Audience types

Audience Recognition and Involvement

Lecture

Audience Recognition

Types of Audience

Audience Recognition

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Determine whether your audience is 1. High tech2. Low tech3. Lay

1. High Tech Audience

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Work in the field of expertise the text belongs to

Can be termed as colleagues of the writer because they have Same educational background Same work experience Same level of understanding

Writing to high tech audience is easy.

Characteristics of High Tech Audience

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1. Are experts in the field you write about.

2. High tech jargon, acronyms and abbreviations can be used.

3. Minimal details about standard procedures or technical theories

4. Little background information provided.

2. Low-Tech Audience

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Familiar with the field’s technology but do not know the details.

Characteristics of Low-tech Audience

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1. Familiar with the field’s technology without knowing details.

2. Preferable to define jargon, abbreviation and acronyms.

3. Define technical concepts.

4. Need for providing little background information

3. Lay Audience

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Have no knowledge about the field of expertise.

Include Customers Clients End users

Writing to lay audience is difficult and demanding.

Characteristics of Lay Audience

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1. Unfamiliar with the field’s technology.

2. Avoid jargon, abbreviations and acronyms or define them thoroughly.

3. Avoid high-tech terms or define them thoroughly.

4. Lay readers need details and profound background information.

Defining terms for different audience levels

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1. High Tech Audience Use jargon, acronym or abbreviation alone Ex. HTTP

2. Low Tech Audience Use jargon, acronym or abbreviation with

parenthetical definition. Ex. HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol)

3. Lay Audience Use jargon, acronym or abbreviation with

extended definition. Extended definition = Term + Type +

Distinguishing Characteristics. Ex. HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) is a

computer access code providing secure communications on networks.

Audience Involvement

Keep your reader interested !!

Achieve Audience Involvement Through

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1. Personalized Tone Modern technical writing is person to person

communication.

2. Reader Benefit Motivate your readers by giving them what

they want or need.

1. Personalized Tone

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1. Pronoun Usage Upon receipt of form, the company will issue

a replacement policy. As soon as we get the form, we’ll send you

your replacement policy.

2. Names

3. Contractions

2. Reader Benefit

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1. Explain the Benefit State benefit early or late in the technical

document.

2. Use Positive Verbs and Words We’ve received your letter complaining about

our services. Thank you for writing to us about our

services. We can not process your request. You failed

to follow the printed instructions. So that we may process your request rapidly,

please fill in line 6 on the printed form.