Training

How can content writing training help your writing career?

A collage depicting terms related with Training. Ascezen Consulting offers content writing training in Lucknow, India

Being a content writer is not just about churning out articles one after the other. It requires a person to play many roles – a reporter, a salesperson, SEO and marketing specialist, an expert. You could be writing for a government website one day and a corporate blog after that. Career as a content writer is a challenging one and the most difficult is striking a balance between presenting your ideas in a simple and forthright yet engaging manner.  Pursuing a content writing training program is a sure shot way to succeed as a content writer.

This is something that is achieved with time, practice and training and to accomplish this you should be able to gauge what your audience is looking for and what is the most meaningful way of reaching out to them. However, this is just one aspect of content writing and to establish yourself as an accomplished content writer, you should be able to keep-up with the rapidly changing digital space. This requires constant improvement in skills and knowledge, which can be achieved through training.

Genres of Content

There are also some other important aspects that aspiring content writers must be aware of, such as:

  1. Business Content Writing

Content writing at large means writing for the internet. It takes many forms such as articles, columns, websites and even blogs even though they are comparatively less formal in their language and approach. It is also used as an umbrella term to include business writing (newsletters, power point presentations, proposals etc.); web writing (online columns, e-magazines); marketing and SEO writing, copy writing among others.  SEO and marketing being one of the most challenging and in-demand genres in India right now and require a very target-oriented and strategic approach.

  1. Technical Writing

This is a specialized field and people with some sort of technological knowledge about the subject are usually preferred. This genre caters to the demand for white papers, guides, instruction manuals, etc. Basically precise and accurate documents that will provide users with product related technical assistance by transforming complex information into simple user manuals.

  1. Creative Writing

Creative writing goes beyond other forms of writing to capture the unique writing style of a person. It may be fiction, non-fiction, poetry writing, speech writing, script writing, short stories, novels – all are a part of this genre. Copy writing, though used for marketing, is also a considered creative writing as copywriters; especially those in advertising are responsible for the catchy phrases and jingles that engage the audiences.

Animated graphic depicting a classroom training in progress as the whiteboard displays text - Become Ascezen Certified Content Writer. Pursue content writing training in Lucknow, India

Content writing training – Processes

Like everything else, writing too involves a process which must be followed to deliver quality content. Although the process will vary as per the writer’s style, there are some basics which remain the same:

  • Research
  • Know your audience
  • Content Development (Drafting, SEO, Image optimization etc.)
  • Proof reading, Editing
  • Publishing content online

Knowledge about project management, concepts and techniques of writing are some other important things to know to give your content that edge over others and achieve the desired goals.

Content Writing Training – Tools

Writing is a complex process and there are times when even the most talented writers struggle to produce content. To make the process simpler, there are a plethora of writing tools available that make a writer’s life easy, letting their creativity take over without any hindrances. A writer can utilize some awesome tools for grammar help, plagiarism check, and improving SEO effectiveness of the web content.

A broad outline of our content writing training course is as follows:

  • U.S. Vs U.K. English
  • Gender Neutral Language
  • Plagiarism What? How to detect, control and avoid?
  • Formal vs Informal Content
  • Writing for Websites, Blogs
  • Search Engine friendly content
  • Newsletters, Magazines
  • Case Studies
  • Business Proposals, Pre-sales, RFP, RFI
  • Company, Management Profile
  • Brochures
  • Presentations: Importance, Uses, Types, How to create, How to Deliver (Business communication)
  • Project reports
  • Synopsis
  • White paper
  • Research paper

Get in touch with us to know how content writing training at Ascezen can help you develop your content writing skills needed to bag a content writer job.

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Best Technical Writing Training in Lucknow, India

Image of a flowchart drawn using pen. Representative image for Technical Writing Training Lucknow, India by Ascezen Consulting

How does technical writing training help boost your career in technical writing in India?

Technical writing is all about presenting complex information in a manner that is structured, articulate and easy to understand. Often considered similar to content writing, technical writing training takes a different approach involving focus on improving analytical skills, communication skills, writing skills, and knowledge of processes as well content authoring tools and platforms.

Since technical writing is a form of technical communication, it comes within the purview of the definition given by the Society for Technical Communication that defines it as any form of communication that demonstrates the following features:

  1. Communicates about technical or specialized topics, such as computer applications, medical procedures, or environmental regulations
  2. Communicates through printed documents or technology, such as web pages, help files, or social media sites
  3. Provides instructions about how to do something, regardless of the task’s technical nature

It is quite clear that technical writing is vastly different from content writing. While the most common example of content writing is a blog which is a digital diary or journal of sorts wherein you can document anything you like; technical writing covers many different genres. User manuals, product descriptions, white papers, data sheets, are a few examples.  Content writing blogs serve the purpose when we need to understand what the content is but when it comes to how to use the content – it is technical writing that comes to our aid. For this purpose, technical writers use a variety of tools to author content, such as:

  • Desktop publishing tools & word processors (Microsoft Office, Adobe Framemaker, InDesign, QuarkXPress, Apple Pages)
  • Image editing software (Adobe Photoshop)
  • Screen capture tools
  • Help authoring tools
  • Content Management Platforms ( WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, Wiki-based tools)

Good verbal communication skills are a prerequisite to becoming a technical writer but what is equally important is the willingness of a person to get into this genre. More than just authoring documentation & identifying the target audience, one needs to constantly follow standard processes and guidelines. From executing & creating content to delivering and deploying outputs and the various forms in which the outputs are delivered, a technical writer must be aware about everything.

