A good writing piece has a direction. There is a purpose – the reason why you are writing, and there is an audience – who you are writing.
What is Purpose?
The intention or reason behind your writing is the purpose. We write for many different reasons. Here are some examples;
- to inform
- to describe
- to narrate
- to persuade
- to entertain
- to advise
- to instruct
- to explain
and so on….
The purpose of writing is your intention or goal for the audience. Which brings us to the next point.
What is Audience?
The audience is the person or group you are writing to or for. The audience is the end user of the written piece. The people you are trying to persuade, advise, entertain, inform, narrate or explain to.
They could be:
- siblings
- other kids
- parents
- teenagers
- Muslims
- non-Muslims
- person of authority (principal, mayor, leader of a country)
- gamers
- athletes
and so on.
Why is it important?
Understanding who your audience is is very important because it guides your word choices, voice, and even the examples and arguments you use.
Knowing your audience means you can be more intentional about how you communicate your ideas, and this is a very important skill for Muslims.
As Muslims we communicate for impact. And if you want to impact someone, you have to speak to them at their level and in a way that resonates with them.
A letter to a friend will not be written the same as a letter to the owner of a company, even if the topic and purpose are the same.
An essay for a Muslim audience will not be the same as a letter for a non-muslim audience, even if both were for dawah.
Sometimes the audience is general, and the writer must know to use language and words that will appeal to the majority and not confuse anyone with unfamiliar jargon.
Watch this Video
Watch the video below. By the end you’ll have a better understanding on this aspect of teaching writing.
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If you have any questions, just let me know here in the comments section and I’ll be happy to answer.
The goal is to help you be more intentional and effective in your teaching and lesson planning, inshallah.
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Your Turn
Tell us one way you can use what you learned here to improve your teaching? Or share a suggestion below for your fellow teachers/homeschoolers reading this.
