COMPREHENSION/ANALYSING

Understanding purpose audience and context

Before you start to write, you need to know:

Who is the intended audience? (Who are you writing this for?)

What is the purpose? (Why are you writing this?)

What is the context? (What is the situation, when is the time period,
and where are your readers?)

We will examine each of these below.

AUDIENCE ~ Who are you writing for?

Your audience are the people who will read your writing, or listen to your
presentation. In the examples above, the first audience were your
professional colleagues; the second audience were your daughter and her
classmates. Naturally, your presentation will not be the same to these two
audiences.

Here are some questions you might think about as you’re deciding what to
write about and how to shape your message:


 What do I know about my audience? (What are

their ages, interests, and biases? Do they have an
opinion already? Are they interested in the topic?
Why or why not?)
  What do they know about my topic? (And, what
does this audience not know about the topic?
What do they need to know?)
 What details might affect the way this audience
thinks about my topic? (How will facts, statistics,
personal stories, examples, definitions, or other
types of evidence affect this audience?)

In academic writing, your readers will usually be your classmates and

instructors. Sometimes, your instructor may ask you to write for a specific
audience. This should be clear from the assignment prompt; if you are not
sure, ask your instructor who the intended audience is.

PURPOSE – Why are you writing?

Your primary purpose for academic writing may be to inform, to persuade,
or to entertain your audience. In the examples above, your primary
purpose was to inform your listeners about cybersecurity

tain your audience. In the examples above, your primary purpose was to
inform your listeners about cybersecurity.

Audience and purpose work together, as in these examples:

 I need to write a letter to my landlord explaining why my

rent is late so she won’t be upset. (Audience = landlord;
Purpose = explaining my situation and keeping my landlord
happy)
 I want to write a proposal for my work team to persuade
them to change our schedule. (Audience = work team;
Purpose = persuading them to get the schedule changed)
 I have to write a research paper for my environmental
science instructor comparing solar to wind power. (Audience
= instructor; Purpose = informing by analyzing and showing
that you understand these two power sources)

Here are some of the main kinds of informative and persuasive writing you
will do in college:
 INFORMATIVE WRITING PERSUASIVE WRITING

describes argues

explains defends

tells a story convinces

summarizes justifies

analyzes advocates

compares/contrasts supports

How Do I Know What My Purpose Is?

Sometimes your instructor will give you a purpose, like in the example
above about the environmental science research paper (to inform), but
other times, in college and in life, your purpose will depend on what effect
you want your writing to have on your audience. What is the goal of your
writing? What do you hope for your audience to think, feel, or do after
reading it? Here are a few possibilities:

Persuade or inspire them to act or to think about an issue from

your point of view.

Challenge them or make them question their thinking or behavior.

Argue for or against something they believe or do; change their
minds or behavior.

Inform or teach them about a topic they don’t know much about.

Connect with them emotionally; help them feel understood.

There are many different types of writing in college: essays, lab reports,
case studies, business proposals, and so on. Your audience and purpose
may be different for each type of writing, and each discipline, or kind of
class. This brings us to context.

CONTEXT ~ What is the situation?

When and where are you and your readers situated? What are your
readers’ circumstances? What is happening around them? Answering
these questions will help you figure out the context, which helps you
decide what kind of writing fits the situation best. The context is the
situation, setting, or environment; it is the place and time that you are
writing for. In our examples above, the first context is a professional
conference; the second context is a third-grade classroom. The kind of
presentation you write would be very different for these different
contexts.

Here’s another example: Imagine that your car breaks down on the way to
class. You need to send a message to someone to help you.

AUDIENCE: your friends

PURPOSE: to ask for help

CONTEXT: you are standing by the side of Little Patuxent Parkway, 10

minutes before class begins. Your friends are already at the campus
Starbucks or in Duncan Hall.

Do you and your readers have time for you to write a 1,000-word essay
about how a car works, and how yours has broken down? Or would one
word (‘help!’) and a photo be a better way to send your message?

Now imagine that you are enrolled in a mechanical engineering class, and
your professor has asked for a 4-page explanation of how internal
combustion works in your car. What kind of writing should you produce?
This would be the appropriate audience, purpose, and context for the
1,000-word essay about how a car works.
Contextual interpretation refers to understanding information
by analyzing the surrounding context or situation. This includes
circumstances, background details, and cultural and historical
contexts, which provide meaning. Tone is also important to
contextual interpretation. Tone conveys attitude, mood, or
emotion through word choice, structure, and punctuation. It
provides insight into intent and can be understood differently in
various contexts and cultures. Interpreting tone and context is
crucial for understanding language, actions, and communications
accurately.

 When you discover a significant or confusing point, stop to read the

entire sentence to ensure comprehension.

What is Critical Reading?

Reading critically does not, necessarily, mean being
critical of what you read.

Both reading and thinking critically don’t mean being

‘critical’ about some idea, argument, or piece of writing
- claiming that it is somehow faulty or flawed.
Critical reading means engaging in what you read by
asking yourself questions such as, ‘what is the author
trying to say?’ or ‘what is the main argument being
presented?’

