Student Testimonials
Sarah Sahota, Biomedical Scientist, Lawrence Livermore Laboratory
"This professional and technical writing course has greatly improved my skills. I have already begun to use what I have learned throughout this course. I was able to learn something from every module. The research proposal and grant proposal modules were the most relative to the industry I work in. The email, minutes, and memo modules were very informative. I can now effectively take notes during meetings and communicate professionally via email. The course begins with the basics and then moves on to difficult material; I found this method very effective in learning. I didn't know much about comma splices, misplaced and dandling modifiers, and pronoun agreement until I went through the modules. The advanced composition module was the most difficult for me, but the way it was structured made it easier to understand. By following the steps in the module, the proposal became easier to write. I enjoyed creating the newsletter and the brochure as well. I hope to have my own business someday, so it was important for me to learn technical writing from a marketing point of view. I am planning on writing standard operating procedures for my team at work now that I have acquired skills on writing instructions. I will also be assisting with research proposal writing and grant proposal writing at my current workplace. The knowledge I acquired through this course is invaluable; I will be using this information throughout my career and personal life. I'm glad I took this course. Instructor Capra was very knowledgeable and very helpful. I received feedback on all my submissions, and this really helped me as I went through the assignments. I believe the skills and knowledge that I gained through this course have made me a more professional and technical writer."
Tia Witherspoon
"There are many lessons I have learned while studying this course, but there are at least three that made the most significant impact on me. The first lesson that I learned was the importance of adapting to diverse audiences. Depending on my future career path, I may get the chance to write user documents, reports, web content, and the like. Learning how to be flexible and understanding my audience is crucial to my success as a technical writer. Knowing this valuable piece of information can determine the success of a project. It can also determine the type of language I can use, how to organize the project, what tone to use, and whether the use of jargon is appropriate. I can apply this skill by ensuring that I take a moment to ask who I am writing for, and how can I write it reasonably? This skill makes me a versatile writer and will also make me an asset to whichever company employs me.
Another lesson I found to be valuable is learning how to synthesize complex information and relaying it so that readers can absorb the main points. I can apply my skills of synthesizing information in the future because it will save readers the hassle of sifting through vast amounts of data they do not need.
The main lesson that had the biggest effect on me occurred at the start of the course. When I was reading through the requirements of one of the early assignments, my instructor put a heavy emphasis on the mantra “short sentences, powerful words.” Throughout the course, I found myself thinking of this mantra until I engraved it in my mind. It made so much sense and seemed to be the key to success. I learned to live by this saying and use it as a reminder whenever I caught myself being longwinded. To write clearly and concisely is a technical writer’s strongest attribute. It is the reason why there is a need for individuals who can take complex information and convey it succinctly. I will apply the use of this mantra in my future profession because concisely written material will save my readers time, energy, and frustration.
The Professional and Technical Writing course was necessary to my improvement as a writer. The lessons will serve me well as I make the transition into the technical writing industry. It helped me gain a better understanding of what my superiors will expect of me in my future profession. The lessons are essential; they will act as aids for me to look back on when I need to refresh my memory of the strategies that are critical to writing successful technical documentation."
