Identify the audience and purpose
| Author: | Unknown Author (Unknown affiliation) |
| Description: | A classroom activity showing the importance of tailoring writing for a specific audience. Downloads can be adapted to be subject specific. |
| Estimated activity time: | 17 Minutes |
| Type of media: | Handout/s, Webpage, Helpsheet, PDF file |
| Licence: | Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0(This resource can be freely repurposed and reused) |
| Category: | Report Writing |
| Tags: |
Classroom activity |
| Date: | This information/resource was last updated in . |
IDENTIFY THE AUDIENCE AND PURPOSE
This post was originally added to Learnhigher on:
About the Activity
This activity is designed to focus on the importance of identifying the purpose and audience of their report. It shows how a report on the same topic may differ greatly if it is being written for a different set of readers.
Students are often so concerned with getting the structure of their reports right, they can lose sight of the fact that reports are not just a set of formal guidelines, they are intended to inform an audience about a set of actions and outcomes.
The activity has a selection of report briefs in pairs – each pair is aimed at a different audience and purpose. Students have to identify the audience, why the report is needed, and what the audience want to find out.
Activity Type
A small group activity, but it can also be used as a warm-up in a workshop, lecture, or seminar if you select just 2 of the report briefs to compare.
Time
10 minutes to read and interpret the briefs
7 minutes to feed back and discuss
Suggested use
This can be used as an activity in a workshop on effective report
writing. It could also be used to spark discussion in a lecture or seminar – especially if students are finding it difficult to interpret their report briefs or keep their reports focused and relevant.
PDF file: 1Subject lecturers can adapt the examples on the handout to use
briefs from their own disciplines.
