Purpose

All writing has a purpose and audience whether the writer knows it
or not. Of course, the better the author understands these concepts, the
better they can guide her toward success.
Purpose & Audience are the two most important concepts in writing
because of their ability to guide the author in what to say and how to say
it for maximum effect. This will be fully explained in the sections below.
A writer may also adjust their intended purpose or audience to adjust
the paper length. Narrowing the purpose from “teach how to sail” to
“teach how to sail upwind,” for example, may shorten a paper because
it eliminates the need to discuss sailing downwind and dozens of other
specifics; or lengthen it by allowing the author to go into more detail
regarding the specifics rather than providing a shallow overview of the
entire sport.
In like manner, narrowing the intended audience from “people who
have never sailed before” to “risk-loving college students who have never
sailed before” may shorten a paper by eliminating the need to encourage
people with a fear of drowning or tipping the boat over, or lengthen it by
allowing for all kinds of personalized details that a risk-lover would enjoy
and benefit from.
Purpose
Each time you pick up a pen or lay your fingers on the keyboard to
write, ask yourself this question:
Purpose & Audience
What do you
think you’re
doing???
The Point:
Knowing what you
want to do with any
piece of writing and
crafting it with your
audience in mind
steers you through
all decisions about
content and style.
Purpose & Audience 45
The more specifically you answer this question, the easier your goal
will become and the better you’ll accomplish it. Failure to define a clear
purpose often results in wandering words that never quite get to the
point…because there’s no clear point to get to. Read on to learn how to
create purpose statements that will save time, eliminate frustrations, and
improve writing.
All writing purposes fall under four basic categories:
1. To inform
2. To persuade
3. To entertain
4. To express
Informing sounds straight forward, so what difference does awareness
of purpose make? The point is to know precisely what information to
cover. Students often start writing with only a general or very broad idea of
their topic, and the ambiguity frequently carries into the paper.
Three of the following “informing” purpose statements need refining.
Can you tell which they are and how to improve them?
» World War One air battles.
» Inform readers about the dangers of botulism.
» How to start a business.
» Don’t drink and drive.
» Explain how cocaine affects the body, including the cycle of
addiction.
» Teach readers about traffic rules regarding round-a-bouts and
encourage them to follow these rules.
» Inform citizens about the pros and cons of building a public skate
park in my hometown.
The best purpose statements include an action verb to express what
the writer plans to accomplish rather than merely a phrase hinting at it.
Informing includes exploratory writing that examines various points of
view without necessarily taking a stance.
Persuasive papers come in two categories: argumentative and
persuasive. Argumentative papers seek to convince, while persuasive
papers motivate to action. Both types must take into account several
factors in order to guarantee success.
In the first place, the paper must present information clearly and
cogently. If persuasive, tie this information clearly to the desired action.
Finally, carefully evaluate the audience (which will be covered extensively
in the next section).
Persuasive purposes should be expressed in a statement that clearly
identifies what should happen and who should do it. Which of the following
purpose statements could be written more effectively?
» Motivate college freshmen to make good study habits early.
» Convince readers that some risks are healthy.
» Persuade Utah Valley voters to join the local Democratic Party.
» Erase all doubt that dinosaurs came here from another planet.
46 The Art & Craft of Writing » Persuade my city council to approve and supply funds to build a
skate park.
» Persuade my parents to let me go to the skate park.
Notice how closely purpose and audience are tied to one another. It
wouldn’t do much good, for example, to persuade your parents to approve
city funds for a skate park unless they happen to sit on the city council.
Entertainment encompasses more than things that make readers
laugh. The word’s root basically means “to hold,” or “to hold attention,”
and anything interesting qualifies. Seeking to entertain while pursuing
other purposes can significantly enhance them.
Writing humorously has several dangers to watch for. In the first place,
many readers will have different senses of humor and not all jokes will
appeal to everyone. Furthermore, failed attempts at humor can fall as flat
as a wrong note in a trumpet solo, and readers may cringe. Finally, the
humor should remain fairly consistent - either a subtle joke here and there
or all-out party works better than shifting gears between serious and off
the wall unless very clear and careful transitions are included.
