Essay Elements / Audience

Audience, or Who Exactly Would Be Interested in What You're Writing?

Knowing your audience will help you determine almost every aspect of the presentation of your case: the kind of language you use, the writing style (casual or formal, humorous or serious, technical or philosophical); the particular slant you take (appealing to the reader's reason, emotions, or ethics, or a combination of these); what emphasis to give the argument; the type of evidence you offer and the authorities you cite.  In short, knowing your audience lets you adjust the shape of your argument the way you would refocus a camera after each photo you shoot.

Target Audience v. General Audience

When writers have a target audience in mind, particularly readers who share the same interests, opinions, and prejudices, they can take shortcuts with little risk of alienating anybody, because writer and readers have so many things in common. But, unless you're convinced that your readers are in total agreement with you or share your philosophical or professional interests, you may have some trouble picturing just whom you are persuading.

It's tempting to say you're writing for a "general" audience; but general audiences may contain very different people with different backgrounds, expectations, and standards. Writing for such audiences, then, may put additional pressure on you.

Generally, you will be assigned a particular audience for whom to write, one that is easily identifiable (stereotypical, in some ways). But later assignments will ask you to choose your audience. It is easier to argue to a target audience, and you may want to think of your writing in terms of a magazine article: ask yourself, if this were an article, what magazine would be interested in publishing this kind of information? Choosing a magazine targeted to a specific audience, like Seventeen, Ebony, or MacAddict, will make the task of tailoring your argument to your audience much less stressful.

But, if you want the challenge of writing for the so-called general audience of magazines like Life or Newsweek, construct a mental picture of who those people are so that you'll be able to shape your argument accordingly. The following are some suggestions about who this "general" audience might be:

A general audience, such as one that reads Time, Newsweek or the local newspaper, is made up of people whose average age is about 30, whose educational level is high school plus two years of college, who make up the vast middle class of America, who politically stand in the middle of the road, and whose racial and ethnic origins span the world. You can assume that they read the daily newspaper and watch the evening news and are generally informed about what is going on in the country. You can assume a good comprehension of language nuances and a sense of humor. They are people who recognize who Shakespeare was, though they may not be able to quote passages or name ten of his plays. Nor will they necessarily be an expert in the latest theory of black holes or be able to explain how photo emulsions work. However, you can expect them to be open to technical explanations and willing to listen to arguments about controversial issues.

So Who Is Your Audience? A Checklist for Choosing, and Choosing Well

Before you sit down to write, but after you have decided what you will be writing about, ask yourself the following questions:

1. Who are the readers I will be addressing?
1. What age group?
2. Are they male, female, or both?
3. What educational background?
4. What socioeconomic status?
5. What values, prejudices, assumptions do they have about life?
6. Whom might they have voted for in the last presidential election?

2. Where do my readers stand on the issue I am writing about?
1. Do they know anything about it?
2. If so, how might they have learned about it?
3. Are they hostile to my stand on the issue?
4. Is there anything I have in common with my readers on the issue?

3. How do I want my readers to view the issue?
1. If they are hostile to my view, can I persuade them to see the issue my way?
2. If they are neutral, how can I convince them to take a side in the controversy?
3. If they are sympathetic to my views, what new light can I shed on the issue? How can I reinspire them to take action?

You and Your Audience: Hostile, Friendly or Neutral?

Addressing a Neutral Audience

Some writers think a neutral audience is easiest to write for, but many others find this the most challenging group of readers. After all, they're neutral; you don't know which way they're leaning, or what may make them commit to your position. Your best role is the conveyor of knowledge: the information you bring, and the ways in which you present it, are the means by which you hope to persuade a neutral audience. Here are some of the ways to convey that information.

• Fill in the Background: It's important to fill your readers in on the issue you're arguing; relate some of the history and background of the controversy. And all the while encourage them to weigh with an open mind the evidence you present.
• Present the pros and cons of the Issue: Part of educating a neutral audience on your position is presenting a balanced picture of the issue. Even though you are trying vigorously to sway readers to your side, you will be more persuasive if you treat opposing views fairly. You should clearly lay out the key arguements of the opposition, then demonstrate why your view is superior. Not representing the other side leaves you open to criticism of distortion, and it may make your readers feel you're patronizing them.
• Personalize the Issues: One sure way of gaining readers' attention is to speak their language -- that is, address their personal needs, hopes, and fears. If you want to engage your readers' attention, demonstrate how the issue will affect them personally.
• Show Respect: Treat your readers as people who want to know what you know about the issue and who want you to demonstrate to them clearly and accurately why they should agree with you. Don't talk down to your audience.

