Key details

Comprehensive technical author training for newcomers, and existing technical authors who want to improve their skill set.

For over two decades Armada was a leading provider of technical authoring services. Our background in the industry makes us ideally suited to offering technical author training.

Our Technical authoring training programme comprises the following modules:

• Introduction to technical authoring (1 day)
• Intermediate technical authoring (2 days)
• Advanced technical authoring (2 days)

The programme has been revamped recently, with several new modules added to reflect the latest trends in technical documentation.

In-class or online

This course is available in-class at eight centres or live online.

Upcoming course dates

Accredited technical author training

Armada is a long-standing business affiliate of the ISTC, the UK-based society for professional communicators. Our Technical author training programme has been accredited by the ISTC since 2012.

Lead instructor: Matthew Ellison

Scheduled technical authoring courses in 2023 are hosted by Matthew Ellison, who has over 30 years’ experience working as a user assistance and eLearning professional. To read a short bio for Matthew, see Expert trainer.

How will I learn?

Technical author training combines lecture, demonstration and hands-on practice. You carry out plenty of practical exercises to learn the techniques taught.

You have ample opportunity to discuss your specific requirements with the trainer.

Technical author training materials and certificate

Course delegates receive:

• Comprehensive training material, to refer to throughout the course and use as a refresher afterwards.
• Checklists and job aids to focus each stage of the writing process.
• Report and user manual templates that incorporate best practice design and structure as taught in the courses.
• Resources to use back in the workplace.
• An e-certificate confirming successful course completion. Click here to see an example of the certificate you receive.

After course support

Following technical authoring training, delegates are entitled to 30 days’ email support from their trainer to help with any post-course issues. For further details, see Support.

Prerequisites

No prior technical authoring knowledge is necessary.

Our guarantees to you

We offer:

• A price guarantee that you’re getting the best value for money.
• A training guarantee that you’ll learn the concepts and skills you need.

On-request technical authoring training available

Our Technical authoring training programme is available on-request, i.e. one-to-one training or a ‘closed course’ for your group, hosted at one of our centres, your venue or online.

On-request technical authoring training can be tailored to take into account any existing knowledge you have, and the work you’re going to be doing. Please contact us for a quote.

General information

Course times

9.30am–4.30pm.

Payment

Payment for technical writing training can be made by:

• Bank transfer. Please call 01527 834783 for our bank details.
• Card. All major credit and debit cards accepted. Payment can be made securely online or over the phone. Card payments are processed by Stripe. Armada doesn’t record or store your card details.

Purchase orders

We accept purchase orders from UK-registered companies and public sector organisations.

Cancellations and transfers

You can cancel a booking on a scheduled training course, or transfer to a later course, without penalty providing you give us 10 working days’ notice. Any fees already paid will be refunded.

If you cancel a booking on a scheduled Technical authoring programme course giving less than 10 working days’ notice, or request a transfer to a later course, a cancellation/transfer fee is payable. The fee charged depends on the notice period given. For details, see cancellation terms.

Different terms apply for the cancellation or postponement of an on-request course (one-to-one training or a ‘closed course’ for your group). For details, see course cancellations.

Terms and conditions

Training course bookings are subject to our terms and conditions.

Expert trainer

Matthew Ellison

Matthew has over 30 years’ experience working as a user assistance and eLearning professional in the software industry. Some of this time was spent managing a team of writers and trainers at a UK-based consulting company, before enjoying a period in the US as Director of the WinWriters (subsequently WritersUA and UX Writer) Conference. He continues to provide consultancy to software companies throughout the world who need documentation and user assistance for their products.

Matthew has a B.Sc. in Electronic Engineering and a PGCE from Bristol University, and has been a part-time lecturer at Portsmouth University for the MA Technical Communication course. He is a MadCap-Certified Instructor, an authorised trainer for EC Software’s Help+Manual and an expert in many other user assistance tools and technologies.

Matthew has been a popular speaker at conferences in Europe and the US since 1997. He regularly publishes articles and reviews on user assistance tools and technology.

