Diaz College

City of Tanjay

AY: 2020-2021
Second Semester

English for Academic and Professional Purposes

Module 2
Determining the Author’s Purpose and Intended Audience

Prepared by: Ms. Jeannyrose I. Goyha

Module 2: Determining the Author’s Purpose and Intended Audience

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the characteristics of persuasive, informative, and expressive

texts;

• Tell what sets each type of text apart from another; and

• Name the factors that distinguish the different types of audience to

whom the
authors would write for.
For you to become a critical, analytical, and expert reader, you need to
know that every time an author writes a text, he or she has a purpose
and an intended audience in mind.

Every time you read, try to determine the author’s purpose and intended
audience first before evaluating the material any further.

There are three general types of purposes an author has when writing:
persuasive, informative, and expressive.
Purpose: To Persuade

The author’s main goal here is to convince you. An author may use a lot
of factual information as tools to persuade the reader, but the main goal
is to really persuade and not just to inform the reader. There are two
main goals in convincing a person. These are to make you change your
mind on something or to make you do a certain action.

For example, let’s consider an article that talks about the

importance of having proper nutrition every day as a good way to
prevent having illnesses. This article may convince you to stop eating
junk food and change your eating habits into a healthy one. This article
is then successful in persuading you because you took actions to
change your lifestyle.
On the other hand, let’s take a look at an article that talks about a
nutritionist who advocates the increased intake of calcium for weight
loss. The nutritionist suggested that you drink milk high in calcium and
eat lots of yogurt, so that you’ll lose weight. You are, however, lactose
intolerant and are not a big fan of yogurt. You were convinced by the
testimonies of her client that the nutritionist may be right, but you
cannot follow her suggestions because of personal preferences or
limitations.
Another example is when you’ve read an article about protecting
snakes and alligators because they help keep marine life in balance. You
may not literally go out there to “protect” snakes and alligators
yourself, but in your mind, you were convinced that what the author
has said is true. So the next time a discussion may come up about
snakes and alligators, you may have more positive opinions about
these animals.

BIG IDEA:
An effective persuasive writer can change
people’s minds and make them do certain
actions.
As a reader of persuasive texts, ask yourself this question: “What is
the author trying to tell me? What is the motivation of the author for
telling me such? If I do what the author says, who will benefit the
most: the author or me?”
Purpose: To Inform

Informative texts, unlike persuasive texts, aim to give information only, but not
necessarily to convince the reader to believe or to do something. Writing
informative texts requires a lot of research. The author must check if the
sources of the information are valid and reliable. Authors of informative texts
must take extra caution when writing facts if they want to build their credibility
and trustworthiness. A single mistake in the text can lead to the end of the
author’s career. The author must also cite sources properly to avoid plagiarism
and conflict with other authors or sources.

After gathering the data for writing informative texts, the author must present
the information in a fresh, organized, and interesting way.
In the Go Online activity, the information can be searched on the internet. But
there are many sites that will tell you about your chosen
topic. As a responsible person, how did you choose the sites where you got the
information from? Of course, you chose the ones that you think were reliable.

Websites ending in .edu or .org are more reliable especially if the educational
institution (e.g., college, university) or the organization is reputable. Avoid
using information from wikis because anyone can edit the information there and
the sources used in their reference list were not cross-checked. They may be a
good source of knowledge, but you should not use them as references.
Purpose: To Express

These are texts that are sometimes more creative in nature, and the goal of
the author could be to engage the reader’s emotions such as joy, anger, and
frustrations. Expressive texts may have more opinions than facts. One less-
known form of an expressive text is satire. It is a form of writing that uses
humor to scorn and/or expose follies of a person, an organization, or politics
in a government.

Expressive texts may be found in literary pieces such as poems and stories.
College subjects on literature may require you to read several expressive
texts. In real life, expressive texts can be found in the feature articles of
magazines and newspapers.
The Author’s Intended Audience

Upon weighing the author’s purpose, you should also keep in mind that the
author has an intended audience when he or she wrote the text. A reader can
tell to whom the text is written based on different factors such as the
vocabulary words used, the length of the sentences, the nature of the topic,
and the way the topic is presented. The younger the audience, the shorter the
texts and the simpler the vocabulary words. The older the audience, the longer
the texts and the more complicated the vocabulary words.

Usually, a text written for public consumption, such as a newspaper article, has
a general audience in mind. But here are a few things that you should consider
when you assess a text for its intended audience.
First, ask about the gender for whom the text is written. Some texts are gender
sensitive—the author’s main goal is to reach a specific gender (e.g., females, males,
homosexuals).
For example, there are blog articles written most especially for women and
their empowerment. On the other hand, there are also online articles for males
encouraging them to “man up” and live responsible lives especially in the areas
of finance, career, family, etc. Then there are also articles written most especially
for the gay community that discuss their rights and issues.

Other aspects of audience classification can also be by age level. Some texts are
written for young children, some for teenagers, and some for adults. In the
academe, textbooks are classified according to the grade level.
There are also some texts that cater to people in a particular social position or
status.
For example, glossy expensive magazines target the wealthy, while
tabloids target the masses. Thus, these publications differ in prices, the
former being more expensive than the latter.

Some published materials also cater to those practicing specific professions. For
example, academic journals cater to a specific discipline. There are journals or
magazines for those in the hospitality industry (hotels, restaurants, travel
agencies), for communication specialists, for businessmen, for politicians, for
academicians, for scientists, and so on. These publications cater to a specific
group of people.
Essential Learning

An author may have one or a combination of any of these purposes: to

persuade, to inform, or to express. As a reader, you should identify the
purpose or intention of the author and the author’s reasons.
An author also has an intended audience in mind. Som e authors produce
write-ups that may have a general audience in mind while some are very
specific at the gender, age level, social status, and/or specific profession.