Tips for studying CONTENTED courses
We'd like you to get maximum benefit from our courses. So here are some tips for studying our online courses.
Your registration period will pass quickly — start now!
You have access to Contented courses for a limited time, for example 3 or 4 months. You need to pass every quiz with 70% to qualify for our Certificate in Writing Web Content, so we urge you to start right away. Doing the whole suite of courses takes 6-8 hours.
Ideally, leave your work station to study
If you study at your desk, many things may distract you. If possible, go to another computer, e.g. in a training room. Otherwise, at least:
- ask your neighbours not to disturb you
- switch off your phone and email.
Four popular study methods
Here are four typical ways that writers study our courses.
Method 1: Systematic professional development
This is a logical way to approach Contented courses. Schedule an hour's study a day. Start with the first topic in the first course, and work steadily through until you have finished. The topics are in a logical order.
Then during the remainder of your registration period, review whenever you need to.
Method 2: Study with others
Maybe a number of staff are registered to study Contented courses, perhaps because you are all writing new content for an intranet or web site. With a little planning, learning can be boosted through group interaction.
Our clients have found various group activities useful.
- Arrange for the whole group to study simultaneously in the training room once a week.
- Bring some real content to a lunch meeting and discuss how it can be improved.
- Discuss the before-and-after examples (in Editing in Action).
- Apply the Contented QA tests to real content.
Method 3: Just-in-time training
Perhaps you have been given an urgent task, for example, writing a document that you know will be posted on an intranet or web site. You need instant upgrading of your current skills.
Make time to do the course immediately, no matter how busy you are. You'll learn well because you urgently need this information — right now!
Method 4: Back and forth, back and forth
Learning a concept requires three encounters. You need to match what you learn against your own experience. In other words, what you learn is always based on what you know already.
So it's a good idea to switch back and forth between your work-writing and the course. Then learning is more likely to stick in your mind. Skills are more likely to become habits. After spending some time studying, go back to whatever you are writing. Inevitably, you apply some new guidelines to your own writing.
Push on: remember to finish the course and do all the quizzes!
Quizzes, examples and exercises
Do every quiz in the courses
Some people start by doing a quiz. They say this prepares you for the content and gives you a benchmark for your learning.
Doing a quiz after studying:
- reinforces your knowledge
- helps you to revise
- measures what you have learned.
Aim to get at least 70% of the answers right. That will qualify you for a certificate.
Enjoy the Try this exercises
Try this exercises are sprinkled through Contented courses. You can write down your answers or just think. Then compare your answers with the ones we provide.
Example web pages: study the text, not the design
Many times in Contented courses, you'll find a link to a web page which is a good or bad example of a concept being taught. Most example pages are small, simple pages, and they are all on our own site, so they are quick and safe to download.
You may wonder why we use the same simple design over and over again in the example pages. It is because we want you to study the content, not the design. Design can disguise bad content, and it certainly demands attention. So our example pages invite you to look at the text.
Every course improves general business writing
We focus on content for web sites or intranets, yet the same guidelines apply to most business writing.
- Letters, reports, policy and procedures all benefit hugely from better headlines and sub-headlines.
- Most of the rules for making graphs accessible will improve graphs on paper too.
- It's well worth thinking about links for general business writing, because documents can also have hyperlinks.
Finally, we hope you enjoy your study: we know you will benefit from it.
