Technical Writing

Technical Writing
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
The ability to communicate clearly and concisely is a critical skill in todays complex environment communicating business needs to the technical personnel; communicating to clients and understanding what they are saying; clearly explaining technical concepts to non-technical people. All these are necessary skills for a company to function effectively and efficiently. This 3 or 4 day workshop is designed to provide participants with Technical Communications tools, skills, design and planning processes. This highly interactive and dynamic class is structured with time between class sessions to allow for participant writing development outside of the classroom so that the instructor can provide feedback during the course.

BENEFITS ACHIEVED:
Upon completion of the course, participants will be able to Analyze the technical communication conditions fully and accurately, including: customer needs, audiences, uses, and constraints Gather, interpret, and document information logically, efficiently, and effectively Organize information using reader-centered principles Develop an effective and clear writing style Use photographs, illustrations, and graphics effectively Design persuasive and concise documents

PREREQUISITES:
Participants are familiar with grammar and mechanics of writing in the English language.

Project Auditors LLC

www.ProjectAuditors.com 800-545-1340

Technical Writing
Day One
Module 1 Goal: Become aware of the importance of the audience in writing and practice critical thinking skills. Participants will: Identify critical elements of their readers specific needs for clear and useful information and produce an end-user profile sheet before they attempt written communication Define and exemplify persuasive dimensions of their communications and state ways that any piece of writing can be redefined by each reader. Writing assignment

Assessment: Module 2

Goal: Become aware of the importance of the audience in writing and practice critical thinking skills. Participants will: Identify critical elements of their readers specific needs for clear and useful information and produce an end-user profile sheet before they attempt written communication Define and exemplify persuasive dimensions of their communications and state ways that any piece of writing can be redefined by each reader. Writing assignment

Assessment: Module 3

Goal: Become aware of the importance of the audience in writing and practice critical thinking skills. Participants will: Identify critical elements of their readers specific needs for clear and useful information and produce an end-user profile sheet before they attempt written communication Define and exemplify persuasive dimensions of their communications and state ways that any piece of writing can be redefined by each reader. Writing assignment

Assessment:

Project Auditors LLC

www.ProjectAuditors.com 800-545-1340

Technical Writing
Day Two
Module 4 Goal: Select a topic for an analytical report, achieve a sense of direction and purpose, and know exactly what they are working toward as end-of-workshop goal. Participants will: Select a topic. Identify an audience. Develop a plan for primary research. Complete a timeline for project completion. Facilitator feedback

Assessment: Module 5

Goal: Develop skills and experience in the research process. Participants will: Develop effective questions including questionnaires and interviews. Explain how to focus on essential resources. Describe how to find the information one needs when one needs it. Interview template submitted for a participant and facilitator scoring.

Assessment: Module 6

Goal: Organize reports and other writing formats from a careful plan. Participants will: Outline several pieces of writing. Describe the outlining process. Make deliberate and conscious decisions about paragraph and section structure. Complete a report form and submit for participant and facilitator scoring.

Assessment:

Project Auditors LLC

www.ProjectAuditors.com 800-545-1340

Technical Writing
Day Three
Module 7 Goal: Incorporate visual design in documentation Participants will: Translate prose into tables and figures. Produce at least two visuals Determine how a format impacts the reader. Differentiate uses of different types of font and graphics. Differentiate uses of different types of headings. Use white space effectively. Visual materials submitted for participant and facilitator scoring standard.

Assessment: Module 8

Goal: Analyze the classroom audience and translate targeted information into a report that makes sense to the heterogeneous group. Participants will: Summarize and present the analytical report orally to the workshop audience. Conduct brief Q&A session. Introduce audience and instructor to subject matter where the other participants and facilitator may not have much depth of understanding. Produce required visuals.

Assessment: Presentation of analytical report to workshop participants. A scoring standard evaluation by facilitator and other participants will also be used. Module 9 Goal: Write an instruction guide (1 Page) Participants will: Choose words and phrases with one meaning. Organize sequentially. Divide actions into steps and sub-steps. Write an effective introduction and conclusion. Make format choices to facilitate ease of use and understanding.

Assessment: Instruction guide submitted for a participant and facilitator scoring using a pre-defined standard.

Project Auditors LLC

www.ProjectAuditors.com 800-545-1340

Technical Writing
Module 10 Goal: Write an analytical report based on a problem to be solved, a question to be answered, or a decision to be made. Participants will: Plan, organize, and develop the document as they refine and redefine the topic and the process of writing. Produce a final shape for the document with text that enables readers to follow the reasoning and interpretations lead to specific recommendations. Analytical report submitted for a grade, evaluated with the scoring

Assessment: standard.

COURSE TEXT
All materials will be provided by the instructor.

Project Auditors LLC

www.ProjectAuditors.com 800-545-1340