The following 5 questions are critical to every assignment this semester. Review them each time you begin an assignment--until they become second nature to you, an instinctive step in your writing and speaking activities.

1. What are you writing or speaking about, and what action and/or change in attitude do you want your message to produce?

2. Who is your primary audience, how familiar are they with the subject, and what special traits or circumstances must you account for in order to succeed with your message?

3. Who is your secondary audience, how familiar