Applicants to the program need not be technical experts, but the subject matter they will be learning about continually on the job will most likely be computer-related. The authoring tools courses make up the third component of the program. The aim of these courses is to produce both print and online documentation from the first day that they arrive on the job. In this course, students develop skills in communicating written technical information. The emphasis is on the principles of effective communication.
Students evaluate readers' needs and practice writing clearly and concisely.
The focus is the logic of organization in technical documentation. Students develop their skills of reasoning and organization by doing a variety of procedural and instructional writing, including a project done jointly with another technology program. In addition to writing frequently, students edit their own work and that of others. They are also required to give oral presentations. The classes are organized as writing workshops wherever possible so that students can develop their abilities to work individually and to work as members of a group.