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CAES9925 Academic and Professional Literacies in Social Work

Coordinator: Dr. Juan CASTILLO

Course Description:

This 6-credit course aims to help students learn about the writing style and language demands of professional writing in the social work settings. The course involves discussion of the principles and practice of writing social work documents such as summaries, reports, and proposals. Students will analyse the writing style and linguistic features of a range of sample social work documents, and learn the skills of organising and presenting information effectively using appropriate rhetorical devices and professional vocabulary.

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of the course, students should be able to:

  • Organise materials for logical presentation
  • Present information objectively with linguistic and rhetorical devices appropriate to intended readership, purpose and context of writing
  • Develop their professional vocabulary by presenting how vocabulary is used in a specific professional context

Strategies:

  • Students analyse the linguistic and rhetorical features in different types of professional documents in social work
  • Students produce different types of professional documents based on a social work case
  • Students work on a group project and produce a funding proposal
  • Students expand their vocabulary through independent and peer learning

Assessment Methods:

(with breakdown of percentage weighting of the various methods)

  • Other genres of writing (60%)
  • Project reports (30%)
  • Independent learning work (10%)