Audience Analysis Memo This read-me of the assignment sheet is for your benefit. This read-me gives you an exact overview of what is expected for the major assignment for this unit. Effective communication depends largely on understanding your audience. Your audiences expectations, characteristics, knowledge level, and information needs determine the content you choose to present, the depth of detail you provide, the overall tone or attitude of your writing, and even the purpose you establish for your communication. In addition to knowing the importance of analyzing audience, you should also be able to distinguish a documents primary and secondary audiences. Primary audiences are the major intended readers for your document. In the workplace, your primary audience is the person or persons who will understand and act on your message. Secondary audiences are the other potential readers of your document. These are people who may receive a copy of your document. Most workplace communication has a combination of primary and secondary audiences. For example, people attended your presentation (primary audience) might later share information about your presentation and your handouts with people who didnt attend (secondary audience). Assignment Guidelines: For this assignment, choose two (2) websites that present information on the same subject. However, the two (2) websites should be aimed at different primary audiences. One website should be designed for a non-technical audience and the other for a technical/specialized audience. Write a memo to your instructor analyzing both websites and their audiences (primary and secondary) and explain the persuasive strategies each website uses to serve its primary audiences needs. Synthesize your analysis to the following questions: Note: You need to answer all of these questions; your failure to answer all questions will result in point deductions. What primary audiences do the two websites seem to aim for? What kind of knowledge do the audiences seem to possess about the subject matter? What are their age(s), genders, education level, occupations, and cultural background? Who are the secondary audiences of these websites? Who else might use information found on these sites? What persuasive strategies do the websites employ to appeal to their primary audiences? Do they use claims? Do they make an effort to connect with the audience? (See pages 48-51 of your textbook for more on persuasion) To what extent do the websites use technical language? Do you see any examples of jargon? Give examples How long is the average sentence in each website? How long is the average paragraph? Does this tell you anything about the audience? How formal/informal are their respective style? Why? Is there advertising? If so, what do the ads tell you about the audience? Do the website use tables, graphs, figures, illustrations or images? How different are they on the two websites?
