ENGL 4530 Adv. Writing for Business and Industry

Where am I? >> Projects >> Project 2: Writing for a Specific Audience

Project 2: Writing for Audiences: Getting rid of the "Gobbledygook"

Overview and Rationale

We know that for a message to be effective, we must craft messages for audiences. To do that, writers consider what message they need to convey, who will read the message, and how the readers are likely to respond. Good writers try to make sure that the text and design of the messages fit with the audiences' needs and expectations. Of course, as readers, we know that those efforts often fail because texts may be poorly written: disorganized, unclear, and full of "junk."

For this assignment, you will revise a document that so that it better meets the needs of an audience that you think would use the information.

[return to top]

Description

Choose a document to revise that is not shorter than 500 words and not longer than 1000 words. You may use workplace documents, government documents, organizations materials, website content, text from adverts in magazines (for example, the lengthy texts that accompany advertisements for prescription drugs), or articles from journals. If you choose something like business letters or e-mails, which tend to be short, select several that meet the word count requirement.

Rewrite the document so that it will better serve an audience (either more or less knowledgeable in the topic), demonstrating that you know how to:

  • Introduce the message.
  • Include content appropriate for the audience
  • Organize content appropriately
  • Use style and tone appropriate for the audience and context
  • Incorporate useful supporting visuals
  • Follow the grammar, spelling, and punctuation rules of standard American English
  • Revise for clarity

Submit a one rationale (approximately 500 words--2 pages double spaced or one page single spaced) that explains your revisions. Discuss the following:

  • Original document's purpose and audience
  • Rewritten document's purpose and audience
  • Content
  • Organization and indications of organization
  • Style (textual aspects of words and sentences, for example)
  • Visuals (if appropriate)
  • Layout and design (if appropriate)

Please turn in the original document with your revision and rationale..

Please review the procedures for submitting a project in the syllabus.

[return to top]