Why do I need to take a technical writing course?
Taking a course on technical writing will help guide you through every thing you need to learn and can also give you a major confidence boost to kick start your writing journey.
What is technical writing?
Technical writing is the art of providing detail-oriented instruction to help users understand a specific skill or product. And a technical writer is someone who writes these instructions, otherwise known as technical documentation or tutorials. This could include user manuals, online support articles, or internal docs for coders/API developers. ...
What is the biggest factor to consider when writing a technical article?
Analyze and Understand who your Readers are. The biggest factor to consider when you're writing a technical article is your intended/expected audience. It should always be at the forefront of your mind. A good technical writer writes based on the reader’s context.
What is the first thing you need to know before writing?
Understand the use of proper English. Before you consider writing, it is necessary to have a good grasp of English, its tenses, spellings and basic grammar. Your readers don't want to read an article riddled with incorrect grammar and poor word choices.
Why do we need an outline?
Make an outline. Outlining the content of your document before expanding on it helps you write in a more focused way. It also lets you organize your thoughts and achieving your goals for your writing. An outline can also help you identify what you want your readers to get out of the document.
Why is technical writing important?
This is great, because with each new technical document you research and write, you will become an expert on that subject. Technical writing also gives you a better sense of user empathy. It helps you pay more attention to what the readers or users of a product feel rather than what you think.
What to do when planning out a document?
While planning out your document, you have to research the topic you're writing about. There are tons of resources only a Google search away for you to consume and get deeper insights from.
1. Technical Writing Certification Courses by Technical Writer HQ
Besides other certificate programs that Technical Writer HQ has in their library, one of them is their Technical Writing Certification Course. No matter if you're a technical writing veteran or someone who's yet to hone their writing skills, this online program is an extremely good place to start.
2. Technical Writing Fundamentals by the University of Waterloo
If you're a fan of a student-like approach, or you prefer courses where you can engage with other students, the Technical Writing Fundamentals by the University of Waterloo might be for you.
3. Society for Technical Communication (STC) Courses
The Society for Technical Communication claims to be the oldest professional association dedicated to technical writing. There's a membership fee if you want to enter the society, but you don't have to be a member to attend their online courses.
4. Coursera
Coursera is one of the leading online learning platforms, so it's no surprise that there are several technical writing courses hidden in Coursera's web pages.
5. Emphasis Technical Course
Many writers start their technical writing career inside a specific company writing technical documents and editing technical documentation.
6. Technical Writing Courses by the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire
Just as with the University of Waterloo, the UW-Eau Claire offers a classic university-flavored approach to learning. What's even better, you're likely to find a course no matter where you are in your career. Although the targeted audience is writers, engineers or product managers can develop necessary skills as well.
How do I learn technical writing skills?
You can learn technical writing skills and general business writing by going to a college. The alternative is to take an online course and hone your skills there. If you don't know how to write for a specific audience, it's better to start with a basic course and slowly move up as you start gaining confidence.
The Technical Writing Process
It may surprise you to discover that the technical writing process can take just as much (or more!) time to plan and review than to write. The planning phase sets you up for success and makes your writing time more effective. The review phase is essential to ensure your document is technically accurate and audience-accessibl…
Document Preparation
- After the mind-map is prepared, it is important to choose the right type of technical document. Your client may have already indicated the desired type, or it may be obvious. However, it's worthwhile to step back at this stage and confirm the document type. There is a wide range of types. This list isn't exhaustive, but provides an overview of the major ones:
Writing in The Correct Style
- At long last, you can start to write! By going through this thoughtful planning process, the writing will be easier and more efficient. While the content will now be clear, you need to ensure the style of writing is suitable for a technical document. The writing needs to be accessible, direct, and professional. Flowery or emotional text is not welcome in a technical document. To ensure your …
Visual Formatting
- While the heart of a technical document is its text, the visual display should not be forgotten. A wall of text is difficult to read. Even the clearest instructions can be lost in a document that has poor visual representation. Thoughtful formatting, templates, and images/diagrams will make your text more helpful for your audience.
