Writing Basics

Audience Purpose Process

 Key elements to good writing

1 It considers what the audience knows and

needs.
2 It fulfills the writer’s purpose.
3 It includes a clear, definite point.
4 It provides support that explains or proves
the main point.
Understand Audience and
Purpose
 SITUATION:
• Marta woke up one morning with a fever. When she went
into the bathroom, she saw in the mirror that her face was
swollen and red. Then, she was hit with a violent attack of
nausea. Marta immediately called her doctor, who said she
could come right in. Marta’s mother was coming to stay
with Marta’s children in a few minutes, so Marta asked a
neighbor to watch her children until her mother got there.
Marta then left a note for her mother telling her why she
had already left. When she got to the doctor’s office, the
nurse asked her to write a brief description of her
symptoms for the doctor.
 MARTA’S NOTE TO HER MOTHER
• Ma, Not feeling very well this morning.
Stopping by doctor’s office before work. Don’t
worry, I’m okay, just checking it out. Can’t miss
any more work. See you after..
 MARTA’S NOTE TO THE DOCTOR
• When I woke up this morning, I had a fever.
When I looked in the mirror, my face was
swollen, especially around the eyes, which
were almost shut. My lips and skin were red
and dry, and my face was itchy. Within a few
minutes, I vomited several times.
PRACTICE 1: Comparing Marta’s
Notes
 Read Marta’s two notes and answer the
following questions.
• 1. How does Marta’s note to her mother differ
from the one to the doctor?
• 2. How do the different audiences and
purposes affect what the notes say (the
content) and how they say it (the tone)?
3. Which note has more detail, and why?
• As these examples show, we communicate with family members
and friends differently than we communicate with people in
authority (like employers, instructors, or other professionals) —
or we should. Marta’s note to her mother uses informal English
and incomplete sentences, because the two women know each
other well and are used to speaking casually to other. Because
Marta’s purpose is to get quick information to her mother and to
reassure her, she doesn’t need to provide a lot of details. On the
other hand, Marta’s note to her doctor is more formal, with
complete sentences, because the relationship is more formal.
Also, the note to the doctor is more detailed because the doctor
will be making treatment decisions based on it.