Hall 1
Faron Douglas Hall
Instructor: Jeff Sturges
English 101
11December 2004
Revised Research Paper
Purpose, Audience, and Language: A Formula for Good Writing
A young boy scampers down the stairs, clutching a book to his chest. It’s time for his bedtime story, and he’s found his favorite story. His father lets out a faint sigh, as he has read this particular book an immeasurablenumber of bedtimes. Quite a number of years later, a grown man chuckles quietly as his young son brings him the very same story that he had pleaded with his own father to read “just one more time.” At some point in our lives, we have all had a favorite book, whether it is a fairy tale, suspenseful mystery, or dramatic love story. While all these were thought by some to be wonderful works, the question has never been posed as to what exactly constitutes “good writing.” There is no standard of evaluation, nor panel of judges; rather, good writing lies in the eye of the beholder. However, perhaps there are some unspoken rules as to what goes into “good writing.” Writing remains a very broad category and it would be a daunting task to compile a list of rules that pertains to all forms of writing. Therefore, this paper shall focus on the act of writing fiction. Many writers have long considered writing to be a long and involved process, a process that includes several key ingredients.There are three crucial elements of writing: purpose, appealing to the audience, and finally, conveying and understanding the message through proper language and mechanics. Each of these three main topics can be broken down into other important concepts.The very reasons for writing, both deliberate and rhetorical purpose contains design and organization. While appealing to an audience, such things must be considered as providing an interesting topic, using “action,” and having a certain style. A truly integral, yet often overlooked, component is understanding and language use. Here, connotations, details, and mechanics of grammar will be found. These are but some of the many aspects required of a work if it wishes to be deemed a masterpiece.
The first main ingredient of good writing is purpose. All writing has purpose. First is the deliberate purpose, or the primary reason behind the writing. It can be as simple as writing a paper for the purpose of getting a grade or writing a story for the purpose of telling a fantastic tale and gaining recognition of your talents. Perhaps the writer is toiling over a progress report on a project he or she is handling for a company or simply writing of an experience for posterity. There are many purposes of writing, and it must remain clear why one is writing. Having a clear purpose will help your reader gain an appreciation for your work. Without a clearly defined purpose, a reader may not have any interest at all in the piece. After all, if the author doesn’t care why he or she is writing, why should the audience?
Along with deliberate purpose, rhetorical purpose must be considered when writing. The rhetorical purpose, or rhetorical effect, of writing is what the writer intends to convey to the audience. How does the writer expect the reader to respond to what they have written? This is a time in which the writer should put oneself in the shoes of the audience, though this should be done once the work is complete. During the writing process, the writer should always keep in mind the desired outcome of one’s work. While this component of writing may not appear obvious to those considering the validity of the work, it is central to all good writing.
Assisting to convey the purpose, an effective design is integral to writing. Many different designs exist for a variety of purposes, from science fiction to instruction manuals. As stated in the Bedford guide, “Creating an effective design helps you achieve your purpose and meet the expectations of your audience” (335). A writer must choose carefully the type of design to utilize, once again taking into account his target audience and purpose. An improper format could lead to a disastrous reception by the audience. A play cannot be written like a bank statement, no matter how talented the writer. Consider the CEO, anxious to get the latest figures on his company’s performance, opening his report and reading through what appears to be two-day documentary on the life of one of his employees. Even if all the relevant data was contained therein, the writer of that report had used an improper design and failed his purpose. The audience expects the material to be presented in a logical way befitting the subject. Therefore, design plays a vital role in writing.
Along with design, organization is important to the writing process. Good writing must be organized, both for the writer’s sake as well as the audience. While preparing to write, if one keeps one’s ideas organized, the process of writing will become much easier, as one will have a guideline for the work to follow. This makes the daunting task of writing far more manageable and less intimidating. If a writer does not organize one’s thoughts, he or she may end up with an incoherent jumble. Organization is also beneficial to the reader, as something that is organized well becomes much easier to read and understand than thoughts randomly strewn on paper. It will do no good to make an important point but have all the relevant supporting information placed sporadically throughout the piece. Organization is arguably more important to an informational work, such as a research paper, whereas, in some cases, the writer of a story may choose a style that constantly returns to an idea expressed earlier. Still, this is a method of organization, just not a strict chronological one.