Course content

Introductory module (day 1)

Introduction

Introduction and objectives

Recommended reading list

Why good writing is important and the costs of documentation

Know your audience

Understand and prioritise the different categories of your audience and handle different levels of reader

Research the basic tasks of your audience

How to structure your documents

Understand which sections to include in your manuals and the order in which they should be placed

Write from a design

Use mind mapping techniques for designing a document

Learn how to plan the content of your document before you start writing

Skills of writing – 12 golden rules

Learn the 12 golden rules of writing to help you develop a clear and concise style

Use readability checking and testing techniques

Punctuation and grammar

Understand the basics of punctuation and grammar

Avoid the six most frequently made errors that occur in writing

Document layout

Understand the basics of layout and typesetting

Learn how to format your document for maximum impact

Reviewing and proof reading

How to check your documentation to ensure it is error free

Use industry standard techniques for reviewing, rewriting and proof reading

Intermediate module (days 2 and 3)

Introduction and overview

Basics of technical writing

Why don’t readers use technical writing?

• Five key reader problems
• What readers want
• Why consistency is so important

Writers’ problems with technical writing

• The main cause of ineffective writing
• Types of writing
• Standards for technical writing

The technical writing process

Project managing your writing

• A process to achieve consistency
• The technical writing process
• Timings for a writing project

Planning your writing

• Setting document objectives
• Plan – draft – rewrite!

Analysing your audience

• Understanding your readers
• Audience analysis
• Four key audiences
• The global audience
• The audience you don’t support

Adding detail to your audience analysis

• Using personas
• Communication styles
• Other communication style issues

Creating effective content and structure

Creating a body of knowledge

• Defining structure and content
• Structuring with sections
• Topic-based authoring & DITA

Topic generation techniques

• Introductions and conclusions
• Generating topics for a structure
• Structuring with the LATCH principle
• Outlining tools

Creating an outline prototype

• Creating headings that work
• Writing better headings
• Testing the prototype

Creating cohesion:

• Handling repetition and redundancy
• Transitions that work
• Sentence structure
• Sections that work

The Building Blocks of Content

• Basic sentence structures
• Topic sentences and controlling ideas
• Writing a clear topic sentence
• Establishing the topic and controlling idea

Using paragraphs

• Paragraph structure
• Linked paragraphs help readers
• Creating effective paragraphs

Clarity in technical writing

Clarity issues with English

• Language customs
• Common writing styles
• Simplified Technical English
• STE controlled dictionary*

Grammar issues affecting technical writers

• Pronouns
• Modifiers
• Synonyms

Consistency and correctness

The Importance of consistency

• Achieving consistency
• Typographical errors
• Spelling forms
• Numbering
• Capitalisation

Punctuation standards

• Commas
• Colons, semi-colons, ellipses
• Hyphens
• Apostrophes in action

Copy editing and proofreading

Putting it all together

Building readability into your documents from the start

• Enough or too much?
• Capstone exercise

Technical writing tools

• Writing tools for technical writers
• Image creation tools for technical writers

Advanced module (days 4 and 5)

Introduction and overview

Defining readability

The technical writing process

• Building readability
• How people take on information
• Working with how the brain works

Given/new and readability

• Given/new – using a universal glossary
• Structuring for readability
• Reducing inferential load

Signalling in your document

• Signalling with headings
• 3-step process for effective headings
• Signalling with sentences
• Customer-focused persuasion

Business and design standards for technical documentation

Standards for technical writing

• Darwin Information Typing Architecture
• DITA and XML
• Company style guides and standards
• External standards

Types of style guides

• Example style guide content
• Creating a style guide
• Using editorial reference guides

Creating better graphics

Designing the page

• How readers process technical documents
• Improving your document’s functionality

Basic rules of graphics

• Controlling layout with tables and grids
• Microsoft Word vs DTP software

Page design:

• Typefaces, fonts, and white space
• Layout and alignment

Expressing information with graphics

• Identifying what works as a graphic
• Getting the right level of detail using, photos, drawings and charts and graphs

Checking document integrity

Formal document structure and templates

• Headings and the ToC
• Other tables and lists
• Checking
• Captions and graphics
• References and notes

