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11 Free Technical Writing Training Courses

We’ve handpicked 11 technical writing training courses that’ll upgrade your team’s writing skills to help them produce quality and reader-friendly documents. Topics include the 5C’s of writing, types of technical documentation, and writing and editing technical manuals. Write better with these courses today!

Technical writing courses
Last published: 6th September 2023
EdApp Technical writing training course - The 5 C's of Writing News for Mobile Audiences by EdApp

1. The 5 C's of Writing News for Mobile Audiences

Delivering technical information via mobile devices is tricky. EdApp developed a technical training course on The 5 C's of Writing News for Mobile Audiences to help writers produce articles and documents that are conversational and concise. The topics covered in this technical writer course include building a conversational tone, selecting considerate sets of words, keeping headlines concise and chunky, and incorporating a contextual perspective. 

These rhetoric techniques will help your technical writers convey detailed, high-level information in simpler language that will resonate well with mobile readers. This free online writing course is also perfect for anyone looking to improve their business and email writing skills.

Through a microlearning design model, this free writing course is structured with 10 digestible lessons that can be completed in as little as five minutes. It’s a combination of informative modules and gamified exercises, guaranteeing higher retention and engagement rate. And while it’s ready to deliver, the course is editable through the drag-and-drop authoring tool of the best technical writing software, EdApp. You can add your own materials or even company branding to make it your own.

  • Cost: Free 
  • Scope: How to be conversational, tips to be considerate and concise, adding contextual perspective, why and how to chunk text

Created By EdApp

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Coursera Technical writing training course - Technical Writing

2. Technical Writing

In this free online course on content writing by Coursera, technical writers will learn how to sort relevant and irrelevant information, and accurate and unreliable subjective data points. This way, they can produce documents and reports that are guaranteed to be factual, unbiased, comprehensive, and up to date. It will also provide them with general guidelines for organizing and documenting a large amount of information using visual strategies and visual tools, allowing them to deliver reliable information as quickly and efficiently as possible. 

This free English writing classes online is 100% online and can be taken asynchronously. A certificate will also be issued upon course completion, which learners can share online or add to their CVs or resumes.

  • Cost: Free 
  • Scope: Techniques to sort relevant and irrelevant information and acquire factual data, organizing and documenting a large amount of information, types of technical documentation

Created by Coursera

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Learning Tree Technical writing training course - Introduction To Technical Writing Training

3. Introduction To Technical Writing Training

Learning Tree’s technical writing training course is primarily focused on helping technical writers create technical manuals and white papers that their readers will find easy to follow and understand. This example of technical writing for students will walk them through the complete process of planning and writing sentence structure and sections, and editing technical documents to guarantee their clarity and avoid grammar errors and typos. They will also learn how to leverage diagrams, tables, and more graphical elements to express their ideas more effectively. This course is delivered in an instructor-led format, with the benefit of one-on-one instructor coaching after completion. Unfortunately, this instructional course is not meant for self-paced learning and can be fairly costly.

  • Cost: 2990 USD
  • Scope: The planning, writing, and copy editing process, structuring information for clarity and readability, designing documents with graphical elements

Created by Learning Tree

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Skillshare Technical writing training course - Technical Writing: The Writing Process

4. Technical Writing: The Writing Process

SkillShare’s Technical Writing: The Writing Process course is the perfect technical writing training course for writers who want to improve their technical writing and communication skills. This hour-long video learning course will tap on essential topics like planning your technical writing, collecting and organizing your information, and effective writing and editing of content. The key points will be presented in simple scenarios that will allow learners to easily follow and understand the “what”, “how”, and “why” of technical writing. At the end of this free online business writing course, there will be a writing task that will allow learners to put the technical writing and written communication skills they've learned into practice.

  • Cost: Free (only within a 7-day trial period)
  • Scope: The proper planning and writing process, collecting and organizing information, editing content, best practice examples for technical writing

Created by SkillShare

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Phoenix One Technical writing training course - Effective Technical Writing

5. Effective Technical Writing

Learn the keys to writing good quality technical documents with this technical writing training course prepared by Phoenix One Knowledge Solutions. In this course, technical writers will have the opportunity to attend a 2-day training, where they will gain expertise on how to plan a technical document and how to write effectively and appropriately for their target audience. Here, they will receive some pointers for creating documents that are clear, concise, and user-friendly. This course will also guide them on how to test and proofread a technical document, ensuring that they finish with a high-quality piece of technical writing that accomplishes their goal.

  • Cost: Available upon request
  • Scope: How to plan a technical document, write appropriately and clearly for the audience, testing and editing a technical document

Created by Phoenix One

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Google Developers Technical writing training course - Technical Writing One and Two

6. Technical Writing One and Two

Google Developers has put together these two technical writing training courses for software engineers and engineering-adjacent roles, aiming to equip them with training writing skills and help them write clear software documentation and establish an effective help system. The Technical Writing One course goes over the fundamentals of technical writing, like recognizing pesky pronouns, converting passive voice sentences to active voice, understanding the difference between bulleted lists and number lists, and more. Their Technical Writing Two, on the other hand, is a follow-up free English writing class online for those who have completed their first technical writing training. It digs deeper into the advanced elements of technical writing, like writing drafts, organizing large documents, and writing clear figure captions, among others. 

