Write for Your Audience

When writing, you must keep your reader in mind at all times. This is easier said than done, but ultimately achieveable.

If I am writing a text message to a friend, I'm going to keep it very casual. I might not worry about capitals or full stops, and, correct spelling will probably be sacrificed for the sake of convenience. After all, I want to send the text message quickly, and my friend won't care whether it's a perfect specimen of writing or not.
eg. "Hi cindy...r u up for coffee @ 4" would make complete sense.

An assignment being written for a teacher or university lecturer will be an entirely different story. First of all, you know that what you write and how you write it is going to be marked, usually against a set of criteria which have been clearly stated. These criteria become your guidelines, a kind of 'rule book' as to what is necessary in order to enjoy success. You're crazy if you choose to ignore these guidelines - now is not the time to be writing for your own pleasure or to experiment!

Similarly, in business, keeping in mind the audience for whom you are writing is critical. Often, you are writing for a known client, perhaps in the form of a letter or company report, but, if you are in a marketing phase in business, the audience is not necessarily obvious. Say you want to attract potential clients with written material such as advertising brochures or even shopfront signage. Every word you write must seek to attract attention and elicit a desired response from the reader. As a guide, this kind of writing will remain formal in style, as a reflection of the professional relationship which exists in business.

It is becoming more and more likely that your writing is going to be published electronically these days(such as a blog post like this), as traditional forms of communication are being replaced by the instant result provided by the internet. When was the last time you hand-wrote a letter and mailed it through the post? For me, it was quite a while ago! Anyway, the fact is that with electronic communication it's almost impossible to know for sure who will be reading your writing. However, if we take this blog as an example, it is possible for me as writer to guess at who would be most likely to be still reading. You may be a family member or friend whom I've told about writing a blog and you're just trying to be nice, or, you may be a person who is keen to learn more about writing for different audiences and how writing must alter to suit the expectations of its known or intended reader.

The bottom line is exactly that - knowing what you can humanly know of your reader, ensure every word you write is for them.

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