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Technical Writing Two
helps technical people advance their technical communication skills.
Target audience
We've aimed this course at people who have completed
Technical Writing One. If you've never taken any technical
writing training, we recommend completing Technical Writing One before taking
this class.
Learning objectives
This course focuses on several intermediate topics in technical writing.
After completing both the pre-class and instructor-led components of this
class, you will know how to do the following:
Choose among several different tactics to write first drafts and
additional tactics for writing second and third drafts.
Use several techniques to detect mistakes in your own writing.
Organize large documents.
Introduce a document's scope and any prerequisites.
Write clear figure captions.
Pick the proper information density for technical illustrations.
Focus the reader's attention to selected parts of a technical illustration.
Establish context through a "big picture" technical illustration.
Create useful sample code that demonstrates a range of complexity.
Identify different documentation types.
Develop a systematic approach to describing complex technical topics.
Empathize with a beginner audience and write a tutorial for them.
Use LLMs to generate, edit, format, and summarize technical documents
more efficiently.
It takes years of focused practice to become a great engineer or a great
technical writer. This course will improve your technical writing but
won't instantly transform you into a great technical writer.
Pre-class and instructor-led components
The course consists of the following two components:
Pre-class
Instructor-led
(You are viewing the start of the pre-class component.)
The instructor-led component enhances the lessons taught in the pre-class
components. That said, even if you never attend the instructor-led component,
the pre-class lessons on their own still provide a valuable educational
experience.
Hardware and network requirements
Although this course is optimized for a laptop or desktop, you may
take the course on a tablet or phone. Note that you'll do a lot of
typing during the instructor-led component.
You need an internet connection to take the course. You cannot download
the course. The course is not available on tangible media.
The pre-class component contains a few short videos, all of which are optional
viewing. If you want to skip the videos, then you can take the course on a
low-bandwidth internet connection.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-08-21 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eTechnical Writing Two is designed for individuals who have completed Technical Writing One and seek further training in technical communication.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThis course covers intermediate technical writing topics, including drafting, editing, document organization, and visual communication.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eUpon completion, participants will be able to write more effectively for various audiences and technical contexts.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe course consists of pre-class and in-class components, with the pre-class material accessible online and requiring an internet connection.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eWhile Technical Writing Two significantly enhances writing skills, continued practice is crucial for achieving mastery in technical communication.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],["This \"Technical Writing Two\" course builds upon prior training, teaching intermediate technical writing skills. Key actions include learning to draft, self-edit, organize large documents, define scope, and write captions. Participants will learn to improve technical illustrations, create quality code samples, identify documentation types, describe topics clearly, and write tutorials. The course includes pre-class and in-class components, requiring internet access and offering optional videos. Completion will improve, but not master, technical writing ability.\n"],null,["\u003cbr /\u003e\n\n*Technical Writing Two*\n\nhelps technical people improve their technical communication skills.\n\nTarget audience\n\nWe've aimed this course at people who have completed\n[Technical Writing One](/tech-writing/one) and are still hungry for more\ntechnical writing training. If you've never taken any technical writing\ntraining, we recommend completing *Technical Writing One* before taking\nthis class.\n\nLearning objectives\n\nThis course focuses on several intermediate topics in technical writing.\nAfter completing this class, you will know how to do the following:\n\n- Choose among several different tactics to write first drafts and additional tactics for writing second and third drafts.\n- Use several techniques to detect mistakes in your own writing.\n- Organize large documents.\n- Introduce a document's scope and any prerequisites.\n- Write clear figure captions.\n- Pick the proper information density in technical illustrations.\n- Focus the reader's attention in illustrations.\n- Establish context through a \"big picture\" illustration.\n- Revise technical illustrations effectively.\n- Create useful, accurate, concise, clear, reusable, and well-commented sample code that demonstrates a range of complexity.\n- Identify different documentation types.\n- Describe just about anything.\n- Empathize with a beginner audience and write a tutorial for them.\n\nIt takes years of focused practice to become a great engineer or a great\ntechnical writer. This course will improve your technical writing but\nwill not instantly transform you into a great technical writer.\n\nPre-class and in-class components\n\nThe course consists of the following two components:\n\n- pre-class\n- in-class\n\nYou are currently viewing the start of the pre-class component.\n\nThe in-class component enhances the lessons taught in the pre-class\ncomponents. That said, the pre-class lessons on their own still\nprovide a valuable educational experience.\n\nHardware and network requirements\n\nAlthough this course is optimized for a laptop or desktop, you may\ntake the course on a tablet or phone. If you are taking the\nin-class component, please note that you'll type a lot.\n\nYou need an internet connection to take the course. You cannot download\nthe course. The course is not available on tangible media.\n\nThe course contains a few short videos, all of which are optional viewing.\nIf you want to skip the videos, then you can take the course on a\nlow-bandwidth internet connection.\n\n\u003cbr /\u003e\n\n**Next unit:** [Self-editing](/tech-writing/two/editing)"]]
