Determining Audience

Determining Audience

Knowing the audience is important because it determines the content, language, and thesis that will appear in the writing. Having a focused topic is important, but having a specific audience is equally important.

How to identify your audience

Let's say you're arguing that "classes in Aims Community Colleges should use free textbooks". Ask yourself the following questions:

• Who does this issue affect? For example, some people affected by textbook prices are students, professors, textbook companies.

• Who has power over this issue? Professors, department chairs, the college board, the Colorado Community College System.

• Based on the above, who would be the best group of people to persuade? In this case, perhaps I would choose the college board because they have the most power. Or, I might use professors as my audience, since they choose their books individually and can pressure the CCCS to implement more free textbooks across the board. It's up to you!

Audience affects your purpose

If you know your audience, you will know whether you need to inform, entertain, or persuade.

Audience affects your content

If my audience is the college board, my content might argue that they should implement across-the-board free textbooks at Aims, I could show examples from other community colleges which have done this. I might also argue how this might work statewide. I'd be thinking big-picture.

However, if my audience is specifically professors, I'd be working on a smaller scale. I might show examples of free textbooks that other professors have implemented. I might be explaining the basics of free textbooks and why they are credible. I'd be thinking and speaking on a smaller scale.

Knowing the demographics of your audience- their biases, background knowledge, interests, and demographics- all affect how you would speak to them about a topic.

Audience affects your language

Writers often wonder if they should explain acronyms or jargon (language related to a specific field). This depends on your audience! If your audience should understand these terms, they don't need to be explained. However, since your fellow students and professor are reading your paper, it's always a good idea to explain jargon or acronyms the first time you use them. For example, free textbooks are often referred to as OER (Open Educational Resources). I might explain that the first time I use the term in the paper, and use the acronym for the rest.

Grammar also depends on your audience! There are many excellent forms of English and if you get your point across, you are doing it correctly. However, colleges and universities generally use an academic form of white standard English. For more on this, see our grammar section.

Audience affects your thesis

Directly stating your audience in the thesis statement leads to refining and guiding your paper in the right direction from the start. Here is how our example argument may differ depending on the audience:

The Aims board of education should consider mandating that all classes in Aims Community Colleges use free textbooks.

Aims professors should consider using free textbooks for all the classes they teach.