Make a habit to save everything you create and select the best from it. There are so many important aspects which can be considered: 

• Selecting the best document from your collection.

• Add something about your skills and area of expertise.

• Briefly mention your work done in the past (if applicable).

• Your 5 years professional goal. 

• Describe in short about your areas of interest.

This is where most of the people makes mistake while creating a portfolio: 

1. Don’t include everything you have written.

2. Avoid adding your work samples which were created 2 years ago or before.

3. Stop yourselves from adding articles which are less relevant to your expertise.

4. If you are a beginner, don’t post the articles you have written in college which took 5-10 minutes for you to create unless it has meaning.

5. Don’t add skills if you don’t have sufficient knowledge about it.

It is quite challenging for beginners to choose from the best work published till date. Consider the following advice: 

• Write a blog on a topic you are more passionate about.

• Work on research papers.

• Gain skills in writing.

• Practice essay writing.

• Learn about the flow to be followed in the article.

• Categorize your content based on domain.

• Last but not the least, use team writing.

This is the most important and interesting part. Learning and creating a blog is way easier than you think. It’s only a matter of knowledge and research. If you are passionate about technology then you could learn about it. You can research the trending technologies and write about them. For eg: You like to know about mobile phones. How does it work? What are new features added and discovered? So, you have already researched it, just you have to write.

Research papers can help you in your career as well as technical writing. It is a good practice to apply it from the start. Whenever you study a particular topic, study in detail. Research about it and try to grasp knowledge. This helps you to apply your knowledge towards content writing in a specific domain. For eg: You are from a mechanical background and love to read about machines. So, you can always research it, write it and learn it. As easy as this and of course you can sell your articles to websites.

Skills are an essential need of today's world. It’s important to understand that your articles won’t be accepted unless you have a knack for it. Some of the skills you should be aware of:

• Quick adaptability

• Strong research about the topic

• Understanding of SEO to greater extent

• Ability to focus

• Editing and rewriting

In India, it’s common to have a practice of essay writing. It is implemented to write essays from school days. Don't worry, if you don't know. You can learn it very easily. Skills you must have: 

• Read daily in detail

• Creativity

• Obtain feedback

• Improve your content

• Brainstorming 

• Critical thinking

Learning about the flow of the article is most important. It is a priority thing which you should be aware of. You should write an article in a specified way.

For eg: If you are writing about a health topic. So, firstly you would introduce the topic. Then mention why it is important? and so on.

This is where people commit mistakes. They add all the articles written in one portfolio. You should always segregate according to your domain. It helps recruiters to know about your expertise. If you are interested in technology as well as fitness. It’s always recommended to make two separate portfolios to know about particular domains you have mastered. 

In team writing two or more members work together. You work in a team to complete a single document. This technique is generally used by college students. They form a group, divide the work and start researching. Team writing can be sometimes harmful. You important things you should remember to avoid any confusion: 

• Always communicate with your teammates

• Review your work with peers

• Fairly distribute the task

• Follow the same style and font for writing

Abhyaz internships will provide you with essential skills. There are many tasks you will be assigned and is not limited to content writing only. You will be familiar with

• Blogs 

• Proposals 

• Contract

• Annexure

• Feature sheet and many more

• PPT

• Flyers 

• Brochures and many more

There are many domains of internships they offer. You can visit www.abhyaz.com and apply for it.

Q1) How should beginners make a portfolio for a technical writer?

→ You should start writing blogs, work on research papers and learn about the flow. Analyze your interest and work on that topic. Learn new things and gradually you will be able to make a strong portfolio based on your interest.

Q2) Is team writing or collaborative writing useful or harmful?

→ Both. It can be useful when you distribute your tasks fairly, communicate properly and review your work. It can be harmful if you don’t plan properly. People may stop working, miscommunication which can lead to no fruitful outcome.

Q3) Where can I make a portfolio?

→ There are various platforms where you can create strong portfolio:

• Karen Rempel

• Mario Garon

• Chelsea Moats

• Craig Wright

• Linkedin

Q4) What are the important things you should remember while creating a portfolio?

→  As a beginner, it’s very common that they make mistakes. You can avoid these mistakes by:

• Keep it short and add your best collection.

• Categorize your content.

• Choose a domain which you are interested in.

• Don’t add skills which you don’t possess.