AudiencePurpose
Audience
Before drafting a document, one should decide to whom they are writing and why. The audience is not always simply the professor. Sometimes the professor may specify the audience; other times they may not. Regardless, a student writer should reflect on who else would want to read the work being created.
The student writer should ask:
- To whom am I writing?
- What does the target audience know about my subject/topic?
- What information do I need to give the reader(s)?
- What sources and types of sources would my reader(s) value?
- What objections might the reader(s) have?
- How can I overcome those objections?
Purpose
Writers should always consider the purpose of their writing. Student writers should carefully examine professors’ instructions to help determine the purpose of a writing assignment. Is the student writer expected to inform, persuade, entertain, or do a combination of two or the three?
Here are some tips for determining the purpose of a writing assignment:
- Carefully read all of the professor’s directions.
- Take notes on the directions. One way is to break them down in steps.
- Highlight any parts that are confusing to you. Make sure to ask your professor if you do not understand.
- Keep the directions by you when you begin planning. Always have the directions near you as you are drafting. Refer back to them as you draft, revise, and edit your work.
- Consider the expectations of the discipline in which you are writing. Must you use a specific style such as APA, MLA, AMA, etc.? Should you use a particular organization plan?
