According to the course description, Technical Writing aims to equip students with the necessary skills for written and online communication used in a professional environment. Students are introduced to core concepts through course readings and activities that include both independent and collaborative tasks. There are three main assignments, including writing a formal report, application package and Web Folio. The smaller assignments are of collaborative or reflective nature (i.e. graded by the instructor and/or reviewed by peers).

The course is divided into four units, each containing three lessons:

• Unit 1 includes an overall introduction and preparation for the course: building a student blog, understanding the principles of technical writing in business/professional contexts, and organizing a writing team to collaboratively work on drafting a formal report.
• Unit 2 includes submitting a report proposal, exchanging peer reviews, and exploring online social networking in a professional environment, such as building an online profile or resume.
• Unit 3 includes writing an outline for the formal report, exchanging feedback with the writing team and instructor, and designing/drafting an application package for a job, volunteering position or graduate school.
• Unit 4 includes the final stages of writing the formal report, incorporating the skills emphasized throughout all previous units.

I am looking forward to learning the communications skills needed in a professional environment, especially because I am hoping to apply for a co-op position later this fall. Since it will be my first time applying for internships in Canada, I believe the course’s material and assignments will help me prepare for the entire job-hunting process. As an international student whose first language is not English, I am also interested in learning the specific writing style (i.e. vocabulary, grammar and/or tone) that is expected from this course.