Academic Writing and Referencing for your Social Work Degree

Pat Cartney is Head of Social Work in the School of Health Sciences Division of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work at the University of Manchester. She is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Her teaching and research interests focus on exploring how people learn best about professional practice and how they become knowledgeable and skilled social work practitioners.Jane Bottomley is a Senior Language Tutor at the University of Manchester and a Senior Fellow of the British Association of Lecturers in English for Academic Purposes (BALEAP).She has been involved in the development of a number of content-based academic study skills courses at the University of Manchester and has published widely in this field. Steven Pryjmachuk is Professor of Mental Health Nursing Education in the School of Health Science's Division of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work at the University of Manchester and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. His teaching, clinical and research work has centred largely on supporting and facilitating individuals – be they students, patients or colleagues – to develop, learn or care independently. In December 2014, Steven was elected as vice Chair (2015-16) and Chair (2017-18) of Mental Health Nurse Academics UK, an organisation representing 65 Higher Education Institutions providing education and research on mental health nursing.

...One of the strengths of Academic Writing and Referencing is the focus on criticality, and developing an argument in academic essays. This can be challenging for inexperienced writers at degree level, but criticality and rhetorical writing is very important as social work students move into practice....Lucy RaiBritish Journal of Social Work

• 1. Academic writing: text, process and criticality 2. Coherent texts and arguments 3. Referring to sources 4. Language in use 5. Preparing your work for submission