“You write in order to change the world… if you alter, even by a millimeter, the way people look at reality, then you can change it.” – James Baldwin.
This quote articulates the importance of writing proficiency. One can change the world with many different methods, even as a writer. The ability to write using academic, creative, advocacy, professional, and reflective voices can influence opinions and policies for proactive community change and alter the viewpoint of the people you are around.
WRITING PROFICIENCY
Writing proficiency is critical to Western Washington University and the Human Services Program. I have always been confident in my writing ability and was surprised to be pushed far outside my comfort zone. I have grown the most in this area through extensive writing assignments and mastery of the American Psychological Association (APA) writing conventions.
Writing proficiency is to master the skills required to write well in modern day society and to a variety of audiences. The Human Services program covers this requirement in many, if not all, of the program courses. There are five styles of writing that have been strongly incorporated into the human services curriculum. HSP 385 Applied Research Methods, focused primarily on teaching ethical research practice and data analysis with the goal of increasing writing proficiency in mind. Instructors require students to write multiple revisions of a research proposal, editing it each time with the feedback provided by classmates. Analyzing and incorporating extensive research from scholarly sources in this project highlights my Academic Voice. Master of this voice came easily to me and will continue to be used throughout my profession in pursuing research for grant writing and program evaluations.
The Advocacy Voice is one of the more significant writing styles taught in the Human Services Program. This concept is used to promote community change and show proficiency in current social issues. With this voice you are focused on writing to address agents of change such as government, organizations, or citizens. Mastery of the advocacy voice can be seen in the policy brief created in HSP 404 Human Services professionals and community systems. This assignment pushed me to discover what I am truly passionate about, express concern for the population, and develop an argument for proactive change in policy. I directed my attention toward the United States Senate to promote the ratification of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the United States. Human rights is something I have always felt strongly for and my advocacy voice will continue to be used when I fight for global equality.
The Creative Voice came naturally. This style of writing is flexible and often used to express personal and unique interpretations of learning. Before coming into the Human Services Program I had written many short stories, poems, and even a rough draft of a book. Everything prior to entering this program had been fictional. HSP 440 Internship and Seminar pushed me to write in a different creative voice than I was used to. I was often asked to write about what was currently happening in my internship in a way that expressed the individuality of these experiences. I chose to write a poem about the time I spent at the American Red Cross working in event planning and financial development.
Mastery of my creative voice also came into play when creating a photo essay of my learning as it related to the learning outcomes in HSP 404 Human Services Professionals and Community Systems. I used pictures from throughout the quarter and from my time on a mission trip to Foundation for His Ministries, applied them to what I learned, and expressed evidence of my new skills. I can appreciate my refined skills in creative writing and will continue to use them in developing marketing materials for programs I may participate in throughout my career.
I developed my Professional Voice through many late nights and pots of coffee. I had little to no experience with this style of writing prior to entering the Human Services Program. A number of courses and my internships have helped me to greatly expand my skills in this area. HSP 345 Case Management and Interventions and my internship at the American Red Cross are two pieces of my education that have directly affected my professional writing style. I was taught useful skills such as how to write case notes and intervention reports through Case Management and Interventions and grant writing, editing press releases and newsletters, as well as developing professional flyers and posters for the American Red Cross. My case study and intervention report is an excellent written example of my development in these areas.
The fifth voice, utilized most often in the Human Services Program, is the Reflective Voice. This writing style is used to relate new knowledge and understandings to previous experiences or knowledge. This is demonstrated over multiple reflective essays in the Human Services CORE sequence such as my reflection on CORE in HSP 305 Human Services Professionals and Small Group Systems. Many of these reflections pushed me to analyze my individual and professional identities from a variety of perspectives and incorporate my knowledge of individual and group systems I am involved with. In HSP 301 Human Services and Personal Systems by evaluating my values I was able to understand the affect systems have played in developing my identity. This paper included examining the values that influence my work in Human Services, developing an understanding to how these values were formed, and how they have been influential to the rest of my being. The mastery of this voice taught me to reflect and analyze individual situations to gain a better understanding of the systems working within in it; this can be demonstrated through professional practice in case management and human behavior where understanding an individual’s current problems is key to a successful recovery.
Learning about these different voices has enhanced my proficiency in writing and has helped me to understand how to write for varying audiences and purposes. As a developing human services advocate I hope to be proactive in creating change in all that I do, particularly in writing. As a professional I will utilize these skills in many ways throughout my career (such as grant writing, newsletters, influencing community change, writing case notes and reviews, or assessing a client’s needs). I will continue to push myself in all five of these voices as I continue through my professional career and my hobby as a creative writer.
