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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).
When we want to identify the audience of a text we can look carefully at the vocabulary and grammar of the writing.
Let's look at the language used in these two examples:
Paragraph 1 - written for children
Daffodils are a type of plant that flowers in the spring time. They usually have bright yellow petals, but come in many different shades from very pale yellow to bright orange. They have tall green stems and leaves.
In this text, simple language is used (bright, pale, tall). The sentences are quite short.
Paragraph 2 - written for adults
To have daffodils ready to flower in spring, plant bulbs in the preceding autumn. They can be planted in a border or container with well-draining soil in an area that receives plentiful sunlight. Bulbs should be planted with the roots pointing down at a depth of around three times the bulb's height. Cover with soil and water well.
In this paragraph, more complex vocabulary is used (preceding, plentiful). The sentences are much longer than in the previous example.
In this activity, you will be able to read a text written for one type of audience then rewrite it for another group of readers.
Let's get started.
