Technical Editing

Learn to edit legal, scientific, and technical information well. Use information design and plain language to ensure users will read, understand, trust, and remember what you write.

Course Duration: 1 Day |7 hours
Participants: Up to 28
Audience: Public sector writers and emerging editors who must convey legal, scientific, or technical information well.

We don’t dumb it down. We use the science behind usability to write documents users will read, understand, trust, and remember.

We find that legal, scientific, and technical information impacts every member of our community daily. But too few will read it, understand it, and trust it. We find many reasons for this–most, outside of the author’s control.

What can you do? Learn editing techniques that draw users into your key messages and relevant details. Make sure they understand why it matters, trust it, and remember it.

The papers you write and edit are too important to go to SharePoint or a legislative session to die. We can help you meet your mission and make an impact.

Course Scope

This course is for those technical writers looking for the next level of skill development.  You will acquire essential editing techniques for every form of difficult writing. Apply these skills across all disciplines in technical reports, documentation, and manuals.

Performance Objectives

Move beyond theory to practice each principle in hands-on course activities, followed by review and discussion. When you finish, you will know how to:

  • Edit to create strong, clear, trusted content.
  • Place key findings, conclusions, and points where readers always find and remember them.
  • Edit at the sentence level to focus on key messages, connect ideas for users, and remove all clutter.
  • Understand editing versus proofreading and execute each task well.
  • Consider options to achieve the right tone, especially when you must say no or share contradictory findings.
  • Edit to meet usability, reading ease, and accessible content standards.

Competency covered in this course: Written Communication

undefined Resources

Write Words provides a computer lab for live revision courses within 50 miles of Olympia, WA. Laptops provided for regional agencies beyond 50 miles when possible, by request. We also provide workbooks and all materials needed.

Host agencies provide a projection system that we can use to present from a laptop. We can use anything you have: a Smartboard, smart TV, or projector system with Display Port, HDMI, wireless, or VGA connection.

Return to Course Catalog