Topic outline

  • Course Introduction

    Collapse all Expand all

    • Time: 59 hours
    • CEUs: 5.9
    • Free Certificate
    This course builds core skills for professional and technical communication in workplace contexts. You will analyze audience and purpose, select an appropriate communication style, and identify strategies that improve clarity and concision in technical content.

    You will also select page‑layout principles that improve readability, choose visuals that best support a given passage and purpose, and explain ethical and legal considerations that govern visuals and electronic communication. Instruction emphasizes inclusive, accessible writing that supports diverse readers.

    Throughout the course, you will apply these skills to letters, reports, proposals, instructional materials, and digital communications. Through scenario‑based analyses and guided self‑assessments, you will analyze audience needs to shape proposal content, select effective organization and formatting for process and proposal documents, and evaluate whether style and content fit the task and audience. You will also consider how to use emerging writing technologies judiciously: designing clear requests to obtain useful drafts, checking sources and claims before use, and disclosing assistance when appropriate. These considerations are an important part of responsible, audience-focused use of emerging AI-assisted tools in workplace writing. By the end of the course, you will produce well‑organized, user‑centered documents that meet professional standards. It may be helpful to keep a dedicated notebook or document on your computer to respond to the writing prompts and reflections throughout the course.