Writing Analytically

Writing Analytical Assessments in Social Work

You write something so that it can be read, not in order that it can be written – write reports that achieve and illuminate! The third edition of the best-selling Writing Analytical Assessments in Social Work guides you through the principles of good writing and methodically shows you: how to analyse how to structure the process of writing an assessment (researching, chronologising, informed data-gathering, putting it all together), how to get this done under time constraints. how to break down the practical and psychological barriers to good practice and how to turn good analysis into useful recommendations. This new edition features brand new content, on subjects such as decision-making and cognitive fallacies in assessment, how to conduct analysis on domestic violence and systematic thinking and reflexivity in assessment. There are also updates on MCA assessments, new legislation and documents. Written in an accessible way and packed with examples and case studies, this book is both practically-minded and constantly returning to first principles: reminding you what it is you are trying to achieve and teaching you how to write reports that can be read by families and judges alike. You will learn how to write high quality, useful and timely assessments without becoming mechanistic or managerial. This book kills the myth of a trade-off between efficiency and quality of work. Writing Analytical Assessments in Social Work is an essential companion whether you are a newly-qualified social worker, a student about to undertake your first placement or a seasoned professional looking to improve your skills. It is also suitable for all branches of social work.

Words that Count: A Guide to Writing Analytical Essays about Fiction

Language is complex. Written or spoken, the complexity of language makes the medium the versatile tool we need but also creates the potential for a wide variety of misunderstandings and mistakes. Whether we are attempting to understand a piece of fiction or writing a text to make our thoughts comprehensible to others, the complexity of language is both necessary and fraught. That said, the inevitable pitfalls don’t mean we need to sacrifice precision or accuracy. This guide is a step by step process that offers hands-on methods for accurate analysis and precise essay construction. Chapter one deals with a variety of methods by which to approach stories and novels such that your analysis is structured on carefully constructed, logical progression founded on the primary text rather than on hunches and guesswork, and chapter two offers infrastructures and scaffolding on which any essay can be structured. The structures included in chapter two are not a template and thus do not limit style or content; rather, they are based on a series of tasks that must be completed for an argument to be convincing. As such, the tasks offer a kind of map through the process of essay writing that always indicates your next step. Contrary to accepted mythologies about analyzing fiction and writing essays, neither is a guessing game, and this text can help you remove the guesswork from your own process.

A Course in Analytical Writing for Scientists and Engineers