A Guide to a Social Work and Human Services Essay

Writing an essay is often considered to be a dreaded and challenging task among student as it requires from an individual to pay full attention to the activity, gather information and analyze it accurately. Besides, a person will have to express his/her opinion persuasively and find convincing arguments, which will make the topic more interesting for a reader. Although this task is frequently overwhelming and challenging to complete, there is a set of steps a student might follow to break down the essay into several parts and make the task manageable. The following social work essay guide will help to simplify the writing process and draft a successful essay on Social Work and Human Services topics.

Choose the Topic: A Few Ideas from Our Academic Writers

You might have a topic assigned, or your teacher can provide you with a chance to select the field, which best fits your interests and preferences. If you were given a particular task, it would be a good idea to think over the type of paper, which your professor wants to get. Should you come up with a general overview of a problem or narrow your discussion to a specific analysis? Focus on the keywords in the assignment and identify the type of paper, which you need to submit in this task. If the instructions ask you to analyze an issue and give your opinion on the topic, it is essential to gather more information on the subject and develop your position on it.

When the topic is assigned, you can focus on a task and search for the necessary data. Nonetheless, when you have the freedom to choose the question, there is a little more work to do. On the one hand, selecting a topic for an essay might be a challenging task since a student will have to conduct research, carry out an analysis of the field and pick up the problem, which will be exciting both for a writer and his/he audience. On the other hand, it is an excellent opportunity to research the field, which is exciting and relevant to you. That is why it would be a good idea to determine the purpose of your essay and identify what you want to achieve in the end. Does your work aim to interest the target audience, draw people’s attention or persuade them to take your position on the issue? After you identified the primary goal of the work, you may evaluate your options and focus on topics, which will be interesting and intriguing for a reader. It is better to focus on problematic areas or controversial issues, which are disputable among the public. It will give you more room for discussion and encourage the audience to respond to your arguments. The following list of topics will provide you with a set of ideas, which students might use while writing a Social Work and Human Services Essay:

• The Legal Framework for Social Work in The United States;
• Quality Standards of Social Work in Different Regions of the World;
• New Ways and Techniques for Dealing with Homelessness in the Global Perspective;
• The Evolution of Human Services Through the Course of History;
• Early Intervention and Its Impact on The Well-Being of Troubled Families;
• Inclusive Strategies for Teaching Children with Disabilities;
• Poverty and Its Effects on the Life of Developing Communities;
• The Ways to Deal With Racial Stereotypes At US Schools;
• An Interconnection Between Crime and Poverty;
• The Role of A Social Worker in Preventing Dropouts, Etc.

Research the Topic and Gather Data

When you picked up the topic and identified the type of paper, it is vital to look for the necessary information and conduct an analysis. Although your primary task is to expand on the issue and explain your position on the problem, you should be aware of experts’ views and ideas. The research will help you to get a better understanding of the sphere and develop your attitude to the problem. Additionally, you might look for the ways to cope with the issue and come up with your recommendations.

It is also essential to use only credible sources for the work. You should identify resources clearly and provide all necessary information about a journal, webpage or a book. For instance, students frequently cite a website without stating the exact hyperlink. A student cannot locate such reference as a market will not be able to check the credibility of the information in the essay. Additionally, it is vital to pay attention to the format of the paper and cite all sources appropriately.

Develop an Outline or a Diagram of Your Ideas

When you have the topic and all the necessary information, you might have a set of views on the problem. Nevertheless, students might find it challenging to organize their thoughts properly, which will negatively affect the coherence and cohesion of the paper. Therefore, it can be useful to prepare an outline of the ideas, which will help to visualize the essay structure. In such a way, you will see what arguments you have and search for extra information if necessary. Besides, you may group similar ideas and cross out those, which are repeated in the essay. This approach can save your time for editing and provide with an exact outline of the paper.

Individuals, who best learn by visualizing the material, will find it useful to draw a diagram, which will demonstrate the main arguments of the paper. Write the topic of the essay and draw up to five lines, which will demonstrate the main ideas of the paper. You might also develop subtopics by drawing lines from the arguments and writing supporting ideas. This method will help to structuralize the work and make it more coherent.

