Lesson 1: Who is your audience?

Welcome back class!

When people heard in high school that I wanted to study English in college, often their response was something like, "I could never do that; writing is so subjective. Every teacher grades differently and there are no right or wrong answers." Though they are right in that writing is not an exact science and that good writing varies depending on opinion, I have learned through studying English for several years that anyone and everyone can write well. The most important concept to learn and implement is to write for your audience.

There is not just one answer to the question, "What is good writing?" because it all depends on the audience. Who your audience is determines the style, tone and format of your work. As you write, try to visualize your audience and ask yourself these types of questions: "Why is my audience reading my work?" "How do I want them to feel after reading it?" "What do I want them to do after reading this?" "Will they be reading my work word for word, or will they be scanning?" and "What are they expecting from me as a writer?"

These, and other similar questions, will help you focus your writing to be what your audience wants it to be. While there is a time and a place for creative writing and doing "your own thing" (even then, you want people to read what you write, so you'd better write what they want to read), writing in the academic world and in the work force is often more rigid. Know who your audience is and keep them in mind as you write, and you'll be successful as a writer.

Well, that is all for today. And while audience awareness is perhaps the most important thing in writing, you still need the knowledge to know some specifics in order to produce the kind of writing that your audience will appreciate. Keep posted for more lessons.