Learn how to write clear and accurate technical documents that stand out in a competitive environment.
As an engineer, you need to deliver clear and concise reports, tenders, specifications, proposals and other valuable documents on behalf of your firm. To do this, you need to know how to tailor documents for different audiences.
This course will help you improve your technical writing skills. You'll get practical writing tasks to help you turn theory into practice. You'll also work in-depth on a sample of your own writing, which you'll submit before the course.
After completing this course, you'll know how to:
- tailor your writing to suit different audiences
- prioritise and categorise information
- use writing techniques to create clear, consistent and engaging documents.
Complete this course as part of the Emerging Engineers Leadership Program
Build the skills you need to practice independently, apply for more senior roles and prepare for Chartered status through the Emerging Engineers Leadership Program.
EA members get 15% off on selected workshops and training. Not a member? Sign up now
*1% credit card surcharge applies.
Any questions?
Contact us
3 December - 4 December
16 January - 17 January
27 February - 28 February
25 March - 26 March
29 April - 30 April
27 May - 28 May
26 June - 27 June
29 July - 30 July
28 August - 29 August
23 September - 24 September
16 October - 17 October
6 November - 7 November
2 December - 3 December
This online course will run on the following dates:
3 & 4 December 2024, 9am – 1pm AEDT
RSVP
Registrations close three business days before the start of each session.
We can customise this course for groups of six or more.
You choose the time, place, duration and format.
Find out how we can help you and your team by clicking on the button below to request a quote or calling us directly on +61 3 9321 1700.
Learning outcomes
- Produce clear and effective technical documents
- Reduce your writing time
- Keep readers engaged in complex documents
- Minimise risk by avoiding ambiguity and removing potentially costly errors
- Maximise credibility as a writer by producing professional-quality documents
- Use writing processes to efficiently produce useful documents
- Analyse the audience's needs and interests, and select, prioritise and organise information accordingly
- Write with more clarity and impact
- Apply plain English principles
- Optimise layout elements to make documents easier to use and understand
- Review documents strategically to maximise their practicality
- Apply quality control measures to ensure documents are consistent and error-free
Is this course for you?
This course will benefit you most if you are a graduate, early-career, or mid-career engineer.
It will help you to develop the writing skills to develop consistent, clear and concise technical documents (such as technical reports and specifications).
For senior engineers and leaders who need to develop their business writing skills, see Business Writing for Engineers.
You'll need to submit a sample writing piece before the course begins. You'll refer to this piece throughout the course.
Introduction
- Key steps involved in writing effective technical documents
Analyse audience and purpose
- Tailor written copy to suit different audiences - both technical and non-technical
- Find and use the appropriate tone for your audience
- Appreciate the importance of clearly articulating your document's purpose
Organise information
- Apply planning methods to prioritise and categorise information.
- Use these methods to make insightful decisions about relevance and appropriate level of detail.
- Provide ‘signposts’ to keep your audience on track in complex documents.
Write with clarity and impact
- Create clear and concise technical documents
- Demonstrate the flexibility of writing for different audiences, from experts to non-experts
- Use a readability tool on your own document
- Write effective paragraphs and well-constructed sentences
- Use words that avoid confusion and ambiguity
- Understand the relevance of correct grammar and punctuation
Optimise layout
- Understand the impact of professional-looking documents
- Achieve a consistent, clear and uncluttered look to technical documents
- Provide appropriate numbering systems for long documents
- Use current standards for using graphics in text
Review and proofread for quality
- Review participants’ sample documents, including reports, tenders, specifications, correspondence or emails
- Apply professional editing and proofreading techniques
Towards chartered
Take this course to build skills and knowledge in the following Engineers Australia Chartered status competencies*:
8. Communication
13. Local engineering knowledge
14. Problem analysis
Learn more about Chartered Status.
*Completing this course does not automatically guarantee you a competency. However, you will gain the base knowledge you need to develop these specific Chartered competencies.
Coleen Howe has extensive experience in training and facilitation across government, tertiary and the corporate sectors. She specialises in technical and business writing skills training and as a coach to professionals across multiple sectors. She brings strong operational knowledge and experience.
Coleen has an engaging and dynamic facilitation style and ensures her writing skills courses are practical and applicable.
She has a Bachelor of Arts (Languages) together with formal qualifications in project management, quality systems and contemporary writing practices. Coleen is a published author of a diverse range of documents for senior decision makers in both the public and private sectors.
Christine Misso has a strong academic background in English language and literature, with extensive experience as a trainer, freelance editor and writer.
She has more than 10 years’ experience in education and training in both the government and corporate sectors. She also provides English-language coaching to technical professionals.
Christine has delivered the Writing Winning Technical Documents course for EEA for over 13 years in Australia and overseas.
She has a Bachelor of Arts and Diploma of Education.
Valued for her knowledge, and clear and engaging style, Christine’s feedback from clients and course participants is universally positive and enthusiastic.
Great to participate in the discussions and use the knowledge gained to assess my own work. Learning from an experienced person who does document reviews for a living was most beneficial.
Excellent course, I can use these skills immediately and critically.
Use of the whiteboards via the web cam that made it feel as if we were in the classroom together. The facilitator also had a really good presence delivering the course and I feel really connected with the participants.
