Writers at Work Technical Certificate Program
Contact Hours: 40 (an estimated time frame devoted to a course of study from start to finish that can vary from student to student)
Your writing skills affect your professional image. The better your writing skills are, the better your image is and the better your chances for advancement. Effective writing in the workplace is an essential skill. Research shows that employers value workers who think creatively and communicate effectively.
The Writers at Work Certificate Program consists of four, 10-hour courses that will allow busy professionals a flexible path toward learning valuable writing techniques. The program begins with a valuable refresher of grammar and punctuation and then takes you through the process of writing clear, concise, and complete documents. The instructor is available at all stages of the course for tutoring.
Effective business writing can set you apart from other employees, get you noticed by your superiors, and improve your chances of advancement.
You will gain these skills:
Click on individual courses for means of assessment.
Click on individual courses for course of study.
Writers at Work: A Review for Professionals - Part 1: Eliminating Common Grammar Errors
Contact Hours: 10 (an estimated time frame devoted to a course of study from start to finish that can vary from student to student)
Sentence mechanics are an essential foundation to good writing. You may have great ideas, but if your sentences are full of grammar errors, your reader may lose confidence in your professionalism, competence, and attention to detail.
Part I reviews the basic building blocks of good writing: understanding parts of sentences and speech, ensuring sentence completeness, and conquering common problems with subjects, verbs, and pronouns. Readings and exercises help reinforce your understanding of the concepts.
The instructor is available at all stages of the course for tutoring.
Upon successful completion of this course, you will gain these skills:
- Identify and correctly use various parts of parts of speech.
- Recognize and revise fragments and run-on sentences.
- Recognize and correct common problems with subject - verb agreement and pronoun errors.
- Identify and correct dangling and misplaced modifiers.
- Proofread more effectively.
You will complete self-check exercises and a mastery test (graded by the instructor) taken at end of the class.
Writers at Work: A Review for Professionals - Part 2: Perfecting your Punctuation
Contact Hours: 10 (an estimated time frame devoted to a course of study from start to finish that can vary from student to student)
Correct punctuation is essential to good, clear writing. Incorrect punctuation can confuse readers, change the meaning of sentences, and reflect poorly on your professional image.
Part II of the review covers punctuation, providing a practical understanding of punctuation without the need to memorize countless rules. Weekly units teach the use of commas, semicolons, apostrophes, colons, quotation marks, and parentheses. Readings and exercises help reinforce your understanding of the concepts.
The instructor is available at all stages of the course for tutoring.
Upon successful completion of the course, you will gain these skills:
- Identify and correctly use various punctuation marks including commas, semicolons, apostrophes, colons, etc.You will complete self-check exercises and a mastery test (graded by the instructor) taken at end of the class.
Writers at Work: A Review for Professionals - Part 3: Writing Clearly, Concisely, and Coherently
Contact Hours: 10 (an estimated time frame devoted to a course of study from start to finish that can vary from student to student)
Don't let your good ideas get buried in dull, lengthy sentences or empty phrases. Make every word count. Capture and keep your reader's attention by using clear and concise sentences that create a coherent and eloquent message. Learn additional strategies to create effective email that increases your productivity.
Readings and exercises help reinforce your understanding of the concepts. You will receive personal feedback from the instructor on at least three writing assignments. The instructor is available at all stages of the course for tutoring.
Upon successful completion of the course, you will gain these skills:
- Recognize and eliminate wordy, empty, and redundant phrasing to write a concise message.
- Use active voice, action verbs, and precise words to create a clear message.
- Use transitional and connective words to reinforce the relationships between your words, sentences, and paragraphs.
- Write effective and professional email messages that capture your reader’s attention and get a better response rate.
You will complete self-check exercises in each lesson. You will write at least three documents and receive personal feedback from the instructor.
Writers at Work: A Review for Professionals - Part 4: Achieving a Professional Tone and Style
Contact Hours: 10 (an estimated time frame devoted to a course of study from start to finish that can vary from student to student)
Professional writing includes more than just grammar, punctuation, and the arrangement of ideas. The tone and style of your message can keep your readers engaged or it can make them want to hit the delete key.
Part IV presents strategies to ensure the tone of your document is appropriate, positive, and professional. Learn to integrate basic graphic design techniques so that your documents are visually effective and readable. Master parallel writing structure to create sentences and bulleted lists that flow smoothly. Demonstrate your competence to readers by eliminating problems with commonly confused and misused words.
Readings and exercises help reinforce your understanding of the concepts. You will receive personal feedback from the instructor on at least three writing assignments. The instructor is available at all stages of the course for tutoring.
Upon successful completion of the course, you will gain the following skills:
- Write documents with a professional tone.
- Use basic design techniques to create emails and documents that are visually effective and pleasing.
- Use parallelism when writing sentences, lists, and headings.
- Identify and correct common word usage errors.
You will complete self-check exercises in each lesson. You will write at least three documents and receive personal feedback from the instructor.