Beginner · 4h 43m · 22 lessons
Markdown & Technical Writing
Write docs people actually read. Learn Markdown and the craft of clear technical writing.
What you'll learn
- ✦Explain what Markdown is, and spot where it shows up in the tools you use every day
- ✦Format text with headings, bold and italics, and choose the right one for each job
- ✦Build bulleted, numbered, nested and task lists that render correctly the first time
- ✦Add links and images with useful alt text, and decide when a reference-style link is neater
- ✦Show code correctly, choosing inline code or a fenced block with a language tag
- ✦Build blockquotes and readable tables from scratch, including column alignment
- ✦Write a README that tells a newcomer what your project is, why it exists and how to use it
- ✦Write clear commit messages and pull request descriptions that explain what changed and why
- ✦Use task lists, footnotes, collapsible details and Mermaid diagrams where they help the reader
- ✦Structure docs for scanning, edit them for concision, and keep one consistent style
Part of these career paths
- Absolute Beginner path · course 5 of 6
Certification projects
Build 3 projects to earn your certificate
Hands-on work that proves you can apply what you learned — part of the certificate requirements.
Syllabus
Module 1 · 51m
Markdown basics Free
What you'll be able to do
- Can explain what Markdown is and tell a line's source from its rendered result
- Can spot where Markdown is used and test whether a new app renders it
- Can write headings at the right level for a document's structure
- Can make words bold or italic, and choose the one phrase that deserves emphasis
Module 2 · 55m
Lists, links & media Locked
What you'll be able to do
- Can write bulleted and nested lists that render the first time
- Can write numbered lists and predict their numbers, even when a list doesn't start at 1
- Can add links with descriptive text, and use reference links for long addresses
- Can embed images with useful alt text and paths that work for every reader
Module 3 · 56m
Code, quotes & tables Locked
What you'll be able to do
- Can show code inside a sentence with backticks, and choose code font over bold when readers must type it
- Can put multi-line code in a fenced block with the right language tag, and fix a missing closing fence
- Can quote one or more paragraphs as a blockquote, including a reply inside a quote
- Can build a table from scratch with a separator row and column alignment
Module 4 · 54m
The writing craft Locked
What you'll be able to do
- Can write a README whose first lines tell a newcomer what the project is, and whose install steps work from a fresh laptop
- Can rewrite a message so the point comes first, in plain words that keep the exact meaning
- Can document a function with its inputs, output, one real example call and what happens on bad input
- Can write an imperative commit summary and a PR description that says what changed, why and how to test
Module 5 · 33m
Beyond the basics Locked
What you'll be able to do
- Can write task lists with ticked and empty boxes, and fix a box that didn't render
- Can add a footnote for a source and tuck optional long content inside a collapsible details block
- Can write a small Mermaid flowchart and explain why a text diagram is easier to review than an image
Module 6 · 34m
Writing that ships Locked
What you'll be able to do
- Can turn readers' questions into headings and pick the right list, table or code block for each part
- Can cut padding and passive verbs from a sentence without losing a single fact
- Can write a short style guide and apply its rules to terms, labels and dates