Look I am bloody desperate so you edumecated lot need to help me!!

[OhDoAdmitMrsDeVere]

Restarted my OU degree last year after a long break. I stopped when DD got sick and it took me four years to get back on with it.
So last year was ok. I managed to get an average pass. It was a subject I am very familar with so was able to wing it to some extent.

I am on a new course and its hard and I have an essay to write and I am totally stuck.

I KNOW you cant write my essay for me and I dont do want you to but could you just help me please?
I know you all went to university and are all clever and I left school when I was 15 (sob sob) and whilst you lot were living it up getting your degrees I was paying taxes so in a way you all actually owe me (ok ok I am getting desperate now).

I am a week late because I had flu last week and I really want to get started but I am stuck as the stuckest thing you can think of.

Please give me some advice (apart from get off MNs). And no snarkiness, I will refuse to engage, just helpful, wise and academic advice from you brillant women.

Structure, tips, whatever you can think of please, please, please, please.

I can usually write quite okish but this is a Law based course and its all new to me.

The essay titlel (for information, I am honestly NOT trying to get anyone to do it for me) is 'The Law Supports Social Work Values - Discuss'

Oh no, how frustrating for you ! Though, well done for getting organisaed to do it at work and it's good to hear a plan is developing in your head .

I recommend this free mindmapping software = it's open source to freely available to download. It's really useful for organising thoughts/notes etc and you can use it to help structure reports and essays etc.

i work in this field.
I'll read a draft if ya like.

are you allowed to focus on one particular act eg NHSCC, MHA, Children Act. TBH i think your topic is broad enough to benefit from a bit of narrowing down. So you could say that you are aware of of all the other acts applicable to SW practice including EHRA, but will for the purpose of discussion focus on MHA.

Don't forget that protection of the vulnerable and wider public protection are also key SW values too.

Charlotte that is really generous but i would be far too embarressed to let you see it. I might take you up later in the course though

I have focussed on 3 fields of SW where I think tensions between the law and social work values are most acute - Community care provision, child protection and immigration.

I have to refer to HRA in all essays and I have used CA, NHS and CC act and immigration law. I have found three cases where the law has been used to enable services users but has also been used in a way that goes against SWVs.

Its a load of old cack but at least if I send it I will get feedback and work towards my next one.

I just wanted to pass my last course. I really wanted to do well in this one. I have until May to prepare for my next essay though.

Thanks for that link lapus and your encouragement penguin

Go Mrs DeVere! (too late to provide anything more substantive)

Though, and I learnt this in BLOODY FIFTH year of tertiary education, and it revolutionised essay writing for me - edit as you go along. Once you finish a paragraph, read it back, see if it makes sense and cut out any nonsense. Don't write the whole thing and then edit as it becomes too overwhelming.

I don't know anything about the subject I'm afraid, but the single best essay-writing advice I was given was by my Alevel English teacher and it got me through my degree. It's all about 'topic sentences'

The idea is that the first sentence of each paragraph (give or take a few words) can be read one after the other and the essay will still make sense. Not explaining it well but something like:

It is widely recognised that values present in social work can be both supportive or in conflict with the law.

For example, an area where they are working in accord is x(e.g. disability care), as exemplified by x case.

This case shows that union is beneficial as it provides somethingorother.

Similarly, these benefits can be illustrated by x case in the field of x(e.g. mental health).

However, the complex interplay of law and social work can equally cause conflict e.g. between promoting independence v overriding clients wishes by requesting section.

This discord is problematic as it can cause somethingorother.

These problems can also be seen in x case.

By highlighting individual cases it can be seen that although in some areas, the law does indeed support social work values, this cannot be extrapolated to all cases.

So you have a first sentence for your paragraphs, then you just flesh each one out in turn (agree with someone above, referencing as you go!) The paragraphs between the cases would probably be quite short, but it is mainly finding something in the first cases and expanding on it that also features in the second case, to link the paragraphs together coherently. This is the beauty of this technique, it ensure that you always have a coherent, logical argument in your essay - however good the argument actually is.

HTH

Ah, seen you're way ahead of me! Never mind, pleased you've done it

This may sound very glib, but it got me through about 100 years of study, and is what I always tell my own students;
Say what you are going to say
Say it
Say what you said
(intro, main body, conclusion)
I also like the whole 'shutting the door' to everything else. Figuratively and literally. My study was always immaculate, while the rest of the house was an absolute hole.
Just seen you have finished, but may help for next time! Good luck, and very well done.

I am much too late to be of any real use for this one, but I always found the say what you're going to say really not very helpful.

Instead, I found out about PEE.

Point, Evidence/examples, evaluation. This should be the case for each individual aspect of your essay.

Or, er, actually just as Aerobreaking has posted ^^.

Just to update.

I got my result and I scored 67%
The feedback was good. He said it was a very interesting and well written essay.

I fell down on some of the referencing but I expected that. Law is brand new to me and has its own weird way when it comes to brackets and Italics and stuff.

I should have put a bit more into answering the question after each case study but TBH I wasnt very confident so I expected that too.

So no suprises apart from the mark. Much better than I expected
I would love to get high marks but I have to be realistic and try and build them up as I go.

Thank you so much for your help.

I might see you back here in a few weeks - be warned

Fab, well done! Great that you got sine helpful feedback too

awwwww!!!! cant you plagiarise somewhere? or at least get some thing to start you off?

thnaks for paying for me to go to Uni XXXX

67% is a bloody excellent mark, well done.

porca The very idea! (they have software to prevent that sort of thing unfortunately), and you are very welcome btw

Thank you Scone. It was nice to have some good news today

Use Mindmapping

Didn't read that you'd actually written it and got a respectable mark. Well done