While on the subject of design and organization, good writing should always “flow” well. What this means is that ideas should proceed smoothly and logically from one to the next. Appropriate transitions should carry the reader from point to point, and ideas must be presented in an order that makes sense. It would be futile and confusing to write of a subject the reader may no nothing of, and then later in the work define that subject. When a piece flows well, the audience finds it much more relaxing to read, allowing them to more fully immerse themselves in the work. Writing that does not flow well will tend to disrupt the reader’s concentration, and will constantly remind the audience that they are reading words on paper, and probably not very good ones, either.
The next important factor of writing lies in considering one’s audience. Writing will be considered good only by those it succeeds in connecting to. If a writer neglects the audience, the writing will lose any purpose it may have had. As James Reinking states, “The ultimate purpose of all writing is to have an effect on some reader” (7).A writer must meet the target audience’s expectations of content, style, focus, action, and readability. For instance, consider writing a report for a board of experts; it would be wise to include relevant facts and utilize technical jargon. On the other hand, writing a children’s fiction would require a lower-level vocabulary and easily identifiable character roles. Keep in mind at all times how the audience will react to one’s writing and one will find one has created a fine work. It may help at times to analyze the work from the reader’s perspective. Remember, the audience is expecting as much from the writing as the writer is.
While considering one’s audience, one will require a storyline or topic that interests the audience. Any good piece of writing will be based upon an interesting idea. Whether it be the eternal struggle between good and evil, a baffling mystery rife with unexpected plot twists, or even an unheard of philosophical viewpoint, any valid work will find itself centered upon this concept. A powerful concept often carries many works through lacking areas, though one should still strive to achieve perfection throughout all areas of one’s writing. There are many tools at the writer’s disposal to aid in the formation of their story. Conflict is among the most powerful storytelling tools available to an author. Conflict demands that the reader take a side; it grabs their interest and won’t let go until it is resolved; it pulls them into the story immediately while assuring they’ll come back for more. While one can’t always rely on conflict, other tools remain available to the writer. Try a compelling argument for a way of thinking or use a plot twist to change a predictable and boring story into an intriguing one that keeps the reader hooked. Any method that attracts interest and holds it is a good one.
Another tool for attracting an audience, “action,” is an important element of writing. In the words of Barnaby Conrad, “action is far more powerful than narration or internal dialogue because the reader will tend to react on anemotional level to an act” (11). Mr. Conrad shows just how important action can be to writing, as anything that can affect the audience cannot be overlooked. Audience participation is ideal in many settings, and writing is no different. Emotional reaction to an event in a story helps to ensure the reader will become immersed in the work. Any type of action will satisfy this requirement, regardless of how seemingly inconsequential it appears. All that must be done is that the audience visualizes what is happening, rather than being told something had happened. One example might be to say, “Tony slammed the door as he entered, fuming from the pointless monotony of his dead-end job,” which conveys a more vivid portrayal than saying, “Tony was a disgruntled worker with little hope of advancement.” To clarify, the action need not be world-shattering or even violent, as long as the reader is shown that something is taking place.
All of the previous points would be useless without style, the use of language to present the story with vivid details in the minds of the audience. All writing musthave a style, though there are nearly as many styles as there are writers. It can even be argued that the sheer absence of any type of style could be considered a style all its own. It must be stated, however, that style refers not to what words the writer uses, but rather, how the writer uses them. Simply rearranging an average statement can alter the outcome and power of the written word. For instance, a story told from the perspective of the main character will vary greatly from the same story told in the third person. Some authors use long lists of details to evoke an exact image in the reader’s mind, while others employ a more vague style that requires the audience to use their own imagination to paint a more personal image of the scene. One must consider Professor William Strunk’s words, “every writer, by the way he uses the language, reveals something of his spirit…this is inevitable, as well as enjoyable” (53).
