Tài liệu Audience Analysis and Written Communication docx

Lecture 10.
Audience Analysis
and Written
Communication

The Concept of the Audience
Types of Professional Readers
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Problems of Writing
Process
Resulting from specific situation:
  There is no fast feedback on written
communication;
  You cannot make use of non-verbal
communication;
  Written message is often aimed at a
large group of people
2
Problems of Writing
Process
How people learn to write and speak:
  People learn to write after learning how
to speak;
  People have little practice in written
communication
3
Problems of Writing
Process
Other reasons:
  Informative texts are a heterogeneous
group;

  The writer has many different tasks to
carry out before he can start writing;
  The text must meet many various
demands of the reader
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The Concept of the
Audience

  Various Readers => various application
purposes
  Biography data => why and how the text
is used
  Various purposes => various
expectations
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Audience
  Common application purpose and
common expectations
  Reader’s needs = applications and
expectations
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A key to the
audience needs
Level of knowledge about the subject
  How much information should be
included
  Which information should be
included

Purpose of reading

  How to organize the information
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Types of Professional
Audience

  Experts
  Technical workers
  Managers

• ↓ Level of knowledge
• ↓ Purpose of reading
• ↓ Needs in reading
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Experts
Level of knowledge
  Very high level of knowledge
Purpose of reading
  To keep and expand their professional
knowledge
  To get particular answers on research
questions
  To evaluate the technical content of the
plans and proposals
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Experts: Needs in reading
  Do not give detailed explanation to the source
information and definitions;
  Include all details connected with any process
described in the document;
  Use graphs and diagrams and figures to show

these connections, give sources of these figures;
  Use titles, contents, sections and subsections
to classify and organize information;
  Make sure all pages are numbered
  Be sure to give citations to the sources
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Technicians
Level of knowledge
  How and why the process occurs,
why the device works or does not
work;
  General technical terms to describe
process or device they know well;
  Do not know well the technical
terms beyond the field of their activity
  Do not know abstract or general
concepts of a process or a device
operation
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Technicians
Purpose of reading
  Learn how to do the task connected with
professional activity;
  Learn to solve particular problems
connected with professional activity;
  Learn about new devices connected with
professional activity;
  Get new skills and knowledge to improve
their work results
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Technicians
Needs in reading
  Introductory and preliminary information
should be presented in short
  Use graphs and tables;
  Give instructions, where possible
  Sections and instructions must be short
  Section numbers and references
  Give short definitions, examples or
explanations to unknown terms, devices,
instruments, etc.
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Managers
Level of knowledge
  Often have general knowledge of the
subject;
  Rarely have technical knowledge in
some field;
  May not know of new concepts and
achievements in the field
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Managers
Purpose of reading
  Get the information for decision making;
  Realize the current situation;
  Foresee future tendencies or development
in the field;
  Retain their level of general knowledge;
  Estimate success and efficiency of projects
and workers

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Managers
Needs in reading
  Provide key information in short
generalization;
  Give information in order of its
importance;
  Emphasize the information to facilitate the
decision taking;
  Provide enough initial information in the
introduction;
  Generalize all recommended measures and
conclusions;
  Use graphs, etc. in generalizing;
  Explain unfamiliar and technical terms;
  Expand explanations in appendices at the
end
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Audience Analysis

  Studying the documents
  Defining the audience expectations
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Genres
  The formats of presenting the
information
  Particular purpose
  Particular order = particular purpose
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Three Key Schemes to Define
Genre
  Ethos
  Logos
  Pathos
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Ethos
Authenticity or trustworthiness
Attract and hold attention
Prove your services:

• ↓ What should I do to win and hold the reader’s attention to
have him read my work?
• ↓ What should I do to make the reader believe that my work
is professionally written and information is worth paying
attention to?
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Ethos: aspects
• ↓ Vocabulary
• ↓ Sources
• ↓ Reputation
• ↓ Style
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Logos
  Logic
  Amount of information
  Type of information

  What information does the reader expect to get from the text
of this genre?

  How much information does the reader expect to get from
the text of this genre?
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Logos: aspects
  Facts
  Definitions
  Transitions
  Links between the ideas
  Figures
  Visual ways of presenting information
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Pathos
Emotions

• ↓ Does the reader expect me to show any emotions regarding
the topic?
• ↓ If so, how bright or ostentatious should these emotions be?
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Pathos: aspects
Vocabulary
Comparisons

Examples:
More abstract = less emotional
Aloofer = less emotional
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Audience Analysis:
conclusion
First define
  Genres

  Purpose
Then define
  Ethos
  Logos
  Pathos
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