Writing Essentials course

Full course title: Writing Essentials for producing Helpful Information

One-day professional development course applicable to all knowledge workers, delivered publicly and privately.

Courses
Full day
Individual (public course, Wellington) NZ$950pp*
Group of 8+ (in-house) NZ$550–650pp
Includes Clear Concise Compelling full-colour course book and a separate workbook

* From February 2027 at Kāpuhipuhi Wellington Uni Professional. Course dates to be confirmed.

Why is this course essential?

Join the thousands who have benefited from attending the Writing Essentials course since 2008.

If you write for your work, you are a professional writer. This means your writing should always be clear, concise, well-organised, and of value to readers.

Do you know how to efficiently write in this manner, no matter the task and with or without the assistance of AI?

Based on Simon Hertnon’s popular writing guidebook, Clear Concise Compelling, and now enhanced by Simon’s groundbreaking new Helpful Information Framework, this course teaches the process and essential skills of professional writing – skills that are not typically taught at New Zealand schools or universities.


Image of the Helpful Information Framework version 1.0
The Helpful Information Framework radically broadens the scope and impact of plain language practice.

Writing Essentials now has a companion half-day course for your organisation’s leaders and managers, so they can easily learn how to to play their crucial roles in the production of helpful information.

What does this course cover?

This course employs Simon Hertnon’s three-part Essential Education teaching framework, Engage-Equip-Facilitate, which applies to ‘students’ of any age.

  1. First, engage every student by first establishing the practical relevancy and value of the subject or topic
  2. Then equip every student for success by memorably teaching the subject or topic’s essentials
  3. Facilitate knowledge-thirsty students to learn beyond the essentials

Part one (Engage): Why does producing only helpful information matter?

  • What is information and how does it serve society?
  • What is helpful and unhelpful information?
  • How does using AI help and hinder the production of helpful information?
  • Does our relationship with information need to evolve?
  • What goals, knowledge, and processes are essential for producing helpful information?

Part two (Equip): Designing and drafting helpful information

  • The system (the principles of successful communication)
  • The principles of persuasion
  • Writing to deliver value
  • The process of producing helpful information
    • Clear briefs
    • Organised outlines
    • Confident first drafts
    • Polished final drafts
  • The tools for producing helpful information
    • The impacts of style
    • Familiar tone
    • Document structure and design
    • Headings and paragraphs
    • Sentence structure
    • Word choice and grammar
    • Punctuation and numbers
  • The benefits of adhering to an information standard (the Helpful Information Framework)

Part three (Facilitate): Advice for how to expand your (and your organisation’s) capability for producing helpful information

  • Further reading (Clear Concise Compelling)
    • Tips to elevate your performance from competent to excellent
  • Options for making helpful information the norm at your organisation

What will you learn?

The morning session of this course is focussed on being clear about why you should communicate, when you should choose the written medium, and what process you should follow to ensure your writing is worthwhile. In the afternoon session you will learn about making wise choices as you write-up your draft document from your outline.

Specifically, you will learn:

  • How to write more effectively and efficiently by confirming briefs and creating outlines
  • Effective document structure and design for any document
  • Why we overwrite and how to avoid the verbosity trap
  • The purpose and effective usage of all punctuation marks
  • How to efficiently critique any document

Please note, in-house courses can be customised to focus on particular types of documents (emails, reports, business cases, etc) and particular business areas (customer service, finance, IT, etc).

All attendees receive a workbook and a copy of the (2021) second edition writing guidebook, Clear Concise Compelling, by course facilitator, Simon Hertnon.

Clear Concise Compelling (2ed) open

How do you book this course?

You will find everything you need to know (course dates, booking instructions, and booking conditions) on our courses page.

For individuals: You will soon be able to book a place on a 2027 public course through Kāpuhipuhi Wellington Uni-Professional.

For groups: If you have already reviewed the booking conditions for in-house courses, please contact us and Simon will call you to answer any questions, confirm your requirements (attendees, date, location), and make your booking.

Writing Essentials course on Wellington Uni-Professional web site

You can also book a private, fully-catered Writing Essentials course at Rutherford House, Wellington, by contacting Chris Ortiz, program manager at Kāpuhipuhi Wellington Uni Professional.

Note: A condensed version of this course is available as part of the Skills Essentials course.