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I've been invited to design an advanced, graduate-level tech writing course
about writing for highly technical computer users (such as programmers,
system and network administrators, and engineers). Having done this type of
writing myself for several years, I have a lot of ideas about what to
include, but I'd be very interested in your input.
The class members would be Master's-level students, most of whom have
"real-world" work experience, though not necessarily in the computer
industry. Many will be career changers. They will all have had the
experience of having written a computer user's manual, and some level of
technical training in computers. The documents they will be writing would
include both hard-copy and online media. We are currently in a quarter
system, so we have about 10-11 weeks (total) to complete all projects.
Eventually, we'll be converting to a semester system, so there's room for
adding topics later
My current thoughts include designing and writing (from scratch):
* Functional specs and RFCs
* Reference documentation
* Technically detailed white papers
* Just-in-time documentation
I would also like to cover single-sourcing and related topics. Quite a tall
order for 10-11 weeks. If you have any ideas that you would be willing to
share, I would really appreciate it.
Remember, the student you help train today may well be your colleague
tomorrow!