Online vs print

• Checklists for print and online
• Checklist for online

Copy editing and proofreading

• Marking up proofs
• Using formal proof correction symbols
• Checking your text
• Checklist: proofreading and copy editing

Writing for multiple platforms

Targeting your platforms

• Size and shape of the screen
• Using responsive design

How readers scan pages online

• Identifying what must be written
• Building the inverted pyramid

Headings, menus, and links

• 3-step process for effective menus:
• Menus vs. links
• Writing links that work

The online hierarchy

• 4 key criteria for an effective home page
• Creating transitional and content pages

Accessibility initiatives

• Basic accessibility guidelines
• BBC online rules

Grammar issues

Focusing sentences to communicate to the reader:

• Putting the reader first
• Different types of sentence
• Making your writing more concrete

Key grammar problems in technical authoring

• Subject-verb agreement
• Complete sentences
• Missing information
• Unreadable text and how to fix it

Grammar and syntax

• Usage issues
• Creating cohesion terms: redundancy and transitions
• Using parallel construction: sentences, tables and lists, headings

Editing and writing with others

Planning to meet your deadlines

• Planning and estimating
• Planning metrics
• Meetings: objectives, rules, top ten issues, checklists

Feeding back to team members

• The SBI model: delivering effective feedback
• Questions to ask in difficult situations
• People problems: communication styles*

Creating communication in the work environment

• VAK: seeing, hearing, feeling
• Filtering information with VAK preferences
• Benefits of VAK preferences
• Keeping the team Informed
• increasing team involvement

Capstone exercise

• Putting it all together

Live online training

Live online training lets you participate in a course from your place of work or home.

We do everything possible to make your online training experience as close as possible to actually being in the classroom. You can:

• See and hear our trainer, and the other delegates participating in the course…
  
• Interact by speaking, using chat, or raising your ‘virtual hand’ if you need assistance.
• Share your screen with our trainer, and allow them to take control to explain something.

Like our in-class courses, online courses…

• Are presented by expert instructors.
• Give you plenty of opportunity to carry out assisted, practical exercises.
• Offer 30 days’ email support from your trainer.

All you need is an Internet-connected computer with a webcam and audio capability. We provide everything else…

• Links to download the files, resources, etc. you’ll use in your course.
• A training guide. For most courses, you can choose from a printed copy that we post to you, or a PDF.

In the week before your course, we’ll send you an email containing everything you need to prepare for and participate in the training. Then, a couple of days before your course, we’ll give you a courtesy call to make sure you have everything in place and answer any questions you may have.

Please note that we are not able to record scheduled online courses for privacy reasons.

When you attend live online training, you’re participating in a real course, hosted by a real trainer, in real time

Discounts

To make your technical writing training as affordable as possible, we offer:

• A range of training discounts on our scheduled technical writing training courses.
• A price guarantee that you won’t get technical writing training for less.

Training discounts

Multiple places

If you book multiple places on any courses, we can offer you:

• 10% discount if you book two places.
• 15% discount if you book three or four places.
• 20% discount if you book five or more places.

This can be for several people attending one course, one person attending several courses, or a combination.

These discounts are available for both classroom-based courses and live online training.

Concessions

We offer a 10% discount on scheduled technical writing course places to:

• Students, teachers and lecturers.
• People who work for a registered charity.
• ISTC members.

These discounts are available for both classroom-based courses and remote training.

Please call us if you qualify for a discount. Evidence of your status that entitles you to a discount may be requested.

Terms and exclusions

Only one of the above discounts can be applied to any booking.

The above discounts are not available for on-request course bookings (one-to-one training or a ‘closed course’ for your group).

Price guarantee

When you book training with Armada, we want you to be certain that you’re not paying over-the-odds. So, if you book a place on any scheduled (public) course and then find the same course at a lower price elsewhere, we will match that price.

To qualify for the price match:

• The course you find must be comparable. By this we mean it must:
  • Cover the same subject.
  • Be the same duration or longer.
  • For classroom-based courses, be in the same region, i.e. within 50 miles of our centre.
  • For online training, be a live course, i.e. not pre-prepared e-learning content.

• The lower price must be advertised on the other company’s website.

To claim a price match, just call any time before attending your course and tell us where you saw the price.