Technical writing

This 2-day training course is for people who develop or maintain large amounts of written information such as manuals, user guides, standard operating procedures, training materials or knowledge bases.

What will I learn?

You will learn the principles of Structured Writing, a proven set of tools and techniques for:

  • analysing the purpose of your documentation and the needs of your audience
  • organising information to meet audience needs, including different information needs of different users
  • presenting content based on information type
  • creating modular content for efficient reuse and ease of maintenance, and
  • structuring content so that it is easy to navigate and information is easy to find.
Best course I’ve been on in a while. Tactics provided an in-depth look at how to structure process and procedure documents.- Workshop participant, Genesis Energy
After the first day, I felt that the penny had dropped for me, and I realised that now I have a method and techniques at my disposal in the most challenging of projects. I can now see the wood for the trees!- Luke Pivac, Genesis Energy
An extremely stimulating and interesting training workshop — the information learned will be very useful in my and my colleagues' work.- Dee Hogenes, MAF

What is Structured Writing?

Structured Writing is a modular, topic-based approach to developing documents that are easy to write, read and use. It speeds up writing time, improves reader comprehension and enables content reuse. More about Structured Writing

Benefits

This course enables you to:

  • tackle your documentation project with confidence
  • analyse requirements and plan your approach
  • organise large amounts of content so users can navigate easily and find information quickly
  • write more and better content in less time, and
  • develop modular, reusable content that is easy to maintain.

What does it cover?

Topic Description
Introduction to Structured Writing
  • Benefits for readers and writers
  • Structured Writing in practice
Analysis
  • Identifying the purpose of your writing
  • Analysing your audience
  • Planning the content
Design
  • Creating an outline
  • Chunking your content
  • Sequencing the information
Development
  • Using plain language
  • Combining words and graphics
  • Standard formats for standard types of information
  • Reviewing and editing techniques
Applying Structured Writing at Work
  • Structuring common reports
  • Policy and procedure writing
Worksheets
  • Analysis tools
  • Outlining worksheet
  • Review and editing checklists
Case study or own work
  • Applying your knowledge

Who teaches it?

Rhiannon Herrick is a highly regarded writer and trainer. She has extensive experience in developing documentation and delivering training in a variety of contexts nationally and internationally. Rhiannon is also a knowledge management and process mapping specialist and a skilled facilitator.

What do I get?

The course materials include:

  • Structured Writing manual
  • follow-up support including a free document review, and
  • certificate.

How is it delivered?

We can hold an inhouse training course or customise one for your group.

Contact us about your training needs, or about options and dates if you want to attend a public workshop.

Book Online
Request Inhouse Training

Course details

Duration: 2 days

Participants: Maximum of 9

Locations: Auckland, Wellington, or customised inhouse

Price: $1,595 + GST per person

Workshop Terms and Conditions
Workshop Brochure PDF (167 kb)

Have a question?

Get in touch using the contact details below and we will be happy to answer any questions you might have.