Home » Writing » Identify your audience and purpose in writing

Identify your audience and purpose in writing

Identify your audience and purpose in writing After you determine the

Prewriting

Targeting Your Audience

No matter what type of writing you are doing, you should plan to write to someone&-that is, you should target an audience for your writing assignment. Audience analysis is crucial to understanding what should go into each piece of writing. You should consider your audience’s needs in your research; your content; the background information you provide; your tone, style, and wording; and the frequency with which you define terminology. Analyzing your audience will help you make the necessary decisions about what you will write.

Many students assume that the instructor is the primary audience for the writing. Although your instructor may be your audience for an essay, he or she may also expect you to write for your classmates or others in your field of study.

In addition to knowing who your audience is, you must understand the purpose of your writing. Writers always have a specific reason for writing, and purpose includes what the author intends to accomplish in the writing and how the author wants the reader to use the information. Purpose bridges the gap between audience and content, linking them inextricably to you, the writer.

Your purpose is not the same as your writing strategy. To analyze some concept is not, by itself, very interesting or meaningful. But to analyze a concept to look closely at its various parts so that you may gain new insight into what it means has both strength of purpose and meaning for the reader. In college writing, your purpose for writing is usually to explain something to your readers or to convince them of your way of thinking.

If you are unsure who the target audience is, discuss the issue with your instructor.

Also, be aware of key words on your assignment sheet that will help you identify the intended audience, e.g. &”Write an analysis for others in your field&” or &”Describe to the class.&”

To develop an audience profile. you need specific information about your audience&-information about its understanding of and attitude toward your subject. Your instructor may guide you in learning what questions to ask to get the necessary information to profile your audience, or you may develop this list yourself. The following list, although not exhaustive, can help you do that. Be aware that your instructor or your particular writing assignment may require more information about your audience.

  • Who is my primary audience?
  • What purpose will this writing serve for my readers? How will they use it?
  • Is my audience multicultural?
  • What is my audience’s attitude toward and probable reaction to this writing?
  • Will readers expect certain patterns of thought in my writing? Will they need statistical data to be convinced?

After you determine the nature of your audience and your purpose, you must determine how this information affects your planning and writing decisions. For example, the audience profile will tell you the following:

  • how much information to convey
  • what kinds and levels of details to include
  • what concepts to emphasize
  • how much time to spend in research
  • what writing strategies to use
  • how to organize your information
  • what words, tone, and style to use to communicate with your audience

Some students prefer to answer these questions before they begin to write.

Identify your audience and purpose in writing The following list, although not

Other students begin planning the writing and answer these questions later. Actually, this series of planning activities includes prewriting activities and perhaps some research. The goal of this phase of the writing process is to determine the scope of your writing project and to prepare to write your first draft.

We will now describe several prewriting techniques to help you get started.

Your instructor may want to be your target audience or may expect you to target your classmates, peers in the field, or some combination of these potential audience members.

The purpose of the assignment may include factual analysis, assertion of a position, or both.

Student Services: 1616 McCormick Drive, Largo, MD 20774
Mailing Address: 3501 University Blvd. East, Adelphi, MD 20783

© 2011 University of Maryland University College (UMUC). All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without prior written permission of the holder.

All links to external sites were verified at the time of publication. UMUC is not responsible for the validity or integrity of information located at external sites.


Share this:
custom writing low cost
Order custom writing

ads