PAPER GUIDELINES
The format of this paper should conform to APA, 7th ed. This paper should be no less than 5 pages; typed, and double-spaced. The cover page does not count as part of the 5 pages. The completed paper should include sections titled: COVER PAGE, BACKGROUND, and CURRENT ASSESSMENT. The following outline provides suggestions that may help you write a successful paper and meet the learning objectives outlined above. In addition, please remember that page count means nothing without depth. How you synthesize and analyze your life experiences will determine the strength of your appraisal. Last, poor writing mechanics will result in a poor overall grade. This will be determined by reading through the first 3 pages of your paper. I will stop reading your paper if your paper is hard to follow because of sub-standard writing mechanics, such as poor grammar.
COVER PAGE
A cover page should include your paper’s title, name, course title, semester, and date.
Section I: BACKGROUND (Past)
Describe the development of your beliefs and attitudes toward difference. Think about who or what has had a significant impact in helping you develop your worldview. You should focus on three groups we have, or will, discuss in this class. For example, you could write about race, ethnicity, gender, class, religion, sexual orientation, and abilities. As you think about which groups to write about, consider how salient your experiences have been with these groups. For example,
Examine how your perceptions and experiences were developed.
Determine who or what was influential in these developments.
Breakdown the kind of messages (spoken or unspoken) you received about people who were different from you in those categories.
Assess what those messages conveyed to you.
Also, include a synthesis of how you believe your worldview was shaped by factors such as your own:
Ethnicity
Race
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
Socioeconomic group/social class
Regional identity (Southerner? Northerner? West-coaster?)
Religious beliefs or affiliation
These are just some examples. Feel free to write about other sociopolitical factors that have shaped your lived experience. You do not have to write about each of the aforementioned areas. Only write about the most important ones.
Section II: CURRENT ASSESSMENT (In the past year, including this semester, or as a college student)
Deconstruct your beliefs and attitudes about human differences at this point in your life. For example:
Examine whether you have chosen to retain those beliefs and values of your upbringing or have you modified or replaced them.
Explain how this process unfolded, e.g., through the knowledge you have gained as a college student or significant personal experiences. Was there a significant event(s) that led to this change? Include a detailed description of how change has occurred in your life.
Evaluate and explain why you have chosen to change, or not change, how you perceive groups different from your own.
Distinguish and discuss biases you recently developed regarding groups different from yourself (those distinguished from your ethnic or racial heritage, gender, sexual orientation, abilities, income, religious beliefs, or affiliation).
Describe how those biases influence the ways in which you interact with members of those groups.
Appraise whether you were particularly interested in or surprised by any of the information/feelings you may have uncovered while completing this assignment.
Section III: ETHICS and DIVERSITY
Examine and discuss your views of the ethics and values spelled out in the NASW Code of Ethics (or ethical values in your discipline if you are not majoring in social work) as it pertains to human diversity. Describe how you will apply these ethics and values to your practice with persons different from you in race, ethnicity, national origin, social class, religion, physical or mental ability, sexual orientation, age, etc. What ethical challenges do you foresee in your professional life that relate to human differences? Outline how you can apply the code of ethics to increase acceptance of plurality and acceptance of human differences. Please do not regurgitate the Code of Ethics. Explain, in your own way, how the Code of Ethics will guide your work as a professional social worker