References:
Goodreads. (n.d.). Retrieved from: http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/142146-you-write-in-order-to-change-the-world-if?auto_login_attempted=true
Writing proficiency is to master the skills required to write well in modern day society and to a variety of audiences. The Human Services program covers this requirement in many, if not all, of the program courses. There are five styles of writing that have been strongly incorporated into the human services curriculum. HSP 385 Applied Research Methods, focused primarily on teaching ethical research practice and data analysis with the goal of increasing writing proficiency in mind. Instructors require students to write multiple revisions of a research proposal, editing it each time with the feedback provided by classmates. Analyzing and incorporating extensive research from scholarly sources in this project highlights my Academic Voice. Master of this voice came easily to me and will continue to be used throughout my profession in pursuing research for grant writing and program evaluations.
The Advocacy Voice is one of the more significant writing styles taught in the Human Services Program. This concept is used to promote community change and show proficiency in current social issues. With this voice you are focused on writing to address agents of change such as government, organizations, or citizens. Mastery of the advocacy voice can be seen in the policy brief created in HSP 404 Human Services professionals and community systems. This assignment pushed me to discover what I am truly passionate about, express concern for the population, and develop an argument for proactive change in policy. I directed my attention toward the United States Senate to promote the ratification of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the United States. Human rights is something I have always felt strongly for and my advocacy voice will continue to be used when I fight for global equality.
The Creative Voice came naturally. This style of writing is flexible and often used to express personal and unique interpretations of learning. Before coming into the Human Services Program I had written many short stories, poems, and even a rough draft of a book. Everything prior to entering this program had been fictional. HSP 440 Internship and Seminar pushed me to write in a different creative voice than I was used to. I was often asked to write about what was currently happening in my internship in a way that expressed the individuality of these experiences. I chose to write a poem about the time I spent at the American Red Cross working in event planning and financial development.
Mastery of my creative voice also came into play when creating a photo essay of my learning as it related to the learning outcomes in HSP 404 Human Services Professionals and Community Systems. I used pictures from throughout the quarter and from my time on a mission trip to Foundation for His Ministries, applied them to what I learned, and expressed evidence of my new skills. I can appreciate my refined skills in creative writing and will continue to use them in developing marketing materials for programs I may participate in throughout my career.
I developed my Professional Voice through many late nights and pots of coffee. I had little to no experience with this style of writing prior to entering the Human Services Program. A number of courses and my internships have helped me to greatly expand my skills in this area. HSP 345 Case Management and Interventions and my internship at the American Red Cross are two pieces of my education that have directly affected my professional writing style. I was taught useful skills such as how to write case notes and intervention reports through Case Management and Interventions and grant writing, editing press releases and newsletters, as well as developing professional flyers and posters for the American Red Cross. My case study and intervention report is an excellent written example of my development in these areas.
The fifth voice, utilized most often in the Human Services Program, is the Reflective Voice. This writing style is used to relate new knowledge and understandings to previous experiences or knowledge. This is demonstrated over multiple reflective essays in the Human Services CORE sequence such as my reflection on CORE in HSP 305 Human Services Professionals and Small Group Systems. Many of these reflections pushed me to analyze my individual and professional identities from a variety of perspectives and incorporate my knowledge of individual and group systems I am involved with. In HSP 301 Human Services and Personal Systems by evaluating my values I was able to understand the affect systems have played in developing my identity. This paper included examining the values that influence my work in Human Services, developing an understanding to how these values were formed, and how they have been influential to the rest of my being. The mastery of this voice taught me to reflect and analyze individual situations to gain a better understanding of the systems working within in it; this can be demonstrated through professional practice in case management and human behavior where understanding an individual’s current problems is key to a successful recovery.
Learning about these different voices has enhanced my proficiency in writing and has helped me to understand how to write for varying audiences and purposes. As a developing human services advocate I hope to be proactive in creating change in all that I do, particularly in writing. As a professional I will utilize these skills in many ways throughout my career (such as grant writing, newsletters, influencing community change, writing case notes and reviews, or assessing a client’s needs). I will continue to push myself in all five of these voices as I continue through my professional career and my hobby as a creative writer.
References:
Goodreads. (n.d.). Retrieved from: http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/142146-you-write-in-order-to-change-the-world-if?auto_login_attempted=true