Review Carefully
- Good writing of any type must be free of spelling and grammar errors. It's obvious but not always easy, especially with lengthy documents. Don't worry – you're not on your own. There are a number of software tools that can assist in your grammatical review. The two most useful tools we suggest are: 1. Microsoft Word Spelling and Grammar with the Readability Measurement 2. …
Career Advice
- Do you need a college degree in technical writing?
No! While there are many valuable formal education programs in this discipline, there are no direct requirements for a college degree or diploma. Practical experience and a writing portfolio will be just as useful to winning jobs or impressing employers. - Just start writing
Don't wait for your first technical writing assignment to build your portfolio. Practice this style by creating new documents for existing programs or projects. Is there a productivity app that you love to use, but its documentation is poorly written? Write your own and share it online for feedb…
What Is Technical Writing?
Technical writing is the art of providing detail-oriented instruction to help users understand a specific skill or product. And a technical writer is someone who writes these instructions, otherwise known as technical documentation or tutorials. This could include user manuals, online support articles, or internal docs for coders/AP…
Benefits of Technical Writing
- Technical writers are lifelong learners. Since the job involves communicating complex concepts in simple and straightforward terms, you must be well-versed in the field you're writing about. Or be willing to learn about it. This is great, because with each new technical document you research and write, you will become an expert on that subject. Technical writing also gives you a better se…
Necessary Skills to Have as A Technical Writer
- Understand the use of proper English
Before you consider writing, it is necessary to have a good grasp of English, its tenses, spellings and basic grammar. Your readers don't want to read an article riddled with incorrect grammar and poor word choices. - Know how to explain things clearly and simply
Knowing how to implement a feature doesn't necessarily mean you can clearly communicate the process to others. In order to be a good teacher, you have to be empathetic, with the ability to teach or describe terms in ways suitable for your intended audience.
The Technical Writing Process
- Analyze and Understand who your Readers are
The biggest factor to consider when you're writing a technical article is your intended/expected audience. It should always be at the forefront of your mind. A good technical writer writes based on the reader’s context.As an example, let's say you're writing an article targeted at beginners. It i… - Think About User Experience
User experience is just as important in a technical document as it is anywhere on the web. Now that you know your audience and their needs, keep in mind how the document itself services their needs. It’s so easy to ignore how the reader will actually use the document. As you write, continu…
Where to Publish Your Articles
- Now that you've decided to take up technical writing, here are some good platforms where you can start putting up technical content for free. They can also help you build an appealing portfolio for future employers to check out. Dev.tois a community of thousands of techies where both writers and readers get to meaningfully engage and share ideas and resources. Hashnodeis my …
Technical Writing Courses
- Just like in every other field, there are various processes, rules, best practices, and so on in Technical Writing. Taking a course on technical writing will help guide you through every thing you need to learn and can also give you a major confidence boost to kick start your writing journey. Here are some technical writing courses you can check out: 1. Google Technical Writing Course(…
Technical Writing Forums and Communities
- Being part of a community or forum along with people who share same passion as you is beneficial. You can get feedback, corrections, tips and even learn some style tips from other writers in the community. Here are some communities and forums for you to join: 1. Hashnode 2. Dev.to 3. Technical Writing World 4. Technical Writer Forum 5. Write the Docs Forum
Some Amazing Technical Writers to Follow
- In my technical writing journey, I've come and followed some great technical writers whose writing journey, consistency, and style inspire me. These are the writers whom I look up to and consider virtual mentors on technical writing. Sometimes, they drop technical writing tips that I find helpful and have learned a lot from. Here are some of those writers (hyperlinked with their twitter handl…
Final Words
- You do not need a degree in technical writing to start putting out technical content. You can start writing on your personal blog and public GitHub repositories while building your portfolio and gaining practical experience. Really – Just Start Writing. Practice by creating new documents for existing programs or projects. There are a number of open source projects on GitHub that you c…
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