Code:
S006-Tech-Write-W002

Event Type:
Workshops

Date/Time:
June 14, 2006
9:00 AM to 5:00 PM

Room #1
South-east corner of Burnhamthorpe Road and The West Mall
Public Transit: Subway to Islington, then Burnhamthorpe bus #50, west to The West Mall

Location:
Etobicoke Civic Centre, Toronto

Instructor(s):
Karen Denega

Intended Audience:

This workshop is beneficial to someone interested in enhancing the impact of their documents, particularly:

• engineering graduates who struggle to create technical materials for their supervisors,
• new managers who have been recently asked to write planning documents, proposals and reports for potential clients,
• international engineering graduates who’s native language is non-English, and
• individuals who want to refresh their technical writing skills and improve the overall quality of their writing.

Description:

Enhance the impact of your writing while making writing easier!

The Technical Writing Workshop for Engineers is geared to enable you to improve both the readability and impact of your documents.

The Approach:

This experiential workshop is educational, interactive and tailored to your role as an Engineer, so you will not just obtain ‘theoretical’ models of writing, but also get numerous opportunities to ‘roll up your sleeves’ – sometimes in practice scenarios, other times with respect to your own documents. As a result, you will increase the impact of your writing!

Before the Workshop:

Participants will be asked to bring along two samples of recent reports they personally have written – in hard copy, and in which they have taken out any ‘confidential’ info (names, product name etc) so others in the group may be allowed to read it.

Participants will also be asked to identify (bring along) a new document task that they will be starting to write in the weeks/month ahead – this they will use for their personal practice at the end of the day.

At the Workshop:

Throughout the workshop, participants will have opportunities to practise each skill. They will learn to write and edit their material, so it has more impact, is more clear and concise, and which targets their audience. Participants will gain confidence by working in pairs as well as on their own. They will also benefit by being given guidelines/tips for ‘what to watch out for’ at each key stage of the workshop.

Here are just a few of the topics we will explore on the Technical Writing Workshop for Engineers:

• grammar and sentence structure (Building Blocks of Writing)
• writing for your reader
• how to edit your material
• designing a new document

Quick tips on graphical layout will also be highlighted in our session ‘tips and tactics’ for enhancing your writing.

Outline/Agenda:

9:00 – 9:20 Introduction to Effective Writing Skills

9:20 – 10:00 The Writing Process

• Essential Elements of Writing Effectively
• Overview of the Writing Process
• Importance of Writing with Purpose

10:00 – 11:15 Writing for Your Reader (includes 15 minute break)

• The Importance of Knowing your Audience
• Tips, Tools and Tactics for Knowing your Audience

11:15 – 12:30 Organizing Yourself and Planning Your Documents

• Building an Outline for New Documents
• Techniques for Structuring Your Documents
• Layout ‘Tips and Tactics’ – Handout Highlights

1:30 – 2:30 Building Blocks of Writing

• Setting the Right Tone
• Paragraph and Sentence structure
• Grammar Tips and Traps

2:30 – 4:00 Editing for Effectiveness (includes 15 minute break)

• Editing for Clarity & Accuracy Overview
• The Process of Editing
• The Editor’s Checklist
• “Peer Editing” Practice

4:00 – 4:40 Pulling It All Together

• Personal Practice

4:40 – 5:00 Wrap Up

• Key Learning Review
• Self-Development Approach
• Course Feedback

Textbooks:

Textbooks are not required.

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of this workshop you will be able to:

• use general writing principles to create a better first draft of your documents,
• know how to edit documents (your own or other writers’) for clarity and conciseness to improve the impact of your final draft,
• enhance your writing effectiveness by incorporating a variety of communication techniques into documents (formulas, tables, charts), and
• identify writing techniques and tools best suited to the types of documents Engineers typically create.

Prerequisites:

There is no prerequisite for this workshop.

Cancellation Policy:

Refunds as a Result of Withdrawal

For all courses, refunds as a result of withdrawal are processed only according to the following criteria:

• Written notification of withdrawal received at least 10 business days prior to the commencement of the course. Refund amount is 100% of the cost of the course less a $50 administration fee.
• Written notification of withdrawal received less than 10 business days prior to the commencement of the course. Refund amount is 30% of the cost of the course.
• No refunds will be processed less than 24 hours before a course has commenced.

Those who fail to show up for the course or program they registered for, or those who withdraw without providing written notification as described above, will be subject to the full fee of the course or program and will be invoiced for the full cost of the respective course or program.

Fee: (All prices are in Canadian funds and include 13% HST.)

Members: $ 203.40
Non-members: $ 259.90

Not an OSPE member? Join today and SAVE!
Members take advantage of substantial savings from $50 to $150 per course, compared to non-Society Member rates. If you are eligible for Society membership but have not yet joined the Society, join online today! Please allow for three business days for online processing.

Registration Deadline: June 13, 2006

Registration for this course is not available at this time. Please check the Professional Development site later for future registration dates, or contact pd@ospe.on.ca or 416-223-9961 ext. 228 for more information.