Day Three: Audience and The Communication Model

Happy Tuesday! Welcome back to class. I hope you all enjoyed a fun (and restful) weekend. Today we will begin our discussion of the writing process by talking about those people who read our writing, the audience. We'll spend some time talking about the way the culture helps determine audience expectations (which in turn influence the way we write). Finally, we'll talk about the way that written communication works, using an idea known as "the communication model". Below you'll find an outline for today's class.

Audience and Culture
I. Brainstorming: What does the idea of 'culture' mean to you?

II. Discussion: the elements of culture and focused discussion questions
         -What are the elements of culture?
         -How does culture determine the way we communicate?
         -How are writing and culture related?

III. Define: the idea of "audience". Explain why it is important to the writing process. Why do we need to know about the audience we are writing for before we begin writing?

Describe the Intended Audience for Each of the Following Media Clips
-Audience Analysis #1
-Analysis Audience #2
-Audience Analysis #3

IV. A brief introduction to 'Audience'

V. The Communication Model
Now we will watch a short video on the 'communication model'. As you watch, be sure to take notes on the terms used using this worksheet. If something is unfamiliar, please ask for clarification.

VI. Discussion of Audience & Purpose
Read the following two writing samples here. They are from the same student, Fatimeh Ghazi (Egypt). One was written to a friend back home and one was written for a class on social relations. Look for ways that the emphasis changes depending on the author's relationship with the audience.

With a partner, discuss the differences in: vocabulary, examples used, sentence structure, use of pronouns, organization and tone.

What did the writer include in the first example that she left out in the second? Why?
What did the writer include in the second example that she left out in the first? Why?


Housekeeping Details and Homework for Thursday
-Setting up "Writer's Help": Any questions?
-Setting up Dropbox folders: Please create three folders inside the Dropbox folder you have already shared with me. Title them, "Diagnostic Analysis Portfolio", "Diagnostic Revision" and "Reflections"
-Review the material "Unit 1: Diagnostic Analysis Portfolio & Revision"

Diagnostic Analysis Paragraph #1: Write a short paragraph (no more than 300 words) answering the following question: Think about the diagnostic essay prompt "Should parents be concerned about their young children using iPads?" Does the prompt identify (either explicitly or implicitly) an audience? If so, explain who the audience is. If not, who do think the audience should be? Did you write your essay thinking about a specific audience? Why is it important to consider an audience when writing?

When you finish, please save your paragraph with the title, "DA_1_YourName" and upload it to
the "Diagnostic Analysis Portfolio". All work is due before the start of class on Thursday.