Using proper connotation is key to helping the audience understand one’s purpose in writing. All words possess connotations, which are the implied meanings of words used to evoke an emotion or memory of the reader. These connotations can help bring to life otherwise drab writing, and help to make the connection to the reader, which is among the most crucial ingredients of good writing. Using improper connotations can lead to misunderstandings from the audience, leaving them confused and unsatisfied, or worse yet, lead them to lose interest and stop reading the work altogether. Connotations prove useful in many writing styles and several situations that may arise in the course of a written work. For instance, connotation can influence the way a character in a story is perceived by the reader. One example would be to describe a stubborn person as “strong-willed,” which would connote admiration for their convictions, whereas saying they were “pig-headed” would imply frustration in dealing with them. When considering the daunting number of word choices one could make while writing, connotations must have a significant impact on the writer’s decision.
Along with a fitting style and the desiredconnotation, it is vital to include details in one’s writing to enhance the piece and guarantee that the audience understands. This is especially true in technical works, as details are often required to support arguments and findings. However, it should not be overlooked in the context of a story either. Details provide a more dramatic setting, help to flesh out a character, and bring to life more vividly the scene in which the story unfolds. Ample use of details initiates a much clearer, lucid picture in the mind of the reader, allowing one to “see” the action taking place. This is not to say that every object in every scene should be painstakingly detailed. Over-use of details can confuse and bog down the piece. Therefore, the writer must plan carefully when to describe events in detail based on how strongly one wishes to emphasize a scenario or when the writer wishes to give pertinent information.
The final core factor of good writinglies in appropriate language and grammatical correctness. The proper language can bringto one’s worka refined tone or gritty edge. Different types of language are appropriate at different times. Diana Hacker reminds us that, “language is appropriate when it suits your subject, conforms to the needs of your audience, and blends naturally with your own voice” (131). For instance, the language used in a piece may vary greatly when spoken in dialogue by characters as opposed tohow it is used in the rest of the work. Language consists of vocabulary, or the variety of words used, as well as context, the intended meaning of those words. Again, the writer must consider the audience and purpose when deciding how to use language. As all students are taught throughout their schooling, correct mechanics are necessary when considering the value of a written work. If the readers find the piece unintelligible, they will not read it, and what was contained therein will be wasted. Proper punctuation and verb tense are required in order to avoid confusion. While this may seem a negative point without an apparent positive aspect, bear in mind the consequence of not considering the rules of grammar in your work.
While following the rules of grammar, always remember to keep your writing focused and coherent. Any good piece of writing must remain focused at all times, lest it fall into a rambling, incoherent rant. The key to focus lies in ensuring that all sentences and paragraphs in some way support the topic or lend clarity or style to a scene.Unnecessary sentences can disrupt the focus, leaving the reader confused. One must strive for unity in all paragraphs, leaving no point unexploredand no sentence useless. Coherence, closely related and often confused with focus, is another key concept in writing. Coherence, as Cyndia Clegg states, “Embraces order, organization, movement through the writing, and logic” (35). The main difference between coherence and focus is that, whereas focus deals with maintaining sentence unity involving the topic, coherence is more involved in continuity of a viewpoint. The consequences of poor coherence are much the same as poor focus, confusion and disinterest. They do go hand-in-hand, but, for the sake of accuracy, it is important to note this distinction between them. Thus it remains critical to take into account all aspects of grammatical correctness, from appropriate language to coherence, as they must be observed before any other aspect of good writing will be considered.
And there we have our formula for good writing. Following these ideas, a writer should find their efforts simplified and the results far more rewarding. Here we have seen the validity of the three main focuses of writing: purpose, audience, and language, and we have explored every aspect of them, from rhetoric to design, from topic to style, and mechanics to coherence. We have taken a look at each of these topics from the perspective of the writer as well as the reader, and have seen both the positive aspects of including them, and the negative effects of neglecting them. Much like a baker preparing a delicious cake, the writer must follow meticulously this “recipe” for writing, taking care to use the correct amount and proper balance of these ingredients. Doing so will help to ensure that the writer’s work is as high a quality as it can attain, that it will reach it’s target audience, and that it will succeed in completing the primary goal of the writer.
Works Cited
Clegg, Cyndia Susan. Critical Reading and Writing across the Disciplines. New York: Holt, Reinhart and Winston, 1988
Conrad, Barnaby. The Complete Guide to Writing Fiction. Cincinnati: Writer’s Digest Books, 1990
Hacker, Diana. A Writer’s Reference. Fifth edition. Boston/New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2003