The document provides guidance on how to identify the purpose, form, and audience of a text. It discusses looking at word-level features like vocabulary, sentence-level features like tense and structure, and text-level features like layout and presentational devices to determine purpose. Form can be identified by text-level features and certain word-level features. Audience is identified through word choice and complexity, sentence structures, and presentational features designed for a particular reader group. The document also discusses how to identify a text's register and the difference between denotation and connotation of words.

1. Writing for Different
Audience, Form and
Purpose

2. Purpose

4. How do you identify a
text’s purpose?
Word Level- look for:
• fact and opinion
• Subject specific words
• Description e.g. adjectives, imagery...
• Verb types e.g. imperatives or modal
• Persuasive language e.g. rhetorical devices
• Personal e.g. use of pronouns
Sentence Level – look for:
• Tense and narrative voice
• Balance of sentence functions e.g. interrogative,
statement, exclamatory, imperative
• Balance of sentence types e.g. simple,
compound, complex, minor
Text Level – look for:
• Topic sentences
• Length of paragraphs
• Layout and presentational devices e.g. Images,
colour, headings...
• Connectives
• Order of information e.g. chronological

5. Form

7. How do you identify a
text’s form?
Look for:
• Text level features like
presentational devices and
layout
• Word level features like ‘yours
sincerely’ or ‘dear diary’

8. Audience

9. Audience
• What is an audience?
• Can you match these text
types to their audience?
TEXT AUDIENCE
The Gruffalo Adults, 18-34, with an
interest in the horror genre
The Chris Moyles Radio For Year 10 and 11
Show students studying science
GCSE
Nightmare on Elm Street Teenagers with an interest
in rap music
A KS4 science textbook Children aged 2-5 and their
parents
An advertisement for the Adults who like animals,
new Eminem album 25-60
A leaflet for the RSPCA 18-45 year olds on their
way to work/school

10. How do you identify a
text’s audience?
Word Level – look for:
• Register
• Complexity of words
• Noun and verb forms e.g. use
of abstract nouns
Sentence Level – look for:
• Narrative voice
• Complexity of sentence forms
Text Level – look for:
• Presentational features like
font size, amount of text versus
image, colour, layout...

11. What is the text’s register?
Register?
A form of language appropriate to a
particular situation i.e. formality.
Formality has a spectrum:
Highly formal Highly
informal

12. What is the text’s register?
Highly Highly
formal informal
Where would you place the following situations
on this spectrum:
• A meeting between a teacher and the head
teacher?
• A conversation between a customer and a shop
assistant?
• A letter from a firm of solicitors?
Why is the level of formality appropriate in each
situation?

13. What is the text’s register?
Look at the selection of texts:
• Where on the spectrum would you place
them and why?
• How has this influenced the basic
language features?

18. Word formality
A text’s register is determined by the way
a writer uses language and structure.
When a writer chooses their words they
have any number of synonym choices
and have to decide on the formality of the
word they want.
Look at these words and put them on
your formality register:
mate acquaintance
friend associate
colleague bro
pal buddy
chum comrade
Can you think of any others?

19. Words can also have different
meanings to a reader
Denotation = literal meaning/dictionary
definition
e.g. Winter denotes the season between
autumn and spring.
Connotation = associated meanings of
words/emotions and attitudes aroused by
words
e.g. Winter connotes cold, dark,
depressing.
What does winter mean to you?

20. Denotation and connotation
Explain the differences in the following sets
of near synonyms, in terms of their differing
connotations:
Sets of Differences
Synonyms
My house / my home / my
pad / my place
Fat / plump / big-boned /
obese
Cheap / inexpensive /
bargain / economical

21. Time to practice...
Text: Text: Text: Text:
Purpose
Three •
•
features •
which show
the purpose
Form
One feature •
which shows
the form
Audience
Three •
•
features •
which show
the audience
Theme of
text

22. 1. Adrenaline Junkies 3-4
2. A bigger wave 6
3. Walk into the past 10
4. Fact facts: the faces of
poverty 12
5. People against poverty 14
6. Your country needs you 17
7. Noel Chavasse 18
8. Everyday life 19-20
9. Jaws 22
10.I think I caught one 23
11.How to... 26
12.Cambodia 31-32

23. Some synonyms have different effects on the
reader. Some are stronger or more forceful.
Look at the words below. They are all synonyms
for a evil person but some are more evil or
powerful than others. Put them on the line in the
order of ‘evilness’.

24. Identifying Purpose,
Audience and Form
How would you recognise ...?
A persuasive text
An informative text
A text for young children
An instructional text
A text for scientists
A magazine article
A Website article
A review
A text for teenagers
What is the purpose, audience and form of
the article ‘I think I’ve caught one’?

