Description
To be successful in the Master of Social Work program, you will need to have academic writing and research skills. This assignment will help you learn these skills and have better understanding of the components of academic writing.
In this course, you will write an essay (750-1000 words) about a social work topic or a social problem. This essay assignment will be broken up into four parts that are turned in each week of the course:
Topic 1: Topic Selection and Thesis Statement: You will select a social work topic or social problem you want to write about and write a thesis statement.
Topic 2: Paraphrasing and APA 7th Edition Formatting: You will paraphrase text in APA format.
Topic 3: Literature Review: You will conduct research on your topic or social problem and complete a literature review of the scholarly sources.
Topic 4: Final Essay: You will compile all that you have learned and write a final essay.
View the “Essay Writing for Higher Education” media piece before you start.
For Topic 1, you will identify your social work topic or social problem you wish to research and write about. You can choose any topic you like. We have provided you with some ideas – but you do not have to choose one of these.
Homelessness
Child welfare
LGTBQ+ issues
Veterans’ issues
Family violence
Elder abuse
Institutional racism
Issues of inequality
Trauma
Identify your social work topic or social problem by completing the attached “Topic Selection and Thesis Statement” worksheet.
While APA format is not required for the body of this assignment, solid academic writing is expected, and documentation of any sources should be presented using APA formatting guidelines, which can be found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.
This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. A link to the LopesWrite technical support articles is located in Class Resources if you need assistance.
see attachment: the topic I choose is Child Welfare
Unformatted Attachment Preview
UNV-510
Topic Selection and Thesis Statement Worksheet
For Topic 1, you will select a social work topic or social problem you wish to
study during this course for your research paper.
View the “Essay Writing for Higher Education” sequence tool located in Class
Resources before you begin.
Next, complete this “Topic Selection and Thesis Statement” worksheet and use the
instructor feedback to make changes to your thesis statement. You will use this
thesis statement to inform your research for this paper.
Important: Please make sure to remove any instructions and template information
before submitting your assignment to LopesWrite to help ensure your assignment
does not return a high LopesWrite similarity score.
Topic Selection:
Select a social work topic or social problem you are passionate about. You will write about this
social work topic or social problem for this course.
Write your social work topic or social problem here:
Briefly explain why you selected this social work topic or social problem:
Why is this social work topic or social problem important to you?
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Thesis Statement: What is it?
Once you have selected a social work topic or social problem to write about, the next step is to
take a position on that topic. Your position on the topic is like the roof of a house. It “covers” the
entire essay, meaning your position should be obvious to the audience (your GCU instructor) as
they read through the entire essay. Things to consider:
• Are you for or against the topic? For example, you might be in favor of the Affordable Care
Act or against it.
• Do you want to compare/contrast your position to an opposing viewpoint? For example,
you may want to compare in-person clinic visits to telehealth communication in the social
work field.
• Do you want to solve a problem? For example, maybe you want to propose a solution to
homelessness or veterans’ issues.
Now that you have taken a position on the topic and know who your audience is, it is time to make
a thesis statement about the topic.
What are Complex
Sentences?
What is a thesis statement? As in building a house, you start from the
ground up. If the position on your topic is the roof, the thesis statement
is the foundation of your essay.
It is one complex sentence that includes your position on the topic and
the main points you will prove about your topic in your essay.
A complex sentence is a
sentence that contains an
independent clause and a
dependent clause. Here’s an
example of a complex
sentence:
Because my pizza was cold,
I put it in the microwave.
To develop a thesis statement on a topic, a good formula to use is:
Topic + your position on the topic + one to two points you will make about your topic in your
essay = Thesis statement
Thesis statement example:
A social worker enhances the welfare of communities, individuals, and societies (topic and
position on topic), so more universities should offer a Master of Social Work program and
internship opportunities (points in the essay).
Remember, the Thesis Statement is like the foundation of the house and the position you take on
the topic is like the roof of that house.
Your position should be presented and supported throughout the essay by effective research.
Write your thesis statement (your topic + your position on topic + one to two points you will
make about your topic in your essay) here:
Review Your Thesis Statement
Once you have written your thesis statement, it is time to review it by asking yourself these
questions:
•
•
•
•
Is it one complex sentence?
Does your statement reveal your position on the topic?
Does it have more than one point?
Is it an arguable statement that you can support with research?
If you can answer these questions in the affirmative, then you have written a thesis statement
that will inform your essay. Well done!
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