Objective Writing in Social Work — Observation, Report and Opinion

Objective writing is not writing without judgement. Social work is judgement. It is writing in which the judgement is visible as judgement, sitting on top of the evidence it was drawn from, so that a reader can see both and weigh them. A record that does this can be wrong and still be defensible. A record that does not can be right and still be dismantled.

Three kinds of sentence

Observation — what you perceived directly. “The worker observed…”, “On arrival…”, “The child was wearing…”
Report — what someone told you. Always attributed. “The mother said…”, “The teacher reported…”, “According to the GP letter dated…”
Opinion — what you conclude. Labelled. “The worker’s assessment is…”, “In the worker’s view…”, “This suggests…”

The discipline is to know which of the three you are writing, every sentence, and to keep them in their own sections where the format allows.

Before and after

REWRITING FOR OBJECTIVITYDRAFT

BEFORE: The house was a mess and Mum clearly isn’t coping. The kids looked neglected. AFTER: Observation: In the living room there were food containers on the floor, an overflowing bin, and no clear space to sit. Both children (aged 5 and 3) were in the same clothes as at the visit four days ago, with visible food staining. The 3-year-old’s nappy was heavily soiled. Mother was on the sofa and did not stand during the visit. Report: Mother said she had “not slept properly for weeks.” Assessment: The worker’s view is that the home conditions and the children’s care have deteriorated significantly since the last visit and that the mother’s capacity is currently reduced; the cause is unknown and needs exploring urgently. BEFORE: Dad was aggressive and hostile. AFTER: Observation: The father raised his voice on three occasions, stood up when the worker mentioned the school’s referral, and said “you people are all the same.” He did not approach the worker or make any threat. He sat down when asked and the conversation continued. Assessment: The father was angry about the referral; the worker did not feel unsafe and does not assess the behaviour as threatening. BEFORE: She is in denial about the drinking. AFTER: Report: When asked about alcohol, the client said she drinks “a couple of glasses of wine some evenings.” Observation: There were eleven empty wine bottles in the recycling box by the door. Assessment: The client’s account and the worker’s observation are inconsistent; the worker plans to raise this directly at the next contact.

Words that undermine a record

Each of these is a conclusion wearing the clothes of a description. Where one appears, the evidence it stands on should appear instead:

chaotic, inadequate, appropriate, unsafe, neglected — describe the room, the clothing, the food, the supervision
aggressive, hostile, uncooperative, manipulative — describe what was said and done
in denial, minimising, disguised compliance — describe the account and the evidence that contradicts it
clearly, obviously, it was apparent that — if it is clear, the observation will show it without the adverb
seemed, appeared — acceptable if followed by what you saw: “appeared tearful (eyes red, voice breaking)”

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Attribution

Every reported fact needs a source. “It is understood that” and “it was reported that” are the two phrases most likely to be challenged, because they hide who said it. Name the person, the agency or the document, and the date. If the source asked not to be identified, record that the source is withheld and why, so the reader knows the information is second-hand.

Direct speech

When words matter — a disclosure, a threat, a refusal, a child’s explanation of an injury — record them verbatim in quotation marks, and record the question that prompted them the same way. Paraphrase changes meaning, and in any later scrutiny the exact words are the evidence.

Related guides

Frequently asked questions

Is it wrong to include my opinion?

No. Your professional opinion is the point of the record. It must be labelled as opinion and rest on evidence that is visible in the same record.

What if I only have someone else’s account?

Record it as a report, attributed, and say that you have not verified it. Never promote a report to an observation.

How do I record a strong concern without sounding alarmist?

Describe what you saw in specific detail. Specific, neutral description of serious things is more alarming to a reader, and more defensible, than adjectives.

Objective writing in social work — the one skill that makes every record defensible