Monthly Archives: August 2015

Photo of Hazel Hart

Prewriting Step 2: Audience Analysis

Once you have a topic in mind for an essay or article, it’s time to start thinking about audience.

Even with all my experience writing, I freeze up when someone asks, “Who is your audience?” I want to reply the same way my former students often did: “Everybody.”

Everybody!

Really?

Why doesn’t “everybody” work as an audience? Let’s take a look at who is included in the category of everybody:

  • Newborn babies
  • The world’s oldest living person
  • All the people in between
  • People who do not speak or read the language you write in
  • People who can’t read any language or don’t want to
  • People who don’t care about your topic

With the above list in mind, let’s consider a topic college women often write about: weddings. Look at the list above, and you will see there are a number of groups you can cross off as not a part of your possible audience.

Let’s assume children under the age of twelve won’t be interested. But wait. If the essay or article is written about a child being part of a wedding, perhaps as a ring bearer or flower girl, and the language is appropriate to the age level, you might have found an audience.

What about men as an audience for your wedding article? Consider that most wedding magazines have “bride” in the title, and take that as a hint about the number of men who are interested in reading about weddings. That is not to say no man will ever be interested, but most will not. While men are a part of everybody, they are probably not part of your target audience.

So women make up the target audience. But which women? What is the age of the bride? Your essay will probably appeal to women of the same age. Are you writing about how to prepare for a church wedding? Those most interested will be potential brides with the money to invest in the wedding you describe. Are you writing about some disaster at your wedding that you laugh about now? Women often enjoy these stories long after they have been brides themselves. Each slant will have a different audience. Note: If you are writing your essay for a class, you may want a different topic because your instructor has probably received at least six wedding essays in the current group and may be tired of them.

What about topics college men write about?

If you are a man and you’ve gotten this far, you are probably getting tired of all the wedding talk. You may be thinking that this blog post is only for women writers. Not so, but you see how examples matter. Frequent topics of former male students included cars, hunting, and becoming a father.

For college men, a first car, from buying it to keeping it in running condition, along with the freedom the vehicle gave them, is a frequent topic for a narrative essay, one that tells a story. Buying your first car could have a broader audience than the wedding example I used above since women may also be interested in how to get the best deal. However, the mechanical aspects of do-it-yourself car repair will appeal mostly to men. But what men? All? No. Your audience might be young men with their first cars and not much money for repairs. They might be men fascinated by the mechanical workings of a vehicle. But some men will not be interested in spending time on cars. They may be men who are working full time and don’t want to spend their free time repairing and maintaining a vehicle. They would rather pay someone to do the work. Wait. Do you have any tips on finding a good mechanic? Make a list of likely readers before you start writing the rough draft of your essay. Note: I have yawned over five or six change-the-oil essays from one set of process assignments. If this essay is for a class, changing the oil is not a good topic. However, it might be an excellent topic for other circumstances.

Factors to Consider:

Age: Pick a topic common to all reading ages, such as training a dog. Go to your public library and look at books on your chosen topic in the child, young adult, and adult sections. Examine the differences in the way the subject matter is handled. Note such things as word choices, the length of sentences, and types of examples.

Experience level and interest of the reader: As you look at the books on your chosen topic, select several from the same age group and skim the table of contents and first chapter. Look for the perceived experience level. For the dog example, how does the writer perceive the reader? Is the likely reader someone with a new pet who needs to know how to train the dog to not jump on people and not chew up shoes? Is this a book for a dog trainer? Is this a book for people who want to breed dogs and sell them? Is this a book for people who want to show dogs in a competition?

To recap: Why Audience Matters

Whether you are writing for a class, a blog, a letter of application for a job or scholarship, or any other situation, knowing your audience will help you select the correct language level and examples for those readers.

Questions about audience:

If you have questions about audience, please ask them in a comment.

What’s next?

In the next post, I’ll be writing about your connection to a topic and defining the purpose of an essay or article.

Photo of Hazel Hart

Prewriting Step 1: The Blurt

When I began this post, I thought I knew what I was going to write. Then I opened Microsoft Word, typed the title, and stared at the blinking cursor. What now? If you are like most writers, you have had the same experience. What is the best way to get past it?

Blurt.

When you blurt, you say or write something without stopping to think. Blurting often reveals what you really think.

I realize you may have a negative reaction to blurting. After all, if you say something without thinking, it can get you into trouble. In fact, it probably has. But blurting can be good. You get your honest feelings out without stopping to worry about whether someone will be hurt by them or disagree or be bored.

You may be thinking “That sounds suspiciously like freewriting.”

I confess. The Blurt is freewriting. Calling it something else was my way of arousing your curiosity so you would give it your attention.

How to blurt

To blurt or freewrite, set a timer for ten, fifteen, or even twenty minutes and write without stopping. You can use blurting when you are searching for a topic or after you have a topic and are trying to find what you want to say about it. In April, I took a WordPress course, Writing 101. The first assignment was a twenty-minute freewriting. My effort is a good example of what freewriting (blurting) looks like, so take a look at my freewriting now. After reading it, come back to this post for more information on the blurting process.

As you can see from my freewriting example, I had no topic, only an assignment to write, so my thoughts were scattered. At the end of twenty minutes, I had touched on many possible topics including the act of freewriting and how I was spending free time in retirement. While writing about retirement, I touched on reading, walking, shopping at the farmer’s market, and marketing my books. I also mentioned a desire to travel.

What to do with a blurt once it is written

Review what you have written. Highlight those topics or sentences that say “Write about me.” I have chosen to write this post about how to blurt because writing is what this blog is all about. However, for my Seasoned Aspirer blog, I might have chosen to write about my desire to travel because that blog focuses on things I have always wanted to do and what I’m doing now to accomplish them.

When to blurt again

If your first blurt was not topic specific, then you may need to do a second one, this time focusing on your chosen subject. There are times when you may return to the process as you continue to narrow your topic. There will be more about that in a later post.

What should be included in a topic-specific blurt

Whether you have come to your topic through a series of general to specific blurts or have an assigned topic from an instructor or editor, when you arrive at the subject you know you will write about, you need to write about your connection to that topic. What qualifies you to write about the subject? Do you have personal experience with it? Have you taken a course on it? Watched television documentaries? Read news articles? Know what your Facebook friends think of it? In other words, what do you know about the subject and how did you come to know it?

As an example, I will choose my desire to travel as my topic. In my blurt, I might discuss my desired destinations and whether I should tour with a group or take my own car. I might write about costs, finding hotels, and the types of attractions I wanted to visit. My connections would include my past travel experiences, including one in which I was standing with a friend at a bus stop in downtown Denver at 1:00 a.m., having missed the last bus to her house and seeing a homeless person sleeping on a bench across the street and vowing to never again go anywhere without my car. My experience taught me that traveling by car is best for me.

What if I don’t know anything about the topic?

If you have been assigned a topic you don’t have direct knowledge of, say so. Then write about all the places you might find information without giving any thought to how you might actually do any of the things you write. If you start judging your options as you write them down, you might discard the very action that would be most valuable. Write first. Then think about how you might accomplish each task.  Is there anyone you might ask? Are there YouTube videos? Can you do an online search? Is there an expert in your town you can interview? Where else can you get information? In this instance, the blurting will help you develop a plan to get the details you need to complete your assignment.

What’s next?

Once you have blurted on a specific topic and highlighted useful material, you are ready to identify your audience and narrow your subject, steps I will cover in the next two posts. In the meantime, go do some blurting.