Learn How in Six Weeks

by Margaret VanWinkle

“Writing great technical documents” is our goal as professional technical communicators. That is also the name of a six-week on-line continuing education course that I recently completed.

The course introduction promised to help us write with confidence, recognize and overcome common writing problems, and revise our writing to achieve more power and clarity. That’s quite a promise.

Since I’m a natural skeptic, I was surprised and delighted to see the promise fulfilled.

Content

Do you know the definition of an “inkhorn term”? Do you know how to form plurals of acronyms? Can you recognize a “circumlocution” or a “hedge word”? Do you know how to design a chart appropriate to the data being presented? Do you know how to design a document for both managers and technical readers?

The instructor covered these and many other topics. She opened with a fascinating review of historical writing and went on to discuss different writing styles and audiences. She then expanded to words, sentences, paragraphs, and documents.

The final lessons covered punctuation, graphical elements, document design, and formatting specific types of technical documents.

Course Structure
Lessons were released each Wednesday and Friday, and each lesson site remained open for two weeks. The instructor provided relevant and concise responses to our questions in the chat room at least once a day (except for weekends and holidays).

Each lesson consisted of 4–5 chapters, a list of supplementary material, a writing assignment, and a quiz.

• The supplementary materials list included both reference books and pertinent articles from a variety of internet sources.
• Writing assignments provided an opportunity to post a writing sample that other students critiqued. The instructor then critiqued the original writing sample and the other students’ critiques. This provided a real-life opportunity to give and receive constructive criticism.
• Quizzes could be re-taken until a grade of 100% was received. The quizzes did not count toward the final grade.

The final exam consisted of 36 multiple-choice questions and could not be re-taken. A Certificate of Completion was immediately issued if a passing grade was obtained (approximately 70%; the exact percentage is stated at the beginning of the exam).

Website, Cost, & Other Details
I discovered the course through the continuing education listing from my local community college (Clark State Community College in Springfield, Ohio, www.ed2go.com/cscc).

The course is also available through www.ed2go.com. Before you rush to this site, I would alert you that it actually cost twenty dollars more to enroll through the website ($129 in the summer of 2008) than through Clark State (currently $99). You may want to look at Clark State or a local community college for similar courses before enrolling through www.ed2go.com.

The instructor also offers a basic course called “Fundamentals of Technical Writing”. Since I had been a technical writer for the prior two years, I chose the advanced course. If you are thinking about entering the field, the basic course may be more appropriate.

In Summary
As the course progressed, I found myself anticipating the release of each new lesson and facing work on Monday mornings with excitement. I think it is safe to say that this is the first time I have regretted seeing a course end.

I now know that an “inkhorn term” is a word created during the Renaissance by common people who wanted to appear more educated. I watch my plurals, I avoid circumlocutions and hedge words, and I create charts appropriately. I have increased confidence in my ability to design a project with all the necessary elements.

Technical writing may be “dry”, but it does not have to be stilted and boring. I came away from this course with a renewed delight in writing and an awareness of the inherent joy in communicating well.