APA style and citations for dummies - Joe Giampalmi 2021

Focus on audience and purpose
Ten priorities for proficient academic writing
The parts of ten

Concentrate on audience and purpose, each of which shapes the development of text. Audience dictates whom you’re writing to; purpose dictates your message. Without a focused audience and purpose, your message will be spam. Chapter 5 develops many principles of good academic writing: audience, purpose, tone, approach, focus, and transitions.

Some assignments require you to write to a fictional people as your primary audience, such as community leaders, college administrators, or the CEO of a major organization. In such instances, use language that speaks directly to them. Remember you’re additionally writing to the person who awards your grade, your professor as a member of the academic community. Think of your audience, your professor, as a person who values high-level thinking, a person who values “why” more than “what,” and a person who expects evidence supporting everything you say. Your professor doesn’t want to hear your unsupported opinion.

Purpose also shapes writing. Most writing instructors will agree that an inherent purpose in almost all writing is persuasion, convincing the audience to believe your message. More explicit writing purposes are determined by the task in the assignment: justify, evaluate, and so forth. Similar to your professor being designated as a secondary audience, a secondary purpose of every writing assignment is convincing your professor that you deserve a good grade.