If you wish to try your hand at humor, don’t let these warnings
discourage you, just proceed carefully (or, sometimes better, throw caution
to the wind and revise meticulously later).
Example entertaining purpose statements:
» Engage readers’ attention and make them laugh with intense,
humorous and humiliating first-hand experiences of military boot
camp.
» Make high school students appreciate their education more with a
startling account of life on the streets for drop outs.
» Make readers’ sides hurt with laughter at my expense as I explain
the events of my first week in beauty school.
» Warn new owners of Harley Davidson motorcycles of the painful
consequences of using phrases like “Cute bike,” “That wasn’t very
nice,” and “Please stop! I’ll do anything you say!” in their new
crowd of so-called friends.
» Entertain readers with hilarious anecdotes from the local skate
park, and show how the park changed my life and got me off drugs
and saved me from a life of crime by giving purpose and meaning
to those lazy, idyllic dog-day summer afternoons.
Expression picks up all the writing where the author either wrote
with no regard for audience or to create an emotional response without
conveying information (including personal journals and some art).
Such writing rarely gets planned with purpose statements, but the
accompanying intentions might sound something like this:
» I’m mad/happy/confused/madly in love/etc. and will vent on paper/
keyboard/the sidewalk in front of my crush’s apartment/etc.
» Yo, dawg, I will assert my identity at passing motorists.
» Uhhhh…what should I do with this pen in my hand?
» Rock on, dude! Did you see the trick I just pulled? A phat goofy
Purpose & Audience 47
Practice Makes Perfect
double-olliemeister huck! Hey, pass the spray paint!
Regardless of which style of purpose a document has, at the most
basic level, all writing shares a single purpose: to be effective. An effective
paper is one that accomplishes its purpose. “Effective at what?” is the big
question. Here are a few more examples of typical writing purposes:
» A letter to or from home shares news, expresses feelings, requests
additional Parental Scholarship funds and/or connects people.
» Keeping a journal records important events and details, or helps
the writer explore thoughts and feelings, and often assists with
reaching goals, dealing with difficult trials, or pursuing exciting
opportunities.
» A research paper conveys knowledge in a clear and complete
manner in order to learn, teach, and earn a good grade.
» A novel may entertain, teach specific information or values, etc.
» Graffiti may mark a gang’s territory, express ideas, or simply let the
author/artist vent.
A single piece of writing may have several purposes, but one usually
stands out. Every sentence and paragraph should contribute to that
purpose, or at least not detract from it. Otherwise, it should be removed or
improved.
On the other hand, many ideas may be stated very concisely, but a
single sentence often lacks sufficient power to fully explain, convince,
persuade or motivate. In this case additional information or examples
should be supplied in order to achieve the purpose.
Take a moment now and come up with two or three possible purpose
statements for the following paper topics. Write them in the following
format: “I will (convince, persuade, motivate, inform, entertain, whatever)
(place specific audience here) to/regarding/etc. (specifics).
» The history of Payson, Utah
» My summer vacation
» Parenting styles
» Communication
» Water
» The color blue
» Lake Powell vacations
» Nocturnal animals
» Racism
» Gender roles
» How to merge on the highway
Sample answer for the first option: “I will demonstrate to Payson
homeowners that knowing the town’s history increases community pride.”
Notice that some of these topics, like “nocturnal animals” and “racism”
are extremely broad. Be sure that your purpose narrows the scope with a
specific aspect of the topic before trying to write a paper on them.
48 The Art & Craft of Writing If you have not already created a clear purpose statement for your own
paper, do so now before you write any further!
Read the first few paragraphs of example papers in the back of
the book and decide how clear the authors made the purpose, what
techniques made it clear, and how they could have made it clearer.
After reading the section on audience, do the same regarding that.