These two courses require at least a little writing proficiency in English to ensure a smooth learning experience. They are optimized for laptop or desktop use, although learners can also take them via tablet or phone. 

  • Cost: Free
  • Scope: Introduction to technical writing, converting passive voice sentences to active voice, utilizing bulleted lists and number lists, organizing large documents, writing drafts

Created by Google Developers

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Oregon State University - Technical writing training course - Technical Editing and Report Writing

7. Technical Editing and Report Writing

Another technical writing training course that is worth checking out is the Technical Editing and Report Writing course, which is hosted by Oregon State University. It focuses on building knowledge and skills to help writers craft clear, correct, and concise technical documents, ones that will resonate well with their readers. It will also teach them how to edit finished outputs and incorporate feedback and notes into the revision process. At the end of this course, learners will be required to work on a sample technical writing document and publish their articles via the WordPress site. A completion certificate can be issued, but with an additional expense.

  • Cost: 425 USD
  • Scope: Introduction to technical writing, steps to writing clearly, correctly, and concisely, editing and revision process

Created by Oregon State University

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Cherryleaf - Technical writing training course #8 - Technical Author/Technical Writing Course

8. Technical Author/Technical Writing Course

The Technical Author/Technical Writing Course by Cherryleaf comprises a series of modules that will equip writers with the key skills of technical writing and effective IT and software user documentation. This course will take the learners through the entire process of documentation, from planning and writing to editing, indexing, and production. It will also guide your team on creating content that follows the best practices, so they can work and write as efficiently and effectively as possible. The content of this course will be delivered in short video presentations, which can be accessed anytime and anywhere. There will also be writing exercises that anyone can complete for around two days. 

  • Cost: 185 EU
  • Scope: The purpose and value of technical documentation, entire documentation process, the best practices for working more efficiently and effectively

Created by Cherryleaf

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TechWriter Certification Technical writing training course - Structured Writing for Technical Documentation

9. Structured Writing for Technical Documentation

This technical writing training course by TechWriter-Certification covers a range of informative topics vital for structuring technical documentation, which will be published in different formats and accessed on different devices. Here, learners will know how to segment data to create a documentation set and put all the points together using the XMetal authoring tool. They'll also learn about the DITA (Darwin Information Type Architecture) standard and other current technical writing trends. 

The content of this course is delivered through modules, lectures, and discussions combined with written assignments and quizzes to effectively assess your learner’s progress and understanding of the lessons. They are also encouraged to contact their instructors during the study for any questions, assistance, and feedback. 

  • Cost: 349.00 USD
  • Scope: Segmenting data, defining and creating documentation set using XMetal, DITA (Darwin Information Type Architecture)

Created by TechWriter-Certification

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FutureLearn Technical writing training course  - Technical Report Writing for Engineers

10. Technical Report Writing for Engineers

Find out how to communicate your complex ideas and transform them into reader-friendly engineering reports with the help of this technical writing training course by FutureLearn. This self-paced training will run for about 6 weeks, covering key topics like the anatomy of good technical reports and the skills needed to write and deliver them. It will also go over why citations are so important, as well as how figures, diagrams, and labeling can help writers improve their writing habits. By the end of this course, learners should be able to develop their own technical engineering report and effectively communicate information to their audience. 

  • Cost: Free for 8 weeks; 64 USD for unlimited access
  • Scope: Segmenting data, defining and creating documentation set using XMetal, DITA (Darwin Information Type Architecture)

Created by FutureLearn

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Alison Technical Writing Training Courses - Technical Writing Essentials

11. Technical Writing Essentials

This free technical writing training course by Alison aims to improve the technical communication competencies of employees. Technical writing is about communicating clearly and effectively, so this course approaches writing through a holistic lens. This just means it'll go beyond just writing. The course will cover the basics of technical communication, professional style, technical document design, oral presentation, research methods, document types, and more.

  • Cost: Free
  • Scope: Basics of technical communication, professional style, document design, research methods, common document types

Created by Alison

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Master the art of clear communication with technical writing training

Technical writing involves the process of simplifying complex data points and communicating them to those who need them the most. Most businesses use it to explain and present how their services, products, and procedures work in the most basic terms possible. But all too often, even the best industry proficient writers struggle to record a technical document that will perfectly speak to their expert and non-expert readers. The secret key to producing good technical documents is through excellent writing and communication. And while it’s not exactly rocket science, these skills can be learned and developed through a series of training and activities. Enrolling your team in technical writing courses and workshops will equip them with the right knowledge and techniques and develop valuable documents that are easily read, understood, and followed. 

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