These days, being a great writer is a must. No matter what you do for a living, a strong grasp of writing principles will take you further in your career. Luckily, there are plenty of online resources available to help you level up your writing skills – and many of them are free! 

Whether you’re a university student or a CEO, these free online writing courses will help you develop your writing skills and improve your communication. From creative writing to business and technical writing, we’ve compiled nearly 100 of the best free online writing courses to hone your craft. 

Use the links below to jump to a specific section: 

Free Online Writing Courses for New Writers

Use these classes to refine your grammar, spelling, and vocabulary skills. Many of these courses are ideal for non-native English speakers and can be helpful for those with limited writing experience. 

  1. Getting Started with Essay Writing
    • Focus: Composition
    • Duration: 5 weeks
    • Provider: University of California, Irvine
  2. English Composition 
    • Focus: Composition
    • Duration: 8 weeks
    • Provider: Arizona State University
  3. English Composition: Research and Writing
    • Focus: Composition
    • Duration: 8 weeks
    • Provider: Arizona State University
  4. English Composition I
    • Focus: Composition
    • Duration: 10 weeks
    • Provider: Duke University
  5. Effective Writing
    • Focus: Composition
    • Duration: 4 weeks
    • Provider: Indian Institute of Technology, Roorke
  6. Beginner’s Guide to Writing in English for University Study
    • Focus: Composition
    • Duration: 5 weeks
    • Provider: University of Reading
  7. How to Write an Essay
    • Focus: Composition
    • Duration: 5 weeks
    • Provider: University of California, Berkeley

Journaling is a great way to practice writing in a relaxing, casual way. Whether you love bullet journaling or prefer scribbling down random thoughts on scrap paper, these journaling tools will help you improve your overall writing abilities.

Free Online Creative Writing Courses

Whether you want to be on the New York Times’ Best Seller list someday or you’re hoping to be a children’s book author, a strong foundation in creative writing is key. Use these free online creative writing courses to build your skills and creative writing expertise.  

  1. Sharpened Visions: A Poetry Workshop
    • Focus: Poetry
    • Duration: 6 weeks
    • Provider: California Institute of the Arts
  2. Modern & Contemporary American Poetry (“ModPo”)
    • Focus: Poetry
    • Duration: 10 weeks
    • Provider: University of Pennsylvania
  3. Modern Poetry
    • Focus: Poetry
    • Duration: Self-paced 
    • Provider: Yale University
  4. The Essentials of Poetry Writing
    • Focus: Poetry
    • Duration: 8 weeks
    • Provider: Creative Writing Now
  5. How to Make a Poem 
    • Focus: Poetry
    • Duration: 3 weeks
    • Provider: Manchester Metropolitan University
  6. Start Writing Fiction
    • Focus: Fiction
    • Duration: 8 weeks
    • Provider: The Open University
  7. Novel Writing 101
    • Focus: Fiction
    • Duration: Self-paced
    • Provider: Reedsy
  8. Structure Your Story for Success
    • Focus: Fiction
    • Duration: 8 weeks
    • Provider: Creative Writing Now
  9. How to Write a Novel: Structure & Outline
    • Focus: Fiction
    • Duration: 6 weeks
    • Provider: University of British Columbia
  10. How to Write a Novel: Writing the Draft
    • Focus: Fiction
    • Duration: 6 weeks
    • Provider: University of British Columbia
  11. Intro to Creative Writing
    • Focus: Fiction
    • Duration: Self-paced
    • Provider: The Crafty Writer
  12. Genre Fiction Workshop
    • Focus: Fiction
    • Duration: Self-paced
    • Provider: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  13. Bringing Characters to Life
    • Focus: Fiction
    • Duration: 8 weeks
    • Provider: Creative Writing Now
  14. Creative Writing: The Craft of Character
    • Focus: Fiction
    • Duration: 4 weeks
    • Provider: Wesleyan University
  15. Creative Writing: The Craft of Style
    • Focus: Fiction
    • Duration: 4 weeks
    • Provider: Wesleyan University
  16. Creative Writing: The Craft of Plot 
    • Focus: Fiction
    • Duration: 4 weeks
    • Provider: Wesleyan University
  17. Creative Writing: The Craft of Setting and Description
    • Focus: Fiction
    • Duration: 4 weeks
    • Provider: Wesleyan University
  18. Learn to Write Great Dialogue
    • Focus: Fiction
    • Duration: 8 weeks
    • Provider: Creative Writing Now
  19. Transmedia Writing
    • Focus: Fiction
    • Duration: 6 weeks
    • Provider: Michigan State University
  20. Write a Successful Mystery
    • Focus: Fiction
    • Duration: 8 weeks
    • Provider: Creative Writing Now
  21. Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy
    • Focus: Young adult
    • Duration: Self-paced
    • Provider: Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy
  22. Writing for Young Readers: Opening the Treasure Chest
    • Focus: Children’s fiction
    • Duration: 5 weeks
    • Provider: Commonwealth Education Trust
  23. Express Your Life Experiences
    • Focus: Nonfiction
    • Duration: 8 weeks
    • Provider: Creative Writing Now
  24. Writing Stories About Ourselves
    • Focus: Nonfiction
    • Duration: 4 weeks
    • Provider: Wesleyan University
  25. Memoir and Personal Essay: Managing Your Relationship with the Reader
    • Focus: Nonfiction
    • Duration: 4 weeks
    • Provider: Wesleyan University
  26. Writing in First Person Point of View
    • Focus: Nonfiction
    • Duration: 4 weeks
    • Provider: Wesleyan University
  27. Writing a Personal Essay
    • Focus: Nonfiction
    • Duration: 4 weeks
    • Provider: Wesleyan University

