

http://www.lib.usm.edu/legacy/tutorials/apatutorial/quiz.php?type=pre

Dialang English Tests (2010) Retrieved from http://www.dialang.org/

Gillett, A (2009) Speaking in academic contexts: Rhetorical Functions in Academic Speaking: in Using

English for academic purposes http://www.uefap.co Retrieved, 12 October, 2009, from,

http://www.uefap.com/speaking/spkfram.htm and http://www.uefap.com/writing/writfram.htm

Optional

Cottrell, S (2005) Critical thinking skills London: Palgrave

Gillett, A., Hammond, A., & Martala, M (2009) Inside track to successful academic writing London:

Pearson Longman

McCarthy, M & O’Dell, F (2008) Academic Vocabulary in Use Cambridge: Cambridge University

Press

Sanders, M Tinglooo, A., & Verhulst, H (second edition 1998) Advanced writing in English: a guide

for Dutch authors Leuven-Apeldoorn: Garant

Whittaker, A (2009) Research skills for social work Exeter, Learning Matters

www.learningmatters.co.uk