Convey technical content to any audience through specific, clear and concise technical writing.
Who Should Attend:
Engineers, scientists, IT/computer personnel and people in R&D and other technical areas who wish to enhance their technical writing skills in order to better communicate with their audiences.
Technical writing is unique because of its specialized content. It must convey objectivity and reach both technical and nontechnical audiences with exactness and clarity. Along with writing emails, letters and reports, the technical writer must be able to prepare definitions, physical descriptions, product specifications, procedures, test and laboratory results, and many other kinds of documents.
This seminar offers you a battery of tools and techniques to help you jumpstart the writing process on any challenging technical writing endeavor. You will learn ways to defeat writer’s block, procrastination and writer’s anxiety, as well as how to develop a better understanding of readers’ needs and expectations. You will also discover principles and approaches that cover a broad range of industries and topics and get hands-on experience improving your technical writing ESP—efficiency, sufficiency and proficiency. In addition, you will receive expert feedback on your work from an experienced writing consultant to help fine-tune your new skills.
How You will Benefit:
- Create a full range of technical documents with solid structures
- Use templates to quickly start the writing process
- Explore techniques for getting past writer’s block
- Prepare detailed messages for both technical and nontechnical readers
- Understand best practices for displaying visual information
- Edit language for precision, clarity and conciseness
- Summarize complex issues with authority and clarity
What you will cover:
- Employing the standards of technical writing
- The technical writing process: getting started efficiently
- Assessing your own writing style based on the audience
- The techniques: strategically organizing ideas and messages
- Knowing how to best display visual information
- Achieving precision, clarity and conciseness
- Editing at the word level
Outline:
LESSON ONE
The Territory: Employing the Standards of Effective Technical Writing
- Distinguish Among the Elements of Technical Writing
- Create the Full Range of Technical Documents with a Solid Structure
- Decide on the Best Organization Pattern for Conveying Technical Information
The Task: Getting Started Efficiently
- Use Techniques for Overcoming Writer’s Block
- Evaluate Technical Data Based on the Writer’s Purpose and the Readers’ Concerns
- Prepare Detailed Messages with a Style for Technical and Nontechnical Readers
The Techniques: Organizing Messages Strategically
- Structure the Format to Enhance Presentations and Ideas
- Use Linking Words and Phrases in Sentences and Paragraphs
- Apply Best Practices for Displaying Visual Information
The Tweaks: Achieving Precision, Clarity, and Conciseness
- Edit Language for Precision, Clarity, Conciseness
- Choose Language for Appropriateness
- Summarize Complex Issues with Authority
