Technical Author/Technical Writing Course (Independent study option)

Technical writing training course without external assessment or certificate

Self-assessed version - No certificate

Cherryleaf’s popular, and affordable, online Technical Author/technical writing course teaches you the key skills of technical writing for IT and software user documentation.

It's ideal if you’re:

Looking to start your career as a Technical Author, Technical Writer, or similar role
Writing instructions, but you’ve never had any proper training in how to do this well

You’ll gain confidence you’re approaching each writing project in the right way, and creating content that follows best practice.

This technical communication course is accredited by the Institute of Scientific and Technical Communicators

The Technical Author/technical writing training course’s content is accredited by the Institute of Scientific and Technical Communicators, the professional body for Technical Communicators in the United Kingdom. It is an independent assessment of the course’s quality.

This course is also recommended by the Society for Technical Communication (USA), the Australian Society for Technical Communication, and the Technical Communicators Association of New Zealand to their members.

Learn from the experts

As well as teaching technical communication, we also create end-user documentation, Help and UI text for clients. This means every course is based on practical experience of technical writing in today’s environment. The techniques you’ll learn on this course are the same ones used by our projects team.

Professional certification as a technical communicator

Cherryleaf’s training courses can help you be admitted to the national professional body for technical communicators in the UK (it also has members around the world) - The Institute of Scientific and Technical Communicators (ISTC).

Junior Members, Members and Fellows are certified by the ISTC through a vetting process, with Members and Fellows entitled to use the initials MISTC or FISTC after their names. Being a member of the ISTC can help in having your skills and experience recognized by others.

Comments from delegates

There is something new to learn for most technical authors who are in the early stages of their career. Overall, I would say that the course did benefit me, and I can see myself revisiting parts of it in the future.

Emma W., ARM plc

I attended a job interview which included a written exercise where I had to jot down how I would go about designing and presenting information for the users of the service unit I was applying to. I could not believe my luck, it was as if the interviewer had designed it with the contents of this course in mind, and, as a result, I got the job!

Amber A.

I thought it was an excellent course – very thought-provoking and useful. The exercises were enjoyable and really helped, far beyond simply reading from a book about the tasks involved in the job. And I greatly appreciate all your advice and support.

Karl D.

Thank you very much for all your feed-back – I’ve been reading through this as it has come in this morning. This is really useful and very much appreciated.

David H.

Who is this course for?

This course is ideal for you if you need to:

Create end-user documentation and other forms of instructional content with ease
Master the fundamentals of technical writing
Get a solid understanding of the Technical Author’s role.

This course is ideal for more experienced technical writers who’ve never had any formal training.

What is a Technical Author?

Technical Authors are sometimes known as: Technical Communicators, Technical Writers, Content Developers, Information Developers and Documentarians.

Based in the United States or mainland Europe?

We've designed the course to work for people living all around the world. On the videos, you'll hear a lovely, clear British accent.

What will I learn?

In this course, we’ll take you through the process of creating technical documentation. You’ll learn and practise:

The purpose and value of technical documentation (aka having an answer if people ask why you should be doing this work).
The entire documentation process. We’ll explain what you need to do, from beginning to end. We cover planning, writing, editing, indexing, and production.
The skills you need as a technical communicator.
How to work more efficiently. This framework will help you avoid wasting time.
How to work more effectively. We’ll show you how to write and design your information in a structured, useful, usable and informed way.

We don’t like to overhype our courses, so here are some reasons why not to get our technical writing training course. Those are:

If you have requirements for your documents to meet specific regulatory documentation standards in these industry sectors: aerospace, military, railway, or automotive.
Where documentation must be written to a specific XML standard. (You’ll need to take our DITA module in our advanced course as well).
If you need to write technical API documentation for developers. (You’ll need to take our API module in our advanced course as well).

Apart from that, this course will help you create the user assistance for your application or product.

Duration and delivery format

The course comprises 15 modules in total, which you can complete at your own pace.

The course modules are delivered over the Web in small, manageable video presentations. You can download the course handouts as Word or PDF files. With the time needed to complete the exercises, you will need to allocate around two days in order to complete the course.

You can pause the videos at any time and return to the course at times that suit you.

Your Instructor

Cherryleaf

Cherryleaf is a technical writing services company formed in 2002 by people with a passion for technical communication and learning development.

Cherryleaf is recognised as a leader within the technical communication profession. Our staff have written articles for the Society for Technical Communication's (STC) Intercom magazine, the Institute of Scientific and Technical Communicator's Communicator journal and tekom's TCWorld magazine. They've also written books on technical communication. We've presented webinars for Adobe, Madcap Software or the STC, and we've spoken at various conferences around the world.

Today, organisations throughout Europe use Cherryleaf’s services so they can provide clear information that enables users and staff to complete tasks productively.

Course Curriculum

First Section

Available in days

days after you enrol

Frequently Asked Questions

When does the course start and finish?

It is a completely self-paced online course - you decide when you start and when you finish.

How long do I have access to the course?

You have access for 12 months.

What if I am unhappy with the course?

We would never want you to be unhappy! If you are unsatisfied with your purchase, contact us in the first 30 days and we will give you a full refund.