vcc.ca
ITOP 2160: Technical Writing for IT Professionals
Effective date
January 2027
Department
IT Operations
School
Continuing Studies
Description
Students will learn how to create clear, usable documentation that supports technical work in IT and cybersecurity environments. In this course, students will write procedures, technical summaries, incident reports, and user‑facing resources using professional writing standards. Students will also practice editing, revision, and version control, and develop communication skills that help them produce polished deliverables, preparing them to produce high‑quality written work that aligns with organizational expectations.
Credits
3.0
Year of study
2nd Year Post-secondary
Prerequisites
None
Corequisites
None
Course Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
- Create clear standard operating procedures (SOPs) for IT tasks using collaborative documentation platforms, ensuring completeness, clarity, and usability for technical audiences.
- Produce professional architecture and implementation documents that include accurate diagrams, dependencies, and risk considerations using industry-standard diagramming and documentation tools.
- Write comprehensive incident reports capturing timelines, technical details, and impact analysis, and lessons learned in alignment with organizational reporting standards.
- Develop user-facing documentation, such as quick-start guides or FAQs, and knowledge base articles.
- Edit and revise technical documentation to improve clarity, structure, and correctness, providing tracked changes and justification for revisions.
- Apply documentation standards and version control across multiple document types (e.g. SOPs, runbooks, and reports) to ensure consistency and maintainability.
Prior Learning Assessment & Recognition (PLAR)
PLAR is assessed through one or more of the following methods: student portfolio/products, interview, project-based asessment, employer validation, self-assessment (with supporting evidence), or through another assessment method that is aligned with the course learning outcomes.
Hours
Lecture, Online, Seminar, Tutorial: 36
Clinical, Lab, Rehearsal, Shop, Kitchen, Simulation, Studio: 12
Total Hours: 48
Clinical, Lab, Rehearsal, Shop, Kitchen, Simulation, Studio: 12
Total Hours: 48
Instructional Strategies
Instructional strategies may include:
Knowledge checks
Lectures
Hands-on writing labs involving real-world scenarios
Demonstrations
Problem-based exercises
Discussion
Reflection
Peer review and/or collaborative editing sessions
Knowledge checks
Lectures
Hands-on writing labs involving real-world scenarios
Demonstrations
Problem-based exercises
Discussion
Reflection
Peer review and/or collaborative editing sessions
Grading System
Letter Grade (A-F)
Passing grade
C
Evaluation Plan
|
Type |
Percentage |
Assessment activity |
|
Portfolio |
100 |
Documentation portfolio including multiple components, such as instruction set, SOPs, technical summary, architecture diagrams, incident or operational reports, user guides etc. |
Course topics
- Introduction to Technical Writing in IT Audience Analysis & Writing for Different Stakeholders Structure of Technical Documents (e.g. SOPs, Runbooks, Reports) Diagrams, Tables, and Visual Communication Incident, Change, and Risk Reporting Professional Presentation of Technical Work
Notes:
- Course contents and descriptions, offerings and schedules are subject to change without notice.
- Students are required to follow all College policies including ones that govern their educational experience at VCC. Policies are available on the VCC website at:
https://www.vcc.ca/about/governance--policies/policies/. - To find out if there are existing transfer agreements for this course, visit the BC Transfer Guide at https://www.bctransferguide.ca.