Course Description:

This workshop will give you the specific strategies you need to strengthen your writing skills. Participants will learn how to master the essentials for writing reports, proposals, memos, and letters; overcome “writer’s block”; edit technical information effectively; and identify and correct common problems of grammar and punctuation.

Course Instructor: Dr. David H. Covington

Dr. David H. Covington teaches technical and business communication at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC, where he is an Associate Professor in the English Department. In addition, at NCSU he has served as Director of the MS Program in Technical Communication, Coordinator of Professional Writing Courses, and Executive Director of the Humanities Computing Laboratory. He received his BA from the University of Florida, and his MA and PhD from Vanderbilt University. Dr. Covington has also taught writing workshops in business and industry for thirty years. His clients have included Bahlsen, Bayer, Beame and Whiteside, Becton Dickinson, Capital Associated Industries, Chesebrough-Ponds, DuPont, Institute for Transportation Research and Education, Fast Food Merchandisers, Infocel, Instrument Society of America, Lord Corporation, Mallinkrodt, Medical Mutual of NC, Medical Review of NC, NC State Auditor, Organon Teknika, Quintiles, Stone Heavy Vehicle Specialists, and the NCSU Industrial Extension Service. He is also the originator, writer, and host for Effective Writing for Technical Professionals, a ten-part series of thirty-minute videotapes on technical communication produced by the Industrial Extension Service at North Carolina State University.

Who Should Attend:

Engineers, researchers & managers who want to enhance their professional skills by writing effectively & persuasively.

Agenda:

8:00 - 8:30	Registration
8:30 - 8:40	Welcome and Introduction
8:40 - 12:00	Basic Concepts Stating the Purpose of your Document Organizing for your Readers Grammer and Punctuation Review
12:00 - 1:00	Lunch (Provided)
1:00 - 4:30	Avoiding Gobbledygook Writing Clear, Powerful Sentences Establishing Patterns in your Writing Making Documents Look Good: Format Considerations
4:30	Adjournment

Course Fee:

The registration fee for the workshop is $100.00 per person. All South Carolina city, county, or state employees receive a LTAP scholarship registration fee of $25.00. The fee includes course materials, break refreshments, and the noon luncheon.

Advance registration is encouraged so that an accurate estimate of the number of workshop participants can be obtained. Workshops with low advance registration will be subject to cancellation.