What you’ll learn to do: examine how to analyze and appeal to your audience in your writing

Who is the audience for your writing? Often, in school, students think of the teacher as their audience. And students who are good at pleasing the teacher sometimes do well at their writing because they can “read” this audience of one.

When you write in college and for audiences beyond your time in college, addressing your audience is critical to effective writing. Authors who know their intended audience and possible unintended audiences, compose essays and arguments that are more effective at provoking a response, whether that response is simply creating agreement with the author’s position or spurring the reader to take action. Every time you write, keep your audience’s needs in mind.