The document discusses determining the audience for a persuasive essay based on the topic. It identifies three types of topics - obscure, familiar, and controversial - and describes the different audiences that may exist for each type. For obscure topics, the audience could include the uninterested, uninformed, or experts. For familiar topics, the audience may be well-informed, critical, or bored. Controversial topics may have a skeptical, open-minded, or strongly opinionated audience that requires addressing counterarguments and using evidence to persuade.