Technical Writing - Short Course

Sneak Peek

Technical writing is different to other forms of writing 

Self Paced 20-hour course to help you understand more about  writing technical documents.

Other writing may be primarily designed to tell a story or, in a broad sense, to entertain, inform, educate or communicate; technical writing is more about documenting information as a reference i.e. information that is designed to instruct, explain or direct in a clear and concise manner. The purpose of technical writing can be as diverse as preparing a document for work, a journal article or thesis that records the results of a piece of academic research or to simplify more complex information.

Our 20 hour courses are self paced and will help you understand a topic in a short amount of time. You can work through the course when you like- test yourself with mini-tests along the way. There are extra case studies or research you can undertake if you would really like to get into the topic. Once you have completed the lessons and self assessment tasks, there is a final exam undertaken online- you can then download your personalised certificate.

Course Content - What do you learn?

Lesson 1: SCOPE AND NATURE OF TECHNICAL WRITING 
What Is Involved? 
Examples of Technical Writing 
Becoming a Technical Writer 
What Characterizes Good Technical Writing? 
Where and How Technical Writing is Published
Structure 

Lesson 2: PREPARING TO WRITE
Define the Task 
Identify Expectations 
Clarify Your Writing Goal
Establish a Time Plan 
Technical Writing Procedures 
The Role of Logic 
Writing Content 
Some Essential Writing Skills
Planning Your Writing 
The Writing Process 
A Writing Routine 
Meeting Expectations 
Collaborative Writing 
A Writer’s Equipment 

Lesson 3: RESEARCHING YOUR TOPIC 
Reasons to Conduct Research 
Library and Internet 
Evaluate and Select Information 
Plagiarism 

Lesson 4: WAYS TO COMMUNICATE TECHNICAL INFORMATION 
Tools for Communicating in Words 
Tools for Communicating in Graphics 
Illustrations and Captions 
Technical Photography 
Combining Graphics and Text 
The Importance of Captions 
Computer Tools and Software 

Lesson 5: ACADEMIC and BUSINESS CONVENTIONS 
Presentation of Assignments 
Essays and Reports 
Writing Research Papers and Journal Articles

Lesson 6: REFERENCING 
Referencing Systems 
Types of Referencing for Different Tasks 
Procedures 
Scientific Writing 
Proposals 

Lesson 7: EDITING 
Why Edit? 
Develop a Sharp Understanding of Ambiguity 
Causes of Ambiguity 
Meeting Deadlines 
Be Concise 
Use Grammar and Punctuation Properly 
Writing with Clarity 
Common Causes of Confusion 
Types of Language 
The Editing Process 

Lesson 8: WRITING FOR DIFFERENT PURPOSES 
The Audience 
Legal Applications 
Writing Submissions 
Writing Research Reports 
Writing Manuals/ Instructions/ Guidelines 

How does this course work?