The audience is who you're writing for, like your teacher, classmates, or a general reader, and knowing this helps you decide how formal or casual your language should be. Different audiences have different interests, reasons for reading what you are writing, knowledge, and expectations. Therefore, how you write needs to change depending on who you are writing to.
1. Defining Your Audience:
Before you begin writing anything, it is important to identify who you are writing to. The person or group you are writing to is your audience. Figuring out your audience before writing is crucial because it allows you to decide what information to include and how to communicate your ideas effectively. When defining your audience, ask yourself:
- Who is going to read this?
- What does my audience need to know?
- What do they likely already know?
- Why would they care about this information?
- What style of writing will work best with this audience?
Who you are writing for will determine the tone you should use. For example, if you are writing a story for a creative writing class, an informal tone might be appropriate. However, when writing a persuasive essay or an email to a potential employer, use a more formal tone. To determine the appropriateness of your tone, read your work aloud. Listen as if you are the intended audience for the piece (instructor, employer, etc.). Pay attention to the language and tone used in the writing, and revise for language and voice.
The purpose is why you're writing: are you trying to inform, persuade, entertain, or explain something? This shapes what kind of information you include and how you organize it. Tone is the attitude or feeling you convey through your writing, such as being serious, friendly, or passionate. All three, audience, purpose, and tone work together to guide your word choice, examples, and how you present your ideas. If you ignore them, your essay might confuse or lose the interest of your reader. Thinking about the writing situation helps you connect with your audience and make your message clear and effective.
The words you choose are vital in writing. When choosing a formal tone, avoid the following:
- Slang & Jargon: The meaning of slang terms change throughout time and can be confusing (ex: “Your company champions my values”). Use “supports” instead
- Colloquialisms & Idioms: These sayings rarely make sense outside of a given geographical area or region (ex: wicked amazing or hella awesome). Use “incredible” instead
- Ambiguous words: Words like “good,” “bad,” and—well—“awesome” are vague and overused. They can also be misleading. (ex: “the homework was too hard”). Try “I struggled with this week’s assignment because...” instead. It’s more specific, and so, elicits the help you need.
If the audience explains who, and the language explains what, then the voice is all about how you communicate. Humorous or solemn? Sarcastic or sincere? Think back to your audience before making certain choices with your voice. In professional writing, your voice should...
- Be assertive: State common sense or facts rather than opinions (“Manners are important” rather than “Manners are pretty important to me”) In an academic setting, remain assertive, and also...
- Avoid emotional language: academic writing should be objective and avoid bias. Cut out uses of "I think" or "I feel" or "I believe,” also known as hedging
- Skip contractions: Choose “cannot” over “can’t” for your school work.
- A text to a friend might be brief and silly, while a message to an instructor, a manager, or a client is written in complete sentences and often has a formal friendliness. Often, it starts with a greeting, like “Good morning, Dr. Davis.” When writing for school or work, one should write in a tone that is formal, academic, or professional. While each circumstance has its own rules, below are some guidelines when considering your tone in general.
Review the video below to learn more about how to choose and tailor your writing to a specific audience.
Need More Help?
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Audience Self-Check Checklist:
Use this checklist as you write and revise to make sure you have clearly identified your audience and considered their needs.
You are done. Great job!