Writing Analytical Assessments in Social Work

Book excerpt: You write something in order 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, explores the practical and psychological barriers to good practice and looks at how you 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 and any 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.