| Course | MSW 533 Death, Dying, and Bereavement |
|---|---|
| Week | 2 |
| Paper type | Loss history paper |
| Length | About 530 words, 5 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Chamberlain University |
| Program | Master of Social Work (MSW) |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for MSW 533 Week 2
Loss History Paper With a Boundary Set on the First Page: Four Losses in Time Order With Ages, Causes and Who Told Me, What the Adults Did, the Habit Each Left and What Might Interfere This Term
Student Name
Chamberlain University
MSW 533: Death, Dying, and Bereavement
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Loss History Paper With a Boundary Set on the First Page: Four Losses in Time Order With Ages, Causes and Who Told Me, What the Adults Did, the Habit Each Left and What Might Interfere This Term
The Boundary
This paper covers four losses between my ages of 9 and 34. It leaves out one loss I am not ready to write about and is not discussing it in class. That boundary is mine to set.
Losses, in Time Order
Table 1
Losses by Age, Cause and How the News Came
| Age | Loss | Cause | Who told me, and how |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Grandfather | Stroke | Parents: "gone to sleep"; a cousin said "died" a week later |
| 15 | Family dog | Hit by a car | Father, at the dinner table, briefly |
| 22 | College roommate | Suicide | A text from a friend at 1 a.m. |
| 34 | Job, after 9 years | Layoff | An email, then a ten-minute meeting |
Note. Note. One loss is excluded by choice. The layoff is included because it was a loss, though not a death.
What the Adults Did
At 9, the adults protected us from the funeral and from the word. At 15, my father said the dog had died and we would not get another; nobody mentioned it again. At 22, no adults were involved; the college held a meeting where a counselor read a list of warning signs. At 34, my manager read from a script and offered a pamphlet for the employee assistance line.
Looking back, each adult did what they thought was kind. My parents protected us; my father kept the dog's death short; the counselor followed a protocol. None of them asked what we needed, and that pattern, protecting rather than asking, is the one I most want to avoid.
From History to Habit
Each loss left a habit. From 9: I use the word "died" with patients and families, even when they use softer words, and I have to watch that I do not insist on it. From 15: I tend to move on quickly and expect others to. From 22: I am uneasy in rooms where grief is handled by a list. From 34: I notice when an institution delivers bad news by script.
What Might Interfere This Term
Hospice families who use euphemisms may irritate me, and I may correct them. Families who seem to move on quickly may look healthy to me when they are not. Grief often moves back and forth between facing the loss and attending to daily life (Stroebe & Schut, 1999); my habit from 15 may lead me to see only the second half.
What I Will Watch For
I will let families choose their words, ask rather than assume when someone seems fine, and take the roommate's loss to supervision if a patient's death by suicide comes up.
References
Stroebe, M., & Schut, H. (1999). The dual process model of coping with bereavement: Rationale and description. Death Studies, 23(3), 197-224. https://doi.org/10.1080/074811899201046
MSW 533 Week 2 instructions, in plain terms
The loss history is more orderly than students expect. Set a boundary on the first page: what the paper covers and anything you are choosing to leave out, which is your right. Then list losses in time order, each with your age, the relationship, the cause where known and what you were told and by whom. Include losses that were not deaths if they shaped you. Describe what the adults around you did. Then move from history to habit: what each loss taught you that you now do in practice. Close with what might interfere with your work this term and what you will watch for. Citations are optional but can help explain a pattern.
Inside the MSW 533 Week 2 example
The boundary section covers four losses and excludes one by choice. Table 1 lists a grandfather's stroke at 9, a family dog at 15, a roommate's suicide at 22 and a layoff at 34, each with how the news came, from gone to sleep to a 1 a.m. text and a scripted meeting. The adults section describes protection, brevity, a list of warning signs and a pamphlet. The habits section links each loss to a working habit, from insisting on the word died to unease with grief handled by lists. The interference section draws on Stroebe and Schut (1999) to name the risk of seeing only a family's restoration work. The final section lists three things to watch.
Where the points sit in the MSW 533 Week 2 rubric
Faculty look for order and boundaries. A paper that pours out a history without a boundary or a sequence loses ground; one that sets limits and runs losses in time order with who told the writer earns credit. The move from history to habit carries the most weight, since it connects personal experience to practice. Naming what might interfere this term shows readiness. The writer decides what to include, and choosing to exclude something is respected. Citations are optional; where used, they should explain a pattern and appear in APA. The tone should be reflective rather than confessional. A table of losses with who told the writer is the simplest way to show order.
MSW 533 Week 2 help from the desk
Loss histories most often lose points by becoming a narrative of feelings with no table, no order and no link to practice. Another common problem is writing about a recent or raw loss before the writer is ready, which a stated boundary can prevent. Some papers describe losses but never say what habit each left. Others stop before saying how the history could affect clients this term. If your losses are recent, limit the paper to older ones and say so on the first page. Finish with the short list you would take into supervision this term.
Get a MSW-533 Week 2 example written to your instructions
Send the instructions your section gives, including any table it wants filled and the page count, and an example arrives inside 24 to 48 hours with nothing to pay. What comes back is a model of the structure and of the professional turn. The deaths in your own version stay yours to choose and to write, and no example should be doing that part.
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MSW 533 Week 2 questions, answered
What if my losses are recent?
Sections handle this differently and most will accept a request to work around a recent death, so ask before the deadline rather than after. The paper can be built on older losses without the recent one appearing at all, and the professional section stays gradeable either way. Nothing in the rubric requires a writer to work on the loss they are still inside.
Does a loss history need citations?
Usually a small number, attached to the professional section rather than to the history itself. The pattern being described is meant to be read through course material, so a model of family communication or a frame for early bereavement earns its place. A chronology with a reference list bolted on and nothing connecting them loses the scholarship marks outright.
How personal is too personal?
Instructors read for relevance, not for depth of feeling. A detail explaining why the writer now behaves a certain way at work has earned its place. A detail that only shows how much the event hurt has not, and it puts something on record in exchange for nothing. Writers most often regret the second kind after submitting.
Where can I find a free MSW 533 Week 2 sample paper?
A full MSW 533 Week 2 loss history paper with a stated boundary and four losses in order can be read below, with margin notes on habits.
How does the MSW 533 Week 2 sample handle a loss the writer will not discuss?
It names the exclusion on the first page as a boundary the writer sets, without describing the loss, and leaves it out of the table and the analysis.