As an aspiring technical writer, your responsibilities extend beyond creating written content and this may include producing visual aids (diagrams, images, illustrations, whiteboard animations, etc.) to complement complex information. To convey it in the most clear, concise and effective way possible, it is also important that you possesses analytical reasoning and questioning abilities along with sound knowledge of computers.

However, these skills cannot be acquired in one day. They take time to learn and are developed over a long cycle either through on the job experiences or in a comprehensive training program that can boost the learning as well as the career growth.

At Ascezen Consulting – a Lucknow based Content Writing Services provider, we provide training to the aspiring writers covering all the important aspects of writing, including tools such as Madcap Flare, Adobe Frame Maker, Screen Capture and Project Management tools. Technical Writing training course at Ascezen Consulting, Lucknow, India includes:

  • Understanding and Concepts Technical Writing
  • Need and Application of TW
  • Documentation Development Lifecycle (Traditional Waterfall Model)
  • Agile Documentation
  • Templates
  • Reporting and formats
  • Pre-requisites
  • Technical Writing Essentials:
  • Various types of documentation deliverables and formats
  • Samples
  • Style Guides: Why, How?
  • English Grammar Refresher
  • Sentence Construction, Punctuation, Subject-Verb Agreement, Articles, Prepositions
  • Tools Training:
  • MS Office, Adobe FrameMaker
    • Adobe RoboHelp
  • Screen Capturing tools: Overview and Usage
  • Indexing
  • Single-Sourcing
  • Collaborative Authoring, Cloud-based Tools
  • Working with Productivity Tools
  • Professional Grooming: Soft Skills
  • Conference Call Etiquettes
  • Interviewing skills
  • Email Etiquette
  • Communication Skills

Get in touch with us to know more about our content writing and technical training courses offered at Lucknow, India and how you can scale up your career in content-driven industry.

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How Can Technical Writing Training Help Aspiring Technical Writers?

A career in Technical Writing in India took off in last two decades and it became a conscious career choice for job-seekers only in the past 10-12 years. Before that, almost all the technical writers in India found their careers in technical writing, accidentally.picture of an instructor-led classroom training.

Many aspiring technical writers are not sure why do they need training in technical writing. The common perception among the untrained and inexperienced writers is that all they need is a skill to write well to become good writers. Besides the gifted talent for writing, there are a number of things that need to be acquired through learning and practice. Here’s why they must go through an instructor-led technical writing training program.

  1. The Industry Needs Ready Professionals

Most first-generation technical writers in India are self-trained. They never had the privilege of getting trained by expert technical writers or technical writing trainers. The learning was primarily community-based and slow. Today, the industry knows what it wants from technical writers and the writers need to be on their heels as soon as they are hired for a job. A formally trained technical writer is equipped with all the knacks and tricks of the trade.

  1. There Is A Great Deal To Know Even Within The Niche Profession of Technical Writing

As they say, Technical Writing is a Niche. Yes, it is. But there is whole lot of stuff to be learned before one could claim to be a complete technical writer. There is so much variation in language tone, writing style, presentation for each type of documentation. The complexity does not stop here as there are scores of tools to work with. And you must know about where and how your document will be presented to your audience. It is your responsibility to ensure that your work is accessible to your end-users. An accomplished and experienced technical writing trainer would be certainly able to prepare you for those ‘tech’ challenges in technical writing.

  1. Everyone Wants To Grow Faster

Once you get the “technical writer” tag, you want to keep growing at a steady pace. This growth comes easier if you do not spend more time learning at your job. If you know your trade, you are likelier to be more efficient. In the long run, you will get bigger, better challenges that lead to a natural, smooth career progression.

  1. A Certificate Adds Weight

A technical writing certification will make you stand apart from the frivolous job-seekers who are not focused on technical writing profession. Your certificate will begin with making that distinction for you. Not just that, your interview will most likely be focused on what you learned during the technical writing course, giving you more opportunity to talk about readiness for the job.

  1. To Plan Career Growth, Better

Once you are an accomplished technical writer, you will be able to plan the next moves, better. There are a number of avenues that open up for experienced technical writers. You can decide to continue to be a technical writer throughout the career just for the love of writing or you can move into project management. With a technical writing certificate, you are aware of all the options and you can spot the opportunities of becoming a business analyst, domain expert, or a project manager. Be your own master!

