English Composition

English Composition Study Guide

Chapter 6: Critiquing a Writing Objectives 1. To identify the purpose, audience, and tone of a writing. 2. To distinguish between global and local issues.

6.1 Purpose Purpose answers the question “what am I trying to accomplish by writing this?” A company newsletter seeks to share general information with employees, but a memo might seek to inform employees of a policy change. A sales letter exists to convince customers to make a purchase. Before a writer begins a first draft, the writer must decide what the purpose of the document is. That purpose may be defined by the person assigning it. If the assignment does not specify a purpose, the writer must determine the document’s purpose based on the material. When critiquing a writing, it is important to determine what the author’s purpose was for the writing. This will help in figuring out whether or not the writer was successful in reaching the audience in the correct way. Sometimes a writer’s argument isn’t clear or strong, which will take away from the purpose of convincing readers. Other times there might not be enough support or evidence in a writing to achieve the writing’s purpose. The first step in reviewing a writing should be to determine what the original purpose was, and then look to see if the author was successful in meeting that purpose. 6.2 Audience Who will be reading this document? It is important to understand the audience for a document because writers do not write for themselves alone. Audience analysis helps the writer define who the reader is. Audience analysis is based on four points: • Knowledge: What information does the audience already have on this topic? What do they need to learn? • Level of detail: How much information does the audience already have? How much more information do they want on this topic? • Interest: How much does the reader care? What aspects are they most interested in? • Values: Does the audience share the writer’s attitude regarding the importance or meaning of the topic? Writers use their intuition and common sense to determine the answers to these questions. Rarely does the writer know exactly who will be reading the document. Audience analysis is not an exact science, but it may save the writer time and frustration during the writing process. If a writer can

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