Check out the tools above to improve your creative writing skills. Whether you’re planning to become a novelist or love writing poetry in your free time, these tools will help you finesse your talent.

Free Online Grant Writing Courses

Hoping to learn a new skill that will supplement your income? Grant writing is a great side hustle that can be done from home. Check out these free classes to get started. 

  1. Introduction to Proposal Writing 
    • Focus: Proposal 
    • Duration: Self-paced
    • Provider: Grantspace by Candid
  2. Writing a Successful Grant Proposal 
    • Focus: Proposal
    • Duration: Self-paced
    • Provider: Minnesota Council on Foundations
  3. Introduction to Finding Grants
    • Focus: Grants
    • Duration: Self-paced
    • Provider: Grantspace by Candid
  4. Grant Writing and Crowdfunding for Public Libraries
    • Focus: Fundraising
    • Duration: 4 weeks
    • Provider: University of Michigan

Free Online Business Writing Courses

Business communication is an important part of your success as a professional. Stop letting typos and bad grammar keep you from closing sales and landing new clients. These courses will help you demonstrate your expertise through great communication. 

  1. How to Succeed at: Writing Applications
    • Focus on: Finding a job
    • Duration: 3 weeks
    • Provider: The University of Sheffield
  2. Academic and Business Writing
    • Focus on: Business communication for non-native English speakers
    • Duration: 6 weeks
    • Provider: University of California, Berkeley
  3. Writing Professional Email and Memos
    • Focus on: Business communication
    • Duration: 4 weeks
    • Provider: University System of Georgia
  4. Effective Business Writing
    • Focus: Business communication
    • Duration: 4 weeks
    • Provider: University of California, Berkeley
  5. Storytelling in the Workplace
    • Focus: Business communication
    • Duration: 3 weeks
    • Provider: Rochester Institute of Technology 
  6. Business Writing
    • Focus: Business communication
    • Duration: 4 weeks
    • Provider: University of Colorado, Boulder
  7. High-Impact Business Writing
    • Focus: Business communication
    • Duration: 4 weeks
    • Provider: University of California, Irvine
  8. Advanced Communication for Leaders
    • Focus: Business communication
    • Duration: Self-paced
    • Provider: MIT OpenCourseWare
  9. Fundamentals of Business Writing – Revised
    • Focus: Business communication
    • Duration: Self-paced
    • Provider: Alison
  10. English for Effective Business Writing
    • Focus: Business communication for non-native English speakers
    • Duration: 6 weeks
    • Provider: The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
  11. Better Business Writing in English 
    • Focus: Business communication for non-native English speakers
    • Duration: 4 weeks
    • Provider: Georgia Tech
  12. Write Professional Emails in English
    • Focus: Business communication for non-native English speakers
    • Duration: 5 weeks
    • Provider: Georgia Tech
  13. The Writing Process
    • Focus: Documents
    • Duration: 4 weeks
    • Provider: University of California, Berkeley
  14. Writing Winning Resumes and Cover Letters 
    • Focus: Finding a job
    • Duration: 4 weeks
    • Provider: University of Maryland
  15. How to Write a Resume
    • Focus: Finding a job
    • Duration: 4 weeks
    • Provider: State University of New York
  16. Craft Your Cover Letter
    • Focus: Finding a job
    • Duration: Self-paced
    • Provider: Udacity
  17. Refresh Your Resume
    • Focus: Finding a job
    • Duration: Self-paced
    • Provider: Udacity

From email communication to reports and memos, business writing is important for any professional. Use the tools above to boost your communication skills and enhance your future business opportunities.

Free Online Journalism Courses

Use these classes to learn about journalism, media, and blogging. Whether you want to be a social advocate or political commentator, these courses will be your springboard. 

