Writing for Purpose and Audience

1. Writing for Purpose and Audience Standard 5C

2. It's important to choose your words carefully when you write and speak. Think about who is going to read and hear your words (your audience). School reports, speeches, and letters to adults should sound more formal than notes to your friends. A good way to make sure your language is appropriate is to avoid using slang and jargon.

3. Slang • Words and phrases that are considered very informal and are generally used only by one age group or other specific group of people. • Example: tight, cool, sweet, you guys, chill, bomb, dog, y'all, ain't

4. Jargon Words or expressions used within one group, profession, or business. Jargon is often used as a "shortcut" to convey information quickly, with just a few words. Example: Gabriella Sabatini aced her opponent with her powerful first serve. (An "ace" in tennis means a serve that's so fast or well-placed that the other player can't even touch it with his or her racket.)

5. Here are examples of how sentences might be changed to make them appropriate for an article in your school paper.

6. Write to Describe Some writing describes something or how to do something. For example, the directions that come with a new toy have the purpose of describing how to put the toy together.

7. Write to Inform Some writing has the purpose of informing. Most news articles in the newspaper are written to inform. A biography (a book written about the life of a person) usually has the purpose of informing the reader about the person's life.

8. Write to Persuade Some writing is written for the purpose of persuasion. A good example of persuasive writing is the writing found in advertisements. Advertisements are designed to persuade you to buy a certain product. Speeches by politicians are also examples of persuasive writing.

9. Write to Narrate Narration has the purpose of telling a story. The narrator relates a series of events.

10. Write to Entertain Some writing has the purpose of entertaining. The comic strips in the newspaper are there to entertain the readers with humor. A mystery novel and a fairy tale are also good examples of writing that have the purpose of entertaining.

11. What was the author's purpose in writing the passage? In 1947, Jackie Robinson joined the Brooklyn Dodgers. He was the first black player on a Major League Baseball team. He could hit, run, steal bases, and play second base. to express strong feelings about sports to inform the reader about a baseball player to entertain the reader with a funny story to persuade the reader to learn baseball