Audience Analysis

Demographic Analysis

Disposition Analysis

Knowledge Analysis

Understanding one's audience is one of the most

important elements of effective communication.
Audience analysis can help you gain valuable
insight about your readers, which can help you to
choose and develop a relevant, meaningful topic.
It can also help you to create a writing plan that
is tailored effectively to your reading audience,
with appropriate tone, style, language and
content.

There are three main areas to consider when

analyzing
your
audience:
demographics,
dispositions and knowledge of the topic. For each
of these areas, there are a set of questions to
answer which will help stimulate your thinking
about your audience. In addition to the questions
below, you should consider how each of these
factors (age, socio-economic status, etc.) affect
your readers' attitudes, expectations and
opinions about you and your topic.

Knowledge Analysis

Demographic Analysis

Is my reading audience homogeneous or

heterogeneous? If homogeneous, how are
the readers alike? What do they have in
common? If heterogeneous, how are the
readers different from one another? What
do readers have in common despite their
differences?
What is the average age of my readers?
What range of ages is represented?
In terms of socio-economic status, how
would I describe my reading audience?
Where do they fit in society's social and
economic status?
What occupations are represented in my
reading audience?
What are my readers' political and
religious affiliations?
What ethic, racial and cultural groups are
represented in my reading audience?
What is my role in relationship to my
reading audience? Are we status equals or
re we of mixed status?

Disposition Analysis

What might my reading audience expect

from this document?
What might I expect about my readers'
attitudes toward me (the writer) and my
topic?
What concerns or problems do my readers
have?
What interests and goals do my readers
have?
What will motivate my readers? What
types of needs do they have?
What biases or preconceived ideas might
my readers have about me and my topic?

How much does my reading audience

already know about my topic? What,
specifically, do my readers already know
about the topic?
What can I inform my readers about that
they do not already know? What new
information would my readers benefit
from? How could they use this new
information?
At what point of sophistication will I be
"talking over the heads" of my readers
because my information is too complex?
At what point of sophistication will I be
"insulting the intelligence" of my readers
because my information is too simplistic?
What questions might my readers have
about my topic?

A business letter is usually a letter from one

company
to
another,
or
between
such
organizations and their customers, clients and
other external parties. The overall style of letter
depends on the relationship between the parties
concerned. Business letters can have many types
of contents, for example to request direct
information or action from another party, to order
supplies from a supplier, to point out a mistake
by the letter's recipient, to reply directly to a
request, to apologize for a wrong, or to convey
goodwill. A business letter is sometimes useful
because it produces a permanent written record,
and may be taken more seriously by the recipient
than other forms of communication
Purpose - Business letters come in various
forms. Depending on the recipient, they are
written in varying tones, such as persuasive,
informational, promotional or motivational tone.
They have a clear purpose and objective, and
they are targeted toward a specific individual or

group. When companies introduce new products

to customers, they send sales letters that are
typically mailed with a brochure and order form.
Business letters are also used to build rapport
and express gratitude to business associates or
customers. Another purpose of writing a business
letter is to provide sales incentives, such as
special deals, coupons and rebates, for loyal
customers. Moreover, it is used to order products
in the form of a purchase order, which serves as a
legal document between the seller and buyer.

Companies also send a formal letter to

acknowledge complaints, such as problems with
damaged products, inaccurate shipment and
customer service issues. It is important for a
business to respond to complaints quickly to
avoid potential legal problems. Lastly, a business
letter is used to communicate with lost customers
and dormant ones who have not bought a
companys products for a while.