Audience and Purpose Analysis
Every text is created for a specific audience and purpose. Analysing how language choices target a particular audience or achieve a particular purpose is essential to critical reading.
What You Need to Know
Key Concept Diagram
Purpose can be to inform, persuade, entertain, instruct, or a combination
Audience is shaped by age, values, knowledge level, and cultural context
Language register (formal/informal), vocabulary, and tone signal intended audience
Analysing purpose and audience reveals the text's underlying assumptions and values
Key Vocabulary
Audience
The intended readers, viewers, or listeners of a text
Purpose
The reason a text was created: to inform, persuade, entertain, or instruct
Register
The level of formality used in language, tailored to audience and context
Assumption
An idea taken for granted by the author about the audience's values or knowledge
Knowledge Check
Select the correct answer for each question. Click "Check Answer" to see if you are right.
Question 1
A government health brochure uses simple language, bullet points, and large print. What audience is targeted?
Question 2
A text uses statistics, expert quotes, and third-person voice to discuss economic policy. Its primary purpose is likely to:
Question 3
Which language choice most clearly signals a text aimed at teenagers?
Key Concepts Summary
- ●Purpose can be to inform, persuade, entertain, instruct, or a combination
- ●Audience is shaped by age, values, knowledge level, and cultural context
- ●Language register (formal/informal), vocabulary, and tone signal intended audience
- ●Analysing purpose and audience reveals the text's underlying assumptions and values