Emma Jordan: TIRP 2

Writing for an Audience 

In Flower and Hayes’ article, “A Cognitive Process Theory of Writing,” they tell us, “It is easy, for example, to imagine a conflict between what you know about a topic, and what you might actually want to say to a given reader…” I’m fairly confident that this is something we have struggled with in our academic careers. This is one of the first steps in determining how we’re going to write. We ask ourselves: who is going to be reading this? Professors? Peers? Both? Once we determine our audience we then must figure out how much knowledge on the subject we must include. Is it important that we show we have mastered the subject, or can we give a brief overview? If we have to write to an audience that knows an equal amount of more about the topic, as Deanna said in her blog post, we’re “stuck between a rock and a hard place.”

At times it is daunting to write for an audience in an academic setting. We walk a thin line between informing our audience and patronizing our audience. Planning our writing, based on Flower and Hayes’ model, can be the most difficult process. But it this brings forth the question: Do we think it’s easier to write when you know who your audience is?

In “Cognition, Convention, and Certainty,” Bizzell asks the question: “What do we need to know about writing?” As she goes on to talk about the changing circumstances faced in the classrooms, I can’t help but see some similarities between this article and “Crisis and Opportunity: Hyperliteracies in the Composition Classroom” by Justin Young (chapter 4 of web book we read for week 1). Both articles talk about a writing problem seen in students. They talk about student’s lack of knowledge when it comes to proper academic writing as well as a general lack of knowledge of writing Standard English. Bizzell says that teacher believe that they now have to teach students how to think. Is that true? Or is the classroom evolving? In this day and age, where a wealth of knowledge is just one Google search away, maybe we need to reevaluate the way we learn, which is what Young’s article calls for.

It’s hard to find your voice at times. Knowing who your audience is and how to make your writing appeal to them can be challenging. In my experience, almost every professor I’ve had had different expectations of what was considered “acceptable writing.” I’ve had teachers who expect great academic papers and I’ve had teachers who implore you to find your voice and find creative ways to showcase your knowledge on topics. I’ve learn a lot from both sides of the spectrum.

But more often than not, especially in my first few years of undergrad, I felt like I was expected to take on a voice that was not my own. I remember encountering a professor that required a specific way of writing and it was hard to feel committed to writing when I felt so restricted in my form. Ultimately, it came to a point where writing felt like a chore I did not want to do instead of something I loved to do, even when we had such interesting topics. I remember becoming so fed up with the task at hand that I gave up and produced what I could deem “acceptable”. Throughout this course, I questioned my desire to continue to take writing courses and feared that many of them would resemble this class. I was lucky to find professor who was the polar opposite later in my academic career that required everyone to think outside the box and explore their own creativity.