  1. Journalism for Social Change
    • Focus: Social issues
    • Duration: 4 weeks
    • Provider: University of California, Berkeley
  2. Writing for Social Justice 
    • Focus: Social issues
    • Duration: 4 weeks
    • Provider: University of California, Berkeley
  3. Storytelling for Social Change
    • Focus: Social issues
    • Duration: 5 weeks
    • Provider: University of Michigan
  4. Activism and Citizen Journalism through Media
    • Focus: Social issues
    • Duration: 4 weeks
    • Provider: Wits University
  5. Media Writing and Editing
    • Focus: Multimedia journalism
    • Duration: Self-paced
    • Provider: Canvas
  6. Digital Culture and Writing
    • Focus: Multimedia journalism
    • Duration: 7 weeks
    • Provider: University of Burgundy
  7. Diploma in Journalism 
    • Focus: General journalism
    • Duration: Self-paced
    • Provider: Alison
  8. English for Journalism
    • Focus: Journalism for non-native English speakers
    • Duration: 5 weeks
    • Provider: University of Pennsylvania
  9. English for Journalists (Part 1)
    • Focus: Journalism for non-native English speakers
    • Duration: 5 weeks
    • Provider: University of California, Berkeley
  10. English for Journalists (Part 2)
    • Focus: Journalism for non-native English speakers
    • Duration: 5 weeks
    • Provider: University of California, Berkeley
  11. Copywriting: Improve User Experience One Word at a Time
    • Focus: Blogging
    • Duration: 4 weeks
    • Provider: openSAP

Free Online Technical Writing Courses

Engineers, data analysts, and scientists must have a mastery of technical writing to properly present their findings and reports. These free online technical writing courses will give you the foundation you need to become a better technical communicator. 

  1. Technical Report Writing for Engineers
    • Focus: Engineering
    • Duration: 6 weeks
    • Provider: University of Sheffield
  2. Writing in the Sciences
    • Focus: Sciences
    • Duration: 8 weeks
    • Provider: Stanford University
  3. How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper
    • Focus: Sciences
    • Duration: 4 weeks
    • Provider: École Polytechnique
  4. Communicating With Data
    • Focus: Reporting
    • Duration: Self-paced
    • Provider: MIT OpenCourseWare
  5. Technical Writing
    • Focus: Reporting
    • Duration: 5 weeks
    • Provider: Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology
  6. Discovering Science: Science Writing
    • Focus: Sciences
    • Duration: 2 weeks
    • Provider: University of Leeds
  7. Writing READMEs
    • Focus: Programming
    • Duration: Self-paced
    • Provider: Udacity
  8. Requirements Writing
    • Focus: Engineering
    • Duration: 5 weeks
    • Provider: University of New South Wales
  9. Writing Skills for Health Care Providers
    • Focus: Medicine
    • Duration: Self-paced
    • Provider: Concordia University, Wisconsin
  10. Communicating in Technical Organizations
    • Focus: Reporting
    • Duration: Self-paced
    • Provider: MIT OpenCourseWare
  11. Writing Case Studies: Science of Delivery
    • Focus: Reporting
    • Duration: 6 weeks
    • Provider: Princeton University
  12. Writing, Presenting and Submitting Scientific Papers in English
    • Focus: Reporting for non-native English speakers
    • Duration: 5 weeks
    • Provider: Tsinghua University
  13. Science Writing for the Public
    • Focus: Sciences
    • Duration: Self-paced
    • Provider: MIT OpenCourseWare
  14. Explorations in Communicating about Science & Technology
    • Focus: Sciences
    • Duration: Self-paced
    • Provider: OpenCourseWare
  15. Writing Skills for Engineering Leaders
    • Focus: Engineering
    • Duration: 4 weeks
    • Provider: Rice University

Other Free Online Writing Courses 

From writing lyrics to theater productions, these free online writing courses can be used just for fun or as the first step towards a new career. 

  1. Writing for Social Media
    • Focus: Social Media
    • Duration: 4 weeks
    • Provider: University of California, Berkeley
  2. Songwriting: Writing the Lyrics
    • Focus: Music
    • Duration: 6 weeks
    • Provider: Berklee College of Music
  3. An Introduction to Screenwriting
    • Focus: Film 
    • Duration: 2 weeks
    • Provider: University of East Anglia
  4. Script Writing: Write a Pilot Episode for a TV or Web Series
    • Focus: Film
    • Duration: 5 weeks
    • Provider: Michigan State University
  5. Playwriting I
    • Focus: Theater
    • Duration: 12 weeks
    • Provider: MIT OpenCourseWare
  6. Rhetoric: The Art of Persuasive Writing and Public Speaking 
    • Focus: Communication
    • Duration: 8 weeks
    • Provider: Harvard University

Have your own blog or hoping to create one? Make it stand out with strong writing and expressive language using the tools above.

To view the full infographic of writing tools, click the button below.

No matter how you’re spending your spare time during quarantine, make sure you take time to work on your personal growth. Whether you commit to a regular exercise routine or decide to write your memoir, Coupon Chief is here to help. 

Sources

Class Central | EdX | MIT OpenCourseWare | Learning Path | HubSpot | ThinkGrowth

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