  1. Learn What You Can’t

At your job as a technical writer, you will be asked to perform tasks in accordance with your key responsibility areas or project requirements. In that limited space, you might learn whatever you can but there will be a limitation. You may not even know your options of learning and trying out different skills within the ambit of technical writing. During a technical writing training course, you will get a chance to lay your hands on a variety of tasks that require different skills and knowledge of specific tools or techniques. So, you get to learn even what you may not get to do in a typical technical writing job.

  1. Mentoring And Career Guidance From Trainers and Peers

It always helps to have a mentor during those distressing stages of career when you need that expert advice on a career move or a technical solution. The trainers or the faculty members at the training institution often act as life-long coaches and gurus. The batch-mates during the training usually go on to become good peers as you tend to grow along with them through the career. With a set of professionals to help, you would never be short of bright ideas.

The reasons listed above are sufficient to speak in the favor of choosing to get prepared before you dash into a technical writing job. Ascezen Consulting offers certificate courses in Technical Writing, Creative Writing, E-learning, and Business content writing. Get in touch for details.translate english to italian

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Learning Objectives: Commencing with End in Mind

Learning ought to be a continuous process to stay up with the latest trends. It is not only restricted to the academic lot but includes all who wish to grow. Learning can be in the form of classroom learning, e-learning, by way of actually doing it. No matter what method of learning it is, it will always come with an objective that must be achieved at the end of it. A learning objective is a statement of expected results from a learning session or training module. It can take the form of a list enumerating what the learner is expected to achieve or accomplish after undergoing the learning module.

Learning objectives must be written clearly in the form of learning outcomes. Moreover, these objectives must be measurable or quantifiable. They must aim to elicit the desired behavior from the learner and also help the instructor to make sure that learning took place as planned. No organization would spend money on a learning program that fails to achieve the learning objectives and serves no purpose. Planning of learning objectives can help the organization reap various benefits, as discussed below.

 Advantages of Learning Objectives

  • Learning objectives help in focusing on focus learning areas for better performance.
  • These objectives aid the course developers and trainers in course planning and organizing a course into logical modules.
  • Learning objectives help the instructors to customize the learning material as per the requirement.
  • They allow establishing a relation between the content and the assessments, according to the learning theories.
  • They make learners aware about the course they will go through and what is expected from them upon its completion.
  • They eventually serve as a basis for appraising the performance of not only the learner but also of the instructor or the effectiveness of the learning program.

The above-mentioned advantages clearly emphasize on the need of having the learning objectives in place, with utmost attention and prudence. Therefore, while planning, it must be ensured that the objectives qualify on SMART parameters. SMART is an acronym that stands for:

  • Specific
  • Measurable
  • Attainable
  • Realistic
  • Time Bound

Setting SMART learning objectives will make the training or learning modules more effective, practical, and relevant. It is noteworthy that straying away from the clearly-written learning objectives may render your learning efforts a futile exercise.

Learning Theories

There are various theories used for creation of effective learning objectives. Some of commonly known theories include the Bloom’s Taxonomy, Simpson’s Taxonomy of the Psychomotor Domain and Harrow’s Taxonomy of Psychomotor Domain. Among these, Bloom’s Taxonomy is widely used to create effective learning objectives. Developed by Benjamin S. Bloom, the theory covers three domains which are to be followed during the learning program. The categories covered are as follows:

  • Cognitive Domain (intellectual competence i.e. knowledge)
  • Affective Domain (behaviour,  feelings, attitude)
  • Psychomotor Domain (physical or manual set of skills)

The domains are explained as:

  1. Cognitive Domain: Under cognitive category, Bloom has divided it into six stages covering lowest to highest form of cognitive learning. The six levels covered under it are as follows.
    • Knowledge: It involves understanding, memorizing, or simply recalling information shared by the facilitators or instructors.
    • Comprehension: This stage is characterized by profound understanding of the concepts, ideas or information imparted by the trainer, instructor, or a facilitator. The learner—after proper grasp of the concepts—is able to come up with the theories in his own words.
    • Application: In this level, the learner is able to put his knowledge to practical use. It involves practical application of the knowledge
    • Analysis: This level lands the learner into analysis mode where he breaks down the information and concepts learnt in the previous stages. He is able to analyze and draw logical conclusions.
    • Synthesis: In this phase, on the basis of the learning process, the learner is able to combine the pieces of knowledge, ideas, and information in a coherent manner. He is equipped to come up with his own set of innovations and creative ideas on various topics.Evaluation: At this stage, both the learners and instructors can easily evaluate and appraise the performance. Critical feedback is an important component in the entire process for improving the end result.
  2. Affective Domain: It is a vital factor in the theory of Bloom’s Taxonomy. This domain relates to the emotional well-being of the learner. It takes into account the feelings, emotions and attitudes of the learners. It aims to boost confidence and self-esteem of the learner.
  3. Psychomotor Domain: This category includes physical well-being of the learner to ensure active participation. It focuses on the use of one’s own hands or equipment to find the answers or solutions.

Of all the above mentioned domains, it is primarily the cognitive domain that is considered while formulating learning objectives. You can use Bloom’s Taxonomy to make the learning process more comprehensive and the result of it more wholesome.

Also Read: How to Create Learning Objectives

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