25. So when reading the extracts for
the first time, you should
identify…
• Tone (friendly,
argumentative, sad, shocking,
excited etc.)
• Purpose (persuade, argue,
advise, inform, entertain etc.)
• Audience (age, gender,
interests, education...)
• Form (e.g. letter, broadsheet
article, tabloid article, leaflet
etc.)

26. Tone
What is tone?
Tone is a literary technique that is a part of
composition, which encompasses the attitudes
toward the subject and toward the audience
implied in a literary work.
Tone may be formal, informal, intimate,
solemn, somber, playful, serious, ironic,
guilty, condescending, or many other
possible attitudes.
Each piece of literature has at least one theme,
or central question about a topic, and how the
theme is approached within the work is known as
the tone.
Create a mindmap of potential tones a writer may
use.

27. How do we evaluate
the tone of a text?
When you read a text for the first
time you should be thinking
about: meaning, tone and the
response you think the writer
wanted from the reader.
The tone and reader response
are created by the overall text –
the events and their order, the
narrative voice, the use of
imagery, the word choices, the
layout on the page...
It is like looking at a picture and
being able to sense the tone and
mood an artist wanted to create.
Or hearing a piece of music and
having it put you in a particular
mood.

28. How do we evaluate
the tone of a text?
• Listen to the songs. How does
each make you feel?
This is probably the mood and
tone the artist was going for
when they composed the song.
They wanted to make the reader
feel a particular way about an
idea or issue. They also wanted
to portray their own feelings.

29. TEACHER: choose
some songs with clear
tone and mood
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=ZWBfjjGGkNQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=e2KAI4FronQ
e.g. Ride of the
Valkyires, Swan Lake,
The Lazy song Bruno
Mars, Muse’s olympic
theme, So what Pink...
(all available on youtube
– but just listen don’t
watch)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=9W0Z9_hMg8Q http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=66molzUEkWI

30. How do we evaluate the
tone of a text?
Take a look at the images
that follow. For each write
down the tone/mood in the
image and how you think the
artist wanted the person
looking at it to feel. What
emotion do they evoke in
you?

31. 1

32. 2

33. 3

34. 4

35. 5

36. 6

37. 7

38. 8

39. 9

40. 10

41. How do we evaluate
the tone of a text?
Any text is just like the songs or
painting, it is a way of communicating
an idea and feeling.
Now take a look at these extracts of
non-fiction writing :
• What is the tone/mood of each
extract? How does the writer feel
about the subject of their writing?
• How do you think the writer wanted
the person reading it to feel? What
emotion do they evoke in you?
• How does the writer show the
tone/mood in this extract?

42. 1. What is happening to Britain? 2. Flying at 200mph might not sound
One man is stabbed for wearing particulary thrilling. After all, a jet
a Rolex. One girl is shot for airliner travels at three times that
texting on her mobile. One gran speed and that’s about as exciting as a
is battered for the pennies in her bus ride. But when you’re flying on
purse. And no one seems to your side and so low that you think
care. your ear is going to brush the ground,
it’s one hell of a buzz.
3. I wonder whether we shouldn’t
just quietly do away with all 4. Imagine being beaten every day of
elderly people on the eve of their your life. Imagine being starved and
60th birthday? It could be done left out in the cold by the person who is
in a gentle fashion, with a supposed to love you. Imagine being
celebrational (but suitably maliciously tortured and left to die in
spiked) loving cup, and the agonising pain.
system would carry with it many Sadly, this is the reality for thousands
advantages... Statistics tell us of animals in Britain today.
that one person in seven is now
over the age of 65. That makes 6. There’s an awful lot of
8 million, and looking after them sentimentality around the concept of
costs the nation £1 billion per extinction. We have the sense that
year. So the answer is simple – when a species dies our we should all
get rid of all the old grey fall to our knees and spend some time
beards... wailing. But why? Apart from a few
impotent middle-class Chinamen or if
5. Raising a cool £200k for you want a nice rug, it makes not the
charity is no mean feat even slightest bit of difference if Johnny
when you have four feet to help. tiger dies out. It won’t upset our
Mr Fowley, a large, 5 year old, 12 power supplies or heal the rift with
and half stone Leonburger canine Russia.
is one such fundraiser whose
adventures are to be published in 7. You never forget a close encounter
paperback next year. Through all with a bear. They can approach
his good work and many slowly., sedately, stealthily, but once
appearances on behalf of charity they are upon you, its is one of the
Mr Fowley has gathered celebrity most terrifying experiences you are
status and now has a worldwide ever likely to have.
fan club.

43. How do we evaluate
the tone of a text?
What are we looking for/at?
•
•
•
•
•