Writing Skills

While in college your primary audience will be your instructor.  After graduation, this will change.  Your audience may be your employer, your state representative, anyone concerned with the subject your written assignment deals with, or a research community in your field.

Before you decide how and what you are going to write, ask yourself these questions:

1. Who are my readers?
2. What is their language skill?
3. What is the expertise of my readers?
4. What is the best way to organize my essay to reach my audience?

Several aspects of your writing will be affected by what kind of audience you are addressing. You will need to decide on:

• the amount of background information to provide
• the level of detail to give to the readers
• the type of language you will choose to use

Keep the following guidelines in mind when addressing your audience:

• establish common ground with the readers
• show understanding of your readers' background and views
• use supporting factual and visual information that will be understood by your audience
• adjust language, tone, style, and level of formality to reflect the readers you are addressing