Join us for Tech Writing 101 workshop at Write the Docs Australia

As part of the Write the Docs Australia 2019 conference, we’re running a two-hour workshop on the principles and techniques of technical writing. You don’t need to be a tech writer to qualify for the workshop, and Write the Docs welcomes anyone who’s interested in technical documentation. Do come and join us!

Tech Writing 101 is a class developed by tech writers at Google to train engineers and others in the principles of effective technical writing. Everyone at Write the Docs Australia Conference 2019 is welcome. For tech writers and others, the class offers an interactive, discussion-filled approach to learning tech writing patterns.

Dates and venue

Dates of the conference: Thursday 14 November and Friday 15 November, 2019.
Date and time of the workshop: Thursday or Friday afternoon – the conference schedule will show the details when available.
Location: Justice and Police Museum, Sydney. See the map and venue details.

Workshop details

Tech Writing 101 consists of two parts:

Pre-work that you should read before the class. Don’t be put off! The pre-work is full of interesting patterns and points for discussion: https://github.com/LisaFC/tw101-reading
A two-hour workshop at Write the Docs Australia 2019, where you integrate the principles from the pre-work into your writing practices. The interactive format of this class has proved to be an effective way of learning the material. And it’s fun!

Training the trainers: Google is planning to make the course material available for tech writers all over the world who want to run the workshop. You can take part in the workshop purely as a participant, or you can have a dual purpose in mind: take part in the workshop and at the same time observe the facilitator and assistants, with a view to running the workshop yourself sometime in the future.

Your workshop hosts are three tech writers from Google:

Sarah Maddox
Alec Glassford
Alexander Koren

Prerequisites

Read through the prework, so that you can enjoy discussing it during the class:

https://github.com/LisaFC/tw101-reading
Bring a laptop with WiFi capabilities. (A laptop is not essential, but it makes things easier. During the workshop you’ll write some short pieces and review the work of other participants. Having a keyboard and editing facilities helps.)

Cost (included in conference admission fee)

The workshop fee is included in your conference admission. There is no extra charge for the workshop.

Who’s welcome

All conference attendees are welcome! The workshop is intended for people who want to understand the basic principles and techniques of technical writing. The workshop material is tailored for engineers, and is suitable for new technical writers, editors, UX designers, and anyone else interested in technical communication.

Experienced technical writers are sure to enjoy the content too, both as a refresher and as a reminder of how debatable technical language can be.

The workshop format is highly discursive and entertaining. You’ll find yourself debating the principles as you apply them. The material is designed to stimulate such discussions.

The venue?

No, this is not a picture of the venue. It’s just a building that I found interesting on a recent trip to Prague. I’m also rather taken with the reflections in the windows, showing the windows of the opposite building for a nice Renaissance effect:

[image error]