Writing and your audience

Perceptions of writers and readers

The most difficult thing for a developing writer to do is to see writers as decision makers and thinkers rather than as knowers and to see readers as companions in a journey rather than as mind readers.

The writing of an essay, assignment or thesis is like planning your own trip. Some travellers plan every detail down to the last bus trip and museum visit, though they may often have to change plans. Others do little more than buy an airline ticket to the first country they wish to visit and take it from there. However, every day and location demands that the journeyer takes a decision about where to go next, what to focus on and how much time to spend.

If the traveller has a companion who cannot take part in the organisation of the trip, there is an additional responsibility to consider the companion's needs and act as guide. The traveller needs to map things out for the companion, particularly if they want the companion to use time more efficiently than they did.

Text as a map of the territory

If a piece of writing is seen as a guide to a fellow traveller, then it is important that the directions be made clear for this traveller. There are significant cultural assumptions behind any direction giving.

Australian readers will expect explicit statements about the focus and orientation of the argument early in a piece of writing (usually in the introduction). They will then expect reminders about this orientation throughout, and will be gratified if they have an idea of what their destination is like before they get there. Thus they need signposts (subheadings, key words) to tell them where they are (what a section is discussing) and where these lie in relation to the destination (the place of individual issues in the argument).

Once you have decided on your position, you need to make it clear to your reader. This may mean that you will write your introduction last (though it will appear at the beginning of your work).