{"id":18,"date":"2015-07-31T19:01:11","date_gmt":"2015-07-31T19:01:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.candelalearning.com\/compreader\/?post_type=chapter&p=18"},"modified":"2019-01-06T16:24:08","modified_gmt":"2019-01-06T16:24:08","slug":"identifying-audience-and-purpose","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/olemiss-readinganthology\/chapter\/identifying-audience-and-purpose\/","title":{"raw":"Identifying Audience and Purpose","rendered":"Identifying Audience and Purpose"},"content":{"raw":"Audience matters<\/strong>\r\n\r\nWhen you\u2019re in the process of writing a paper, it\u2019s easy to forget that you are actually writing to someone. Whether you\u2019ve thought about it consciously or not, you always write to an audience: sometimes your audience is a very generalized group of readers, sometimes you know the individuals who compose the audience, and sometimes you write for yourself. Keeping your audience in mind while you write can help you make good decisions about what material to include, how to organize your ideas, and how best to support your argument.\r\n\r\nTo illustrate the impact of audience, imagine you\u2019re writing a letter to your grandmother to tell her about your first month of college. What details and stories might you include? What might you leave out? Now imagine that you\u2019re writing on the same topic but your audience is your best friend. Unless you have an extremely cool grandma to whom you\u2019re very close, it\u2019s likely that your two letters would look quite different in terms of content, structure, and even tone.\r\n\r\nIsn\u2019t my instructor my audience?<\/strong>\r\n\r\nYes, your instructor is probably the actual audience for your paper. Your instructors read and grade your essays, and you want to keep their needs and perspectives in mind when you write. However, when you write an essay with only your instructor in mind, you might not say as much as you should or say it as clearly as you should, because you assume that the person grading it knows more than you do and will fill in the gaps. This leaves it up to the instructor to decide what you are really saying, and she might decide differently than you expect. For example, she might decide that those gaps show that you don\u2019t know and understand the material. Remember that time when you said to yourself, \u201cI don\u2019t have to explain communism; my instructor knows more about that than I do\u201d and got back a paper that said something like \u201cShows no understanding of communism\u201d? That\u2019s an example of what can go awry when you think of your instructor as your only audience.\r\n\r\nThinking about your audience differently can improve your writing, especially in terms of how clearly you express your argument. The clearer your points are, the more likely you are to have a strong essay. Your instructor will say, \u201cHe really understands communism\u2014he\u2019s able to explain it simply and clearly!\u201d By treating your instructor as an intelligent but uninformed audience, you end up addressing her more effectively.\r\n\r\nHow do I identify my audience and what they want from me?<\/strong>\r\n\r\nBefore you even begin the process of writing, take some time to consider who your audience is and what they want from you. Use the following questions to help you identify your audience and what you can do to address their wants and needs.\r\n