Technical Writing
October 5-7, 2010
8:30am - 4:00pm
Continuing Technical Education
1459 LeMarchant St., Suite 2201
Halifax, NS B3H 3P8
Description
Does this sound familiar?
"Professional writer" may not be in your job description, but you find a large (and frustrating) chunk of your work week devoted to producing emails and various documents. As a technical expert, you're master of your subject matter, but you struggle to find just the right words and the structures to organize your ideas. Writing eats up way too much of your time, and the sweat you put into it doesn't always guarantee a positive result.
Here's an intensive writing course to help you capture your ideas in well-organized, readable messages. Over three days, you'll learn how to do the following:
- improve your productivity as a writer
- write persuasively for difficult audiences
- streamline your style and avoid "gobbledygook"
- overcome common problems with grammar and punctuation
- perform quality assurance testing on your documents
You'll come away from the course better able to:
- write reports people actually want to read
- craft emails that produce positive results
- produce user manuals for real human beings
The course will take place in a computer lab so that you'll be able to complete writing exercises using Microsoft Word and the Internet. Because sessions follow a workshop format, you'll have lots of opportunity to practice new concepts and raise questions. You'll also receive feedback on your writing from both the instructor and your fellow participants. At the end of the course, your in-class exercises will be gathered into a portfolio and critiqued by the instructor.
Putting aside the time for three concentrated sessions means you'll be able to focus on specific skills needed to create clear technical documents. Once you've completed the course, you'll be immediately ready to apply what you've learned to your workplace writing tasks. You'll take back to your desk the confidence and knowledge to continue developing your writing abilities.
You Will Receive
The Elements of Technical Writing by Gary Blake and Robert Bly (Longman), Pearson Education.
Content
Analyzing your audience
Overcoming writer's block
Organizing your ideas
Conquering common problems with expression (grammar, punctuation, mechanics, sentence structure, spelling)
Developing an engaging technical style
Producing logical technical descriptions
Creating effective email messages
Writing easy-to-use user manuals
Constructing well-organized reports
Instructor
Dr. Dawn Henwood, author of A Writing Guide for IT Professionals, has more than 10 years of experience teaching business and technical writing in university and corporate settings. As a course developer and instructor, she has worked with professionals from a variety of industries, including government, healthcare, engineering, and IT. As a writing coach, Dawn has helped clients create Web copy, book chapters, white papers, proposals, e-mails, and PowerPoint reports. She has also provided one-on-one grammar coaching to English Language Learners. An active writer, Dawn is currently working on a second writing textbook, a writing guide for young entrepreneurs.
GENERAL INFORMATION
When and Where
Halifax, NS - October 5-7, 2010, 8:30am - 4:00pm
College of Continuing Education, 1459 LeMarchant St., Suite 2201, Halifax
Contact: 902-494-6079, toll free 1-800-565-1179 or fax: 902-423-9859
Accommodations
Atlantica Halifax Hotel: 1-888-810-7288
Lord Nelson Hotel: 1-800-565-2020
Parking
Parking passes ($11.00 per day) should be purchased in advance from our Registration Office (902-494-6079 or 1-800-565-1179) a minimum of 10 business days prior to your course start date. Passes will be mailed out with your registration confirmation. Parking fees are non-refundable.
Please note that parking is very limited on the Dalhousie campus. Parking spaces are not reserved and you should arrive on campus by 8:00 am to obtain a parking spot. We recommend that you park at either the Sir James Dunn or Hancock Hall parking lots. A Dalhousie parking lot map will be sent with parking passes.
Continuing Education Units
2.1 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) will be awarded for participation in this course. One CEU is equivalent to 10 classroom hours or 10 professional development hours (PDHs). The CEU is an internationally accepted uniform unit of measurement in qualified courses of continuing education.
Engineering Institute of Canada
Continuing Technical Education is a participating partner in the Engineering Institute of Canada (EIC) National Registry of CEUs. Professional Engineers who want to register their CEUs should indicate this on the course registration form.
To Register
| PHONE |
1-800-565-1179 or 902-494-6079 or (8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Atlantic Time) |
| FAX |
902-423-9859 |
| ONLINE |
|
| MAIL |
Registration form with fee to:
Dalhousie University
College of Continuing Education
Continuing Technical Education
1459 LeMarchant St., Suite 2201
Halifax, NS B3H 3P8
Registration is guaranteed when payment is received.
Income tax receipts issued in December on request. |
Discounts
Group Discounts
10% Discount - when two people from the same organization register for the same course at the same time.
15% Discount - when three people from the same organization register for the same course at the same time.
Four for the price of Three - when three people from the same organization register at the same time, a fourth person from that organization can register for free. This is equivalent to a 25% discount for the four individuals.
Alumni Discount
Dalhousie University alumni are eligible for a 15% discount.
Note: The above discounts cannot be combined. Lowest qualified discount only will apply.
Cancellation Policy
If a withdrawal is made up to 10 business days prior to the start of the course the full fee will be refunded. If a refund is requested after that date, a 20% administration charge will be deducted. You may substitute another to attend at no additional cost. If the course is cancelled for any reason, we will contact the registrants and provide a full refund. The university’s liability is limited to the return of the registration fee. If a speaker is not available due to unforeseen circumstances, another speaker of equal ability and expertise will be substituted. Participants withdrawing from a certificate program course should immediately notify Continuing Technical Education, in person or in writing, indicating the reason for withdrawal. Participants may be allowed to apply part of the fee paid to another course offered by Continuing Technical Education.
In-House Courses
Continuing Technical Education can arrange in-house engineering, technical or quality management courses - at your site or ours - to suit your organization's specific needs. Please call Erin McNeil at 1-800-565-1179 or 902-494-3216.