Reports that do not have move 6

I have observed that from the fifteen reports that do not have move 6, 11 of them were written by a single individual. Although these reports differ with other reports they have the same content as the reports that have move 6. When asked about formats of the reports in an interview, the individual who wrote these reports responded that:

Extract 4.12

Is there a format that you have to follow when you do a social enquiry report?

O.N A format? There is but I’m one of the people who is not into

formats. Because my belief is when I sit down and write a report, I have to be comfortable writing that report in a manner that it would be best

portraying the case and what I’m doing. I think it also differs with the kind of case like if you have seen the destitution reports. The pattern is almost the same, you have the introductions, social background, economic status and stuff. But when you dealing with cases like the adoption case, foster care cases or custody cases, it becomes deeper, you have to explain things beyond reasonable doubt. You have to tell whoever is reading that report more than you usually do so for me, I usually do not follow a pattern. I write a report that is readable, that sells but with all the contents that are necessary, unless if you mean a pattern like they have to be A B C D. [Interview with O.D 22.2.2011]

Extract 4.13

Unity: There was no uniformity because some people will need some subheading in the reports while in some reports all those subheadings will be there and clearly explained. Now that question I think it’s also answered.

O.D. Maybe it’s also because we study from different institutions;

like the style of learning or the style of teaching in South Africa is probably different from what they do in UB, and even in school,

we’ve got different styles. I remember in psychology there was an

APA style of writing a report and everything so I think it goes back to how you learnt how to write a report, but of course when you

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how you map yourself into it. So for me it’s a question of trying to

get what I learnt about writing a report, trying to incorporate it with how they do it here. So I think most probably my reports are not the same as those of the rest of the people, but they do have the same message though. [Interview with O.D 22.2.2011]

The reports that are written by this individual are elaborate, For example if we look at the other reports that have all the moves, they describe the client’s social network under move 3, but in these reports this writer elaborates the information by providing more details where contents from other moves are used to support what the social worker is arguing for.

Extract 20 Example case 51:

Background Information

Letta was assessed and during the assessment, the officer discovered that the client is a widow and a mother of seven. She alleges that due to the stroke she suffered in September 2009, her life has changed and became difficult to earn a living. The client made allusions to the fact that before she suffered from the stroke; she used to work in Ipelegeng projects to earn a living.

When asked about the involvement of her children in her living standards, she was quick to mention that two of her children who are gainfully employed are married and taking care of their families. When the officer enquired further about other he discovered that there are two able bodied children who stay home under the auspices of job hunting. One of them, in the name Fela, suggested that while they are still marketing, her mother should in the meantime be assisted with food. When asked to define in the meantime in terms of duration, she said for at least a year or more. The other child One said she would do anything to assist her mother including even working in Ipelegeng. The client also further purported that she sometimes gets food from her relatives.

Details in the above example are leading to a negative recommendation. The social worker argues that there is enough support in the family and recommends that one of the children be engaged in drought relief (Ipelegeng) programmes. The colour codes indicate that there are three moves under one subheading which shows how elaborate

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the reports are. In this report it clearly shows that moves do not coincide with paragraphs or subheadings. There are three moves in the example cited above as it is shown by the different colour codes of the moves.

In some of the reports, in the recommendation which is move 8, the writer explains the recommendations with reference to the destitution policy. For example in case 27

Extract 21case 27

Based on the assessment that this officer undertook, I recommend that the client should continue to be assisted as a temporary destitute person as per Destitute policy Sec 2.1a sub-sec I &II which declares a destitute person as a person with not more than 4 livestock units, or 24 goats or insufficient income resources earning an income of less than P120 per month without dependants or less than P150 per month with dependants which covers the status of the client. The officer’s recommendation is pinned on the hope that the client through her strives might find a job sufficient enough to support herself and her son.

Some writers are not elaborate in move 8 because what is supposed to be said in this move is explained in move 6. As the social worker who does not have move 6 states;

“So I think most probably my reports are not the same as those of the

rest of the people, but they do have the same message though”

[Interview with OD 22.2.2011]

The only difference is in the format as the content is the same, whether the client is granted assistance or denied.

A difference in these reports seems to be that the officer refers to himself and the judgements very explicitly. For example in Case 7:

Extract 22 case 7

The office recommends that the client should continue to benefit from the destitute program because the client is unemployed, sickly, has no asserts and or livestock units to support herself. The officer acknowledges that there are working children in the

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family but they are said to be unhelpful hence not considered much as a helping hand.

Extract 23 case 8

Case 8: The client is aged, without assets and unemployed.

The writer is reporting differently in this case, instead of saying the client said there are working children it says “The officer acknowledges that there are working children in the family but they are said to be unhelpful hence not considered much as

a helping hand” This is clear language that tells the reader that this is a needy client. The writer represents the client’s in a way that shows their status whether they need assistance or not in a clear way. He does this using his observations and also reporting what he has observed.