How to Draft a Thesis Statement for a Social Work Essay

A thesis statement is the most important component of your essay since it demonstrates your point of you and introduces your position to a reader. This sentence usually stands at the end of the introduction and connects it with the main body. To develop a successful thesis statement, a student should look at the main ideas of the paper and develop his/her position on the topic. Of course, it is often hard to develop a particular position while discussing controversial topics. However, you should think of the best way to address the problem and offer your solution. Look through the articles and websites, which will provide you with a set of arguments for and against a particular phenomenon. After that, you can evaluate the options and find the best way to resolve the issue. The thesis statement should demonstrate your point of view or offer a certain solution to a problem.

How to Write the Main Body of Your Paper

When you have already developed an outline of the paper, it would be easier for you to draft the main body of an essay. Each idea or an argument in your chart will occupy a separate section in your work, which will present a particular idea to a reader. For instance, if you write an essay devoted to the discussion of homelessness and possible solutions to the issue, you might want to discuss financial hardships and the lack of economic empowerment. Begin by writing an introductory sentence for every idea, which will present a certain argument for a recipient. After that, you can provide supporting ideas that will develop the argument. Moreover, you may provide examples to back up your position and motivate people to accept your point of view. For instance, if you have to write an essay devoted to the topic of homelessness, you may speak about the lack of economic empowerment or employment opportunities. These ideas will support your position and provide a solution to an issue. However, you should make sure that all your ideas align with the thesis statement and do not go in contradiction with your opinion on the topic.

How to Write an Introduction that Impresses

When you have a thesis statement and the main body, it is the time to develop an introduction, which will draw readers’ attention. In this case, you should think about the target audience and their interests in the topic. For example, if you are going to write an essay and read it to your classmates, it would be reasonable to think about the problems, which might attract their attention. It would be an excellent idea to include interesting facts or stories that will introduce an issue to your peers. However, if you are going to hand over the work to your teacher o professor, you should think over his/her expectations to your work: whether an educator wants you to focus on a general or controversial topic. It is a good idea to start with an attention grabber, which could be a quote, shocking facts or an overview of a problem. Whichever method you will choose, ensure that it ties up with your position on the topic and the thesis statement.

How to Write a Conclusion

This part is a summary of the main ideas presented in the paper. Make sure you restate the main arguments and offer a final perspective on your topic. If you compose a persuasive essay, you should call your readers to action and motivate them to accept your position. For instance, if you argue against discrimination at work, you should motivate reads to fight against injustice and stereotyping. On the contrary, when you provide a particular solution to a problem, you should think of the reasons why your idea should be implemented in the society. Additionally, it is vital to restate your thesis statement since it demonstrates your position on the topic and provides the main insights into the problem, which is discussed in an essay. Your last section should remind a reader about your position and encourage him/her to accept a particular point of view. The following picture demonstrates the structure of an academic essay.

A Few Words on References

After you completed all the parts and edited the work, you should come to a reference page section. Of course, you have already selected credible sources for your work and researched the topic. Therefore, this stage should not be challenging for a student. You should only cite the sources in the separate section and ensure that you do it following the format of your work: APA, MLA, Chicago or Harvard referencing styles. You should comply with the general requirements to ensure that all sources are cited correctly. Besides, it would be better to avoid the resources, which cannot be supported by credible data or studies, such as Wikipedia or blogs. They will not provide you with useful information and might undermine your reputation in readers’ eyes. That is why it would be better to look for scientific articles in journals or professional websites where you will be able to find the necessary data, which will back up your opinion on the topic.

The recommendations above can serve as a guide for students, who want to write an excellent Social Work and Human Services essay, which will impress their professor and draw readers’ attention to the main topic. It is vital to follow the structure and ensure that your idea is communicated in an effective and clear way. For this purpose, you should write a persuasive and inspiring thesis statement, which will introduce the writer’s position on the problem or call readers to actions. Besides, an essay should be motivating and contain the main arguments, which can support the author’s point of view. In such a way, you will be able to present your idea in the best way and shed light on the topic of an essay.