The document discusses how to analyze your audience when writing a document. It identifies key characteristics to consider, including who the readers are, their attitudes and expectations, how they will use the document, their education and experience. It also discusses classifying readers into primary, secondary and tertiary audiences and considering cultural factors, both on the surface and beneath the surface, that may influence how to write for different audiences. The purpose is to help writers understand their audience to effectively communicate the intended message.

1. Determine four important
characteristics of your audience:
• Who are your readers?
• Why is your audience reading your
document?
• What are your readers’ attitudes and
expectations?
• How will your readers use your document?
Chapter 5. Analyzing Your Audience and Purpose © 2012 by Bedford/St. Martin's 1

2. Consider six factors about
your most important readers:
• the reader’s education
• the reader’s professional experience
• the reader’s job responsibility
• the reader’s personal characteristics
• the reader’s personal preferences
• the reader’s cultural characteristics
Chapter 5. Analyzing Your Audience and Purpose © 2012 by Bedford/St. Martin's 2

3. Classify your readers into three categories:
• a primary audience of people who will use
your document in carrying out their jobs
• a secondary audience of people who need to
stay aware of developments in the
organization but who will not directly act on or
respond to your document
• a tertiary audience of people who might take
an interest in the subject of the document
Chapter 5. Analyzing Your Audience and Purpose © 2012 by Bedford/St. Martin's 3

4. Your readers have
attitudes and expectations:
• attitudes toward you
• attitudes toward the subject
• expectations about the document
Chapter 5. Analyzing Your Audience and Purpose © 2012 by Bedford/St. Martin's 4

5. Why and how will your
readers use your document?
• Why is the reader reading your document?
• How will the reader read your document?
• What is the reader’s reading skill level?
• What is the physical environment in which the
reader will read your document?
Chapter 5. Analyzing Your Audience and Purpose © 2012 by Bedford/St. Martin's 5

6. Learn about your audience:
• Determine what you already know about your
audience.
• Interview people.
• Read about your audience online.
• Search social media for documents your
audience has written.
Chapter 5. Analyzing Your Audience and Purpose © 2012 by Bedford/St. Martin's 6

7. Understand seven cultural
variables that lie “on the surface”:
• political
• economic
• social
• religious
• educational
• technological
• linguistic
Chapter 5. Analyzing Your Audience and Purpose © 2012 by Bedford/St. Martin's 7

8. Understand six cultural variables
that lie “beneath the surface”:
• focus on individuals or groups
• distance between business life and private life
• distance between ranks
• nature of truth
• need to spell out details
• attitudes toward uncertainty
Chapter 5. Analyzing Your Audience and Purpose © 2012 by Bedford/St. Martin's 8

9. Consider four points about
cultural variables “beneath the surface”:
• Each variable represents a spectrum of
attitudes.
• The six variables do not line up in a clear
pattern.
• Different organizations within the same culture
can vary greatly.
• An organization’s cultural attitudes are fluid,
not static.
Chapter 5. Analyzing Your Audience and Purpose © 2012 by Bedford/St. Martin's 9

10. Use these eight strategies when
writing for readers from other cultures:
• Limit your vocabulary.
• Keep sentences short.
• Define abbreviations and acronyms in a
glossary.
• Avoid jargon unless you know your readers are
familiar with it.
Chapter 5. Analyzing Your Audience and Purpose © 2012 by Bedford/St. Martin's 10

11. Use these eight strategies when writing
for readers from other cultures (cont.):
• Avoid idioms and slang.
• Use the active voice whenever possible.
• Be careful with graphics.
• Be sure someone from the target culture reviews
the document.
Chapter 5. Analyzing Your Audience and Purpose © 2012 by Bedford/St. Martin's

12. Determine your purpose:
Ask yourself:
• What do I want this document to accomplish?
• What do I want readers to know or believe?
• What do I want readers to do?
Chapter 5. Analyzing Your Audience and Purpose © 2012 by Bedford/St. Martin's 12