Communication

10380
Audience and Purpose
 What is audience?
Audience: A person or group of people to whom you want to convey a
message.
• Everything you write is aimed at an audience – a person or group of people
to whom you want to convey a message. It is important, then, to know as
much as possible about the people who will ultimately read and react to
your work.
• Writing often has the goal of persuading an audience. It influences
opinions, enlists support, changes behaviour, or proposes a new idea.
Knowing your audience will help you effectively communicate your
message.
• What you write, how it is worded, and the genre (memo, essay, email,
note, speech) you choose are all influenced by your audience.
 Examine your audience
Defining an audience for a writing task always involves asking yourself
basic questions.

To be effective and worthwhile, your work should be aimed at readers

who are most naturally going to be interested and involved in your topic,
and it should be written in such a way that it will achieve your purpose.
 Consider the following when
examining your audience:
• Prior knowledge: How familiar is the audience with the topic?
This will affect the language level and the complexity of the
topic.
• Age: Your approach to a topic will change with the age of your
audience. Think carefully about the specific effect of your topic
on your specific audience.
• Education: The level of your audience’s education will affect the
language level, the position, and the subject matter of the
paper.
 Consider the following when
examining your audience (continued):
• Ethnicity: Cultural background (including religion, language and
nationality) can influence attitudes about certain topics and therefore
should be considered when writing.
• Attitude: What might be the audience’s likely attitude toward the topic?
What preconceptions might they have? Is there a personal of professional
interest in the topic?
• Purpose: Why are people reading the paper? Are they reading it for
pleasure or are they required to use the information in some way?
• Gender: Writing should be unbiased. Make gender-inclusive language
choices and select examples that all genders are aware of, are
comfortable with, and will respond to.
 Time to think: ACTIVITY #1
Activity 1: Identifying your audience
In each of the pairs of sentences below, select which statement is best suited for the targeted audience.
1. To your spouse.
a) You need a raise because we need to repair the roof.
b) You need a raise because your brought in many new clients.
2. To your boss.
c) I should have my expenses paid for since Tom got his paid for last year.
d) I should have my expenses paid for since they were on account of the clients I serve.
3. To your professor.
e) I should take another class because I don’t like the content.
f) I should take another class because I need something more challenging.
4. To your co-worker.
g) I want to ask for a raise because I deserve it.
h) I want to ask for a raise because I managed to increase profits over the last quarter.
 PURPOSE
Aside from considering whom you are writing for, it is also important
that you have a clear sense of what you are trying to do for your
audience.
• We write for different reasons and each writing situation has a specific
purpose – sometimes, we write to explain a concept, to tell a story, to
give instructions or to argue a particular point of view.

Knowing your purpose for writing with help you determine:

• What information to include,
• What information not to include,
• How to best organize your work.
 PURPOSE (continued)
What you want to accomplish (your purpose) will also help determine the
WAY you write your paper (your strategies).

If you want to write a story, you will proceed along a completely different
course than if you want to write a persuasive essay, explain a process, or
describe a scene.
 PURPOSE (continued)
Whatever your purpose, you will be required to make specific choices
about the strategies and techniques you need to make your writing
successful.

People write for different reasons, including to:

• Inform: The text contains many facts, examples or definitions. It could
contain charts or diagrams that provide the reader with information –
identifying the ‘what’ or ‘why’ of an idea.
• Entertain: The text contains humor or other entertainment to amuse the
reader.
 PURPOSE (continued)
• Persuade: The text attempts to convince the reader to change their
thoughts or behavior. The author may use logic, emotion and credibility
to sway the reader.
• Describe: The text conveys an image or emotions to the reader. This style
intends to provide readers with an experience but does not attempt to
change their minds.
• Explain: The text resembles a ‘how-to’ guide. It may identify a process,
directions, or strategy for the reader to follow.
 Time to think: ACTIVITY #2
Activity 2: Identifying your purpose
In each of the situations below, identify the author’s purpose in writing it.
1. A chapter in a history book listing the reasons for Confederation in Canada in 1867.
a) To entertain
b) To inform
2. A manual in how to operate a washing machine.
c) To entertain
d) To explain
3. An advertisement comparing costs between products.
e) To inform
f) To persuade
4. A poem about a childhood memory.
g) To describe
h) To explain
5. A blog post about how much Justin Bieber loves Canada
i) To entertain
j) To explain