Addressing a Friendly Audience

Writing an argument for the already converted is a lot easier than writing one for a neutral audience or one that is hostile. In a sense, half the battle is won because no minds have to be changed. Your role is to provide readers with new information (no need to fill readers in on background information) and renew their enthusiasm for your shared position. Still, to make the argument worth writing, and worth reading, take the following into consideration:

• Avoid Playing to Prejudices: One of the risks of addressing a sympathetic audience is appealing to prejudices rather than reason or facts. Although it might be tempting to mock those who don't agree with you or to demean their views, don't. Stooping to that level diminishes your authority as an informed speaker/writer on the issue. Encourage your readers to respect the opposition, maybe even recognize some merits of their arguments, even though you ultimately disagree. It's an approach that makes your readers feel somehow superior to your opposition.
• Offer New Information: Even though your readers may agree with you, remind them of the opposition's arguments. Such a reminder serves important purposes. First, your audience might need to have their memories refreshed regarding the history of the issue. Secondly, you provide readers with important new information. Third, you keep readers open-minded.
• Foster the Inoculation Effect: A fair and clear review of opposing arguments also provides like-minded readers with material to better defend your shared views on the issue. A balanced view of the issue ultimately strengthens the stand of a sympathetic audience. Just as your metabolism builds resistance to the flu when inoculated with a small amount of the offending microbes, so readers on your side can better fortify their own arguments when well-versed on the other side's.

Addressing an Unfriendly or Hostile Audience

Some readers will be totally at odds with your views, even hostile to them, no matter what you are arguing. Writing for such an audience is especially challenging.

• Seek Common Ground and Remind Your Opponents of It: In this strategy, you try to empathize with your readers. Remind them of beliefs and standards you have in common; appreciate their concerns and anxieties. By empathizing with their position, especially at the beginning of an argument, you present yourself as a reasonable person. You also lessen their fears and hostility toward you and your position, making it more possible for them to regard your case with an open mind.
• Don't Antagonize Your Readers: Although conversion may be out of the question, your audience might benefit from seeing the issue from another side. In other words, approach a hostile audience as someone who can shed a different light on the problem. View them as people who are potentially interested in learning something new. Regard them as intelligent people capable of drawing their own conclusions.
• Remeber the Golden Rule: Even though they may not agree with you, treat the opposition with respect. Look upon them as intelligent people who just happen to disagree with you. Demonstrate your understanding of their side of the issue. Show that you have made the effort to research their side. If some of their counterpoints make sense, say so. In short, treat those from the other side and their views as you would want to be treated.

Exercises for Class Discussion:

1. Discuss the probable audience for the following two passages on animal testing. How do you know? Be ready to give specific examples:

1. Contrary to a prevailing misperception, in vitro tests need not replace existing in vivo test procedures in order to be useful. They can contribute to chemical-safety evaluation right now. In vitro tests, for example, can be incorporated into the earliest stages of the risk-assessment process; they can be used to identify chemicals having the lowest probability of toxicity so that animals need be exposed to less noxious chemicals.

2. Almost 30 years ago, Queen had been a child herself, not quite two years old, living in Thailand under the care of her mother and another female elephant, the two who had tended to her needs every day since her birth. They taught her how to use her trunk, in work and play, and had given her a sense of family loyalty. But then Queen was captured, and her life was changed irrevocably by men with whips and guns. One man herded Queen by whipping and shouting at her while another shot her mother, who struggled after her baby until more bullets pulled her down forever.

2. Answer the following questions about the readings assigned along with this handout. Be prepared to discuss them in class, and give detailed examples from the texts.

1. Locate the claim or thesis and briefly summarize the argument.
2. What kind of audience is the author addressing?
3. How did the author construct the text to work for that audience? i.e. Did he/she play to the prejudices of the audience? Did he/she sound antagonistic anywhere? Did he/she seek common ground?
4. What is the specific purpose of the essay?
5. How convincing is the argument? Is the evidence pertinent? Reliable? Is it specific enough?
6. Does any of the evidence seem slanted or biased?
7. What kinds of sources does the author use, and how good are they?
8. Underline concrete words that add vividness and interest given the particular audience the author is addressing. Are there any places that strike you as particularly effective? Are there any places where more specific, concrete language would be appropriate?
9. Can you find any examples of cliches?

Developed by Lara B. Whelan, University of Delaware.

Adapted from Crossfire: An Argument Rhetoric and Reader, by Gary Goshgarian and Kathleen Krueger, Longman Publishing, 1997.