Technical Writing Course Online

Master the skill of writing with clarity, precision and accuracy in this online technical writing course

What’s technical writing?

Technical writing is usually the term given to writing about technical subjects, such as computers, machinery or equipment. This is the kind of writing one sees in instruction manuals, how-to books, and reference materials. However, this is a fairly narrow definition of technical writing.
A broader definition of technical writing is any writing in which the focus is on the correct, accurate and precise communication of practical information; information that is presented in order to instruct, guide, facilitate or train. Falling under this broader definition are reports, text books, records, submissions, plans and other documents that are not necessarily about technology. An even broader definition of technical writing reflects its wide applicability to a large range of writing situations, from workplace writing to the highest levels of academic writing.

Almost all writing we come across in everyday life, in home and work, is technical writing (the exception being, of course, fiction books and magazines). The instructions that tell us how to assemble a set of shelves, a resume from a prospect employee, or a submission to a professional journal are all considered to be technical documents.

Some of the most common types of technical documents are listed below:

• Instruction manuals and handbooks
• Workplace and technical procedures
• Technical specifications (specs)
• Business proposals
• Reports
• Memos
• Agendas
• Meeting minutes
• Presentations
• Business letters
• Newsletters
• Fact sheets and brochures
• Forms
• Questionnaires
• Briefing materials to support oral presentations
• Feasibility studies
• Policy statements
• Academic theses
• Resumes
• Reference and text books
• Technical articles in journals and other periodicals
• Web-based documentation

Any technical writing course should prepare you to write in a way that is accurate, precise and containing practical information. In technical writing the content is ordered, procedural and presented with the intention of educating or training the reader in a process or procedure. This style of writing includes instructional design, manuals, reports, plans, record keeping for example. As you can see technical writing is an important cross industry skill with wide application across many tasks.

Who is this course suitable for?

This course is written by experienced industry experts, and supported by our tutors making studying technical writing online easy. If you need to learn to improve your writing for practical, precise and orderly writing then this is a great professional development course for you.  Being flexible and online this course is suitable for anyone working in a technical field, from consultants and teachers to scientists and engineers.

• anyone who needs to write with clarity and accuracy

In this technical writing course, you will:

• Learn to write technical manuals, scientific documents, texts and articles or anything else of a scientific or technical nature.
• Develop skills to write technical information for a variety of different purposes.

Technical Writing Course Aims:

• Identify a broad range of situations where technical writing is used and where you might gainfully apply those skills;
• Present technical documentation for a variety of situations;
• Determine how to write appropriately for a defined audience;
• Develop formats for different documents that follow a logical appropriate structure;
• Explain how to effectively collaborate with one or more people in the production of a technical writing assignment;
• Write items of technical writing that are appropriate for publication in different types of periodicals including: popular magazines, industry magazines, scientific journals, newspapers and e-zines;
• Learn to write easy to follow, technically accurate instructions for a variety of processes, using a variety of equipment;
• Write a formal proposal for a project;
• Write in an effective and appropriate style of report, during, or on conclusion of a project

Lesson Structure

There are 9 lessons in this course:

1. Scope and Nature of Technical Writing
   • Nature and Scope
   • Quality of Information
   • Nature of Language
   • Structure
   • Characteristics of Technical Writing
2. Presentation of Technical Writing
   • Presentation
   • Basic Parts of a Document (Written text, Images, White space)
   • Headings
   • Types of Images (Tables, Charts, Graphs, Photos, Drawings)
   • Captions and Labels
   • Main Elements (Front Matter, Body, end matter)
   • Creating an Index
   • Elements of Different types of Technical Documents (References, Texts, Journals, Reports, etc)
   • Referencing
3. Matching Style and Content to the Audience
   • Writing for an Audience
   • Writing Well
   • Writing Guidelines (Jargon, Gender neutral writing, Using simple sentences, passive or active language, first, second or third person, etc)
   • Spelling, Grammar
   • Editing, Proof reading
4. Planning: Developing a Logical Structure or Format
   • Creating a Technical Document
   • Research the Document; gather information
   • Plan; decide on the format
   • Write; create an outline and then write the first draft
   • Verify; check the accuracy of what you have written
   • Revise; amend the document before
   • Writing a First Draft
5. Collaborative Writing
   • Working in a team
   • Tasks and Roles
   • Technical Brief
   • Strategies for Collaboration
   • Style Guide
   • Using Templates
   • Using Email Effectively
6. Writing Technical Articles for Periodicals
   • Writing for Periodicals
   • Publisher Specs
   • Writing Descriptions and Specifications
   • Journal Abstracts
7. Writing Manuals and Procedures
   • Writing manuals
   • Writing Instructions and Procedures
   • Guidelines
   • Troubleshooting
8. Writing Project Proposals
   • What is a Proposal?
   • Proposal Categories (Solicited and Unsolicited)
   • Model for Writing Proposals
   • Grant Proposals
   • The Stop Format
9. Writing Project Reports
   • Types of Reports
   • Progress Reports
   • Completion Reports
   • Review Reports
   • Regulatory Reports
   • Feasibility Reports
   • Scientific Reports
   • Elements of a Formal Report
   • Executive Summaries

If you are thinking about becoming a freelance writer or editor this course dovetails well with Freelance Writing or Editing (Introduction) as each of these courses will help you specialise.