Critical reading involves presenting a reasoned argument

that evaluates and analyses what you have read. Being
critical, therefore - in an academic sense -
means advancing your understanding, not dismissing and
therefore closing off learning.
See also: Listening Types to learn about the importance of critical
listening skills.
To read critically is to exercise your judgement about what you
are reading – that is, not taking anything you read at face value.

When reading academic material you will be faced with the author’s
interpretation and opinion. Different authors will, naturally, have different
slants. You should always examine what you are reading critically and look
for limitations, omissions, inconsistencies, oversights and arguments
against what you are reading.

In academic circles, whilst you are a student, you will be expected to

understand different viewpoints and make your own judgements based on
what you have read.

Critical reading goes further than just being satisfied

with what a text says, it also involves reflecting on
what the text describes, and analysing what the text
actually means, in the context of your studies.

As a critical reader you should reflect on:

 What the text says: after critically reading a piece you

should be able to take notes, paraphrasing - in your own
words - the key points.
 What the text describes: you should be confident that you
have understood the text sufficiently to be able to use your
own examples and compare and contrast with other writing
on the subject in hand.
 Interpretation of the text: this means that you should be
able to fully analyse the text and state a meaning for the
text as a whole.
Critical reading means being able to reflect on what a text says, what it
describes and what it means by scrutinising the style and structure of the
writing, the language used as well as the content.
General Reading Techniques

For most purposes, following these general reading techniques will help with reading
comprehension.

 Read the title and subtitle.

 If you don’t understand the words in the title look them up.

 Try to guess what the article is going to be about.

 Read the entire article over. Don’t stop. Just read for a general idea.

 Reread the article a second time.

 Annotate (write questions and comments as you read).

 Reread a third time if necessary.

Two Specific Techniques: Skimming and Scanning

While skimming and scanning techniques both employ rapid eye movement, each is
performed for a distinct purpose.

Skimming
Skimming is performed to obtain a general overview of an article.

In business contexts, the use of skimming can save time.

Skimming can function as a preview to a more detailed report or article that will be
read later or to review a previously read report or article that will be discussed.

Follow the steps listed below to improve your skimming technique.

Read the title and table of contents. For articles, read the title.

Look at the main headings in the report or article. Lengthier articles often
include sub-headings.

Read the report abstract (an abstract is a summary of the report’s

contents). For articles, read the entire introductory paragraph.

Read the first and last sentences in each paragraph of the report or article.
Note any words in boldface or italics.

When you discover a significant or confusing point, stop to read the entire
sentence to ensure comprehension.

Scanning
Scanning is performed to locate specific information. In business contexts, scanning
can be used to locate information to answer a question or to retrieve information
required for a report.

Determine what you are looking for. Decide on a few key words or phrases
to use to locate information.

Look for only one keyword at a time.

Once you locate one of your keywords, read the surrounding material
carefully

?
What is SQ4R
 SQ4R is a method of reading and studying textbooks. It’s an acronym for:
Survey, Question, Read, Respond, Record, and Review.
 When using this method, complete all the steps initially, then choose which
are most effective for you and your courses.
 The SQ4R method may seem time consuming at first, but it's an effective
method for reading, understanding, and remembering information from your

 What are the benefits of using SQ4

It’s an active learning strategy that can be adapted to suit an

individual’s study preferences.

It provides a strategy to retain a lot of factual detail, reducing the amount of

information that has to be relearned for exams.

It prompts the creation of study material to be used when preparing for exams.
It helps to identify errors or areas of confusion.

Step 1: Survey the and

chapters textbookRead the preface and introduction to the text, and browse through
the table of contents and the index. This will describe the main topics and the basic
organizational structure of the book.

Read the introduction and conclusion in each chapter and subsection.

Scan the titles and subtitles. Study the pictures, charts, or graphs.

Read the summary and any chapter questions.

Step 2: Start with a question

Take the section title, subtitle, or the first sentence of each paragraph and turn it into
a question.

For example: “Functions of the spinal cord” becomes “What are the functions of the
spinal cord?”

Step 3: Read actively

Read carefully and actively by creating a “dialogue” with the text.

Try to find the answer to the question you created, and ask questions as you read.

Be careful not to skim the text looking for the answer, as you might miss other
important information.

Step 4: Respond to your question

Close the textbook and answer the question you created in your own words.

If you can’t answer the question, reread the section until you can.

If, after a few tries, you still can’t answer the question, go on to the next few sections
and see if things become clearer.

If that doesn’t help, you may need to change your question. Try making it broader or
narrower.
If changing your question doesn't help, get some assistance. Your instructor or TA
are good places to start, or contact Learning Services.

Step 5: Record your notes

Once you understand the material and can summarize it in your own words make a record of it.

Common methods are highlighting and/or marking the text, or taking notes, or some combination of both.

Whichever methods you choose, it's critical to read and understand the material first,
and then go back and record.

See below for the pros and cons of notetaking and highlighting.

See our resources for help with note taking.

Step 6: Review your notes

Do a thorough review of lecture and text notes weekly, and briefly before each class.

Make weekly review periods effective by starting from the beginning of the course in
each review session. Though the volume of review material increases as the
semester progresses, the amount of time needed to review older material decreases.
After you've reviewed the first week's material a few times, it will take only minutes to
skim over it and recall the key points.