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?
• Why is this audience the correct choice?
• How might my audience use my ideas after reading my work?

The purpose is why you're writing. Consider if you are trying to inform, persuade, entertain, or explain something? Identifying your purpose helps you decide what information to include, what evidence to emphasize, and the overall organization of your paper.

Inform: When you want your reader to learn or understand something that they did not know before. .

Persuade: When you want to persuade your reader to agree wth your point of view and/or take a specific action related to that opinion. 

Entertain: Written so your audience will enjoy the process of reading your work. 

Explain:  Written when you want your audience to understand an analysis, evaluation, conclusion, or judgment on a topic.

The words you choose are vital in writing. When choosing a formal tone, avoid the following:

• Slang and Jargon: The meaning of slang terms changes throughout time and can be confusing (ex, “Your company champions my values”). Use “supports” instead.
• Colloquialisms and 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, it elicits the help you need.
• Casual fillers: Words like "so" and "basically" can weaken academic writing. Instead of "So the author basically says..." try "Next, the author argues that..."

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 tone. In academic 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”)
• Avoid emotional language: academic writing should be objective and avoid bias. Cut out uses of "I think" or "I feel" or "I believe,”
• Skip contractions: Choose “cannot” over “can’t” and "do not" over "don't"

For example, instead of saying "I think this part of the text was terrible because the author can't back up the facts, and that makes it bad and confusing." Say, "The lack of sufficent evidence means that many readers cannot fully understand the author's argument."

Tone is the attitude or feeling you convey through your writing, such as being serious, friendly, or passionate. 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.

 All four, audience, purpose, voice, 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.​