Business English for Success

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Exercise 3

On your own sheet of paper, generate a list of characteristics under each category for
each audience. This list will help you later when you read about tone and content.

1. Your classmates
   o Demographics ____
   o Education ____
   o Prior knowledge ____
   o Expectations ____


2. Your instructor
   o Demographics ____
   o Education ____
   o Prior knowledge ____
   o Expectations ____


3. The head of your academic department
   o Demographics ____
   o Education ____
   o Prior knowledge ____
   o Expectations ____


4. Now think about your next writing assignment. Identify the purpose (you may
   use the same purpose listed in Note 5.12 "Exercise 2"), and then identify the
   audience. Create a list of characteristics under each category.

My assignment: ____________________________________________

My purpose: ____________________________________________

My audience: ____________________________________________

o Demographics ____________________________________________

o Education ____________________________________________

o Prior knowledge ____________________________________________

o Expectations ____________________________________________

Collaboration

Please share with a classmate and compare your answers.

Keep in mind that as your topic shifts in the writing process, your audience may also
shift. For more information about the writing process, see Chapter 7 "The Writing
Process: How Do I Begin?".

Also, remember that decisions about style depend on audience, purpose, and content.
Identifying your audience’s demographics, education, prior knowledge, and
expectations will affect how you write, but purpose and content play an equally
important role. The next subsection covers how to select an appropriate tone to match
the audience and purpose.