Identify the Purpose and Audience of a Text

Whenever we write something, we need to consider the purpose and audience of our writing.

 

The purpose of a piece of writing is what we want it to do.  Is its job to entertain someone, inform someone of something, or persuade them to do or think something?

 

The audience of a piece of writing is the person or people we are writing for.  If we do not know exactly who our reader will be, we can imagine the type of person who will read it (children, adults, etc).

 

In this activity, we will look at some different text types and practise identifying their purpose and audience.

 

For example:

A set of instructions called How to Cook a Vegetable Curry

Purpose:  Teaching someone how to do something in simple steps.

Audience:  Someone who wants to cook a curry, probably an adult.

 

 

A story called Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Purpose:  Entertaining someone with a story.

Audience:  Probably a child.

 

 

A speech entitled Why You Should Vote for Me

Purpose:  Persuade (encourage) a group of people to vote for a particular candidate in an election

Audience:  Someone who will be able to vote in an election.

 

Let's try a few questions about purpose and audience now!