Writing for an Audience:Building on What You Know to

Communicate Better

GoalsGoals

• Learn five main questions for considering your audience

• Identify key elements in a syllabus for insight into your teacher’s expectations

• Discuss your questions and concerns

Five Key Questions1. Do you have a specific intended audience?

2. Who is your intended audience? What are their personal characteristics?

3. What is their job, profession, or field of expertise?

4. What does your audience know about your topic? What could they NOT know about your topic, considering their personal characteristics?

5. What is their level of need/interest regarding your writing? How will your audience use your writing?

Intended Audience?

• BEFORE you write, ask yourself who you are writing for.

• “Profile” the people who will be reading your writing.

• The more specific the audience, the more focused your writing.

Who Is Your Audience?Who Is Your Audience?

Who Is Your Intended Audience?

Personal characteristics: • Where they live• When they went to school (age)• Gender, class, ethnicity• Language proficiency• Time constraints

Job, Profession, Expertise?

• Where does your audience work?

• What field is your audience in?

• What subject(s) is your audience an expert in?

What Does Audience Know?• No one is 100%

knowledgeable or 100% ignorant

• Allow for a range of abilities and knowledge

• Balance accuracy of terms or complexity with explanations

Audience Needs?

Making informed decisions

Intellectual challenge

Emotional investment

Entertainment/Diversion

Clues to Audience in a Syllabus

• Required• Course Description, Goals, Methods• Expectations, Attendance, Participation• Format• Pace, Schedule• “I” statements• Note• Grade/Rubric

Key Words:

Required

Textbooks set the tone, tell a lot about the teacher’s philosophy/mood:– Thick, dry tomes: standardized for the

subject, not personal– Novels, nonfiction essays: personal,

intimate, emotional connections demanding self-investment

Required II

• Materials = individual preferences of the teacher, i.e., audience!

• Listen in class for what to buy and when– Vocal stress or exclamation points =

emotional value placed on these preferences

Course . . .• Description/Methods – the overall style or

layout of the class, the general way to achieve the goals

• Goals/Outcomes/Objectives/By the end of the course you should . . . – The point of the class, the skills instructors will expect you to know when you take a higher-level class

• Requirements – the specific tasks of the particular instructor, i.e., the audience expectations

Expectations• Course participation, attendance =

critical to success in any course– School/Division policies, e.g., no plagiarism!

and absence limits affect grades

– Behavior in class: turn cell phones off, remove hats and earbuds, respect others (Your classmates are your audience, too, and they can have strict expectations!)

Format

• Style of class, but more often . . .

• Audience expectations of your writing!– Appearance: MLA or APA, font, point size– Feel: stapled, manageable, smooth

Pace/Schedule• Self-paced = personal responsibility to

be on schedule, meet the mileposts• Fast-paced = personal responsibility to

be well prepared before each week begins

• Schedule: identify due dates, exams, days of no classes, dates readings to be discussed

“I” statements

• I expect . . . I require . . .

• I do not . . . I will not . . .

• I collect . . . I will look for . . .

• I am here to help/I am on your side• I can be reached at/My office hours are . . .

NOTE:

• “Note” signals very important information or an intricately detailed explanation

• N.B. = (Latin) nota bene ‘note well’

Grade/Rubric

• Grade = level to which you met audience expectations

• Rubric = the “ruler” used to measure and calculate your grade

Audience Pet Peeves

1. Speeling Errors

If you want to be taken seriously, spell well!

2. “You…you…you…” Huh? I was never there.Own your personal experiences!

3. Overwrought, overdone, overcooked verbiageK.I.S.S.—Keep It Simple, Silly!

To Summarize• Ask yourself the five questions to

conceptualize your audience

• Review your syllabus and lecture notes for your teacher’s expectations

• You are an expert on your own experiences, so be your audience’s informant while respecting their intelligence

Bibliography“Audience.” Writing@CSU. 1993-2009. The Writing Center at

Colorado State University. 19 Feb. 2009 <http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/processes/audmod>.

“Audience Planner.” Online Technical Writing. No date. No organization. 19 Feb. 2009 <http://www.io.com/~hcexres/itcm/planners/aud_plan.html>.

“Winter 2009 Classes: English.” Arts & Humanities: Student Info. Bellevue College. 7 May 2009 <http://bellevuecollege.edu/artshum/materials/Winter2009/ENGL.htm>.

Hale, Stephen. “Writing for an Audience.” Georgia Perimeter College. 19 Feb 2009 http://facstaff.gpc.edu/~shale/humanities/composition/handouts/audience.html>.