BA(Hons) Social Work
Faculty of Health

The standard word length for the BA (Hons) Social Work is 2,500 words per 15 credits. This word length will be sustained across all levels. Professional and pedagogic considerations have persuaded the Award team not to increase word length requirement at Intermediate and Honours Level for the following reasons:-

1. At Intermediate and Honours levels we are looking for an increasing level of sophistication in argument and discussion that does not necessarily require a greater word length.
2. Professional requirements means that Social Work students need to develop succinctness in their writing skills even when dealing with complex arguments.
3. The opportunity for a more extended discursive argument is enshrined in the dissertation at Honours Level. At this stage we would argue that an increased word length is justified by the nature of the academic task. For this module alone, therefore we have set a separate word length of 7,500 words. Students will be given appropriate advice about how to complete a dissertation of this length.
4. Finally, consideration has been given to the overall word length required from students at each level to ensure that they are not over-loaded by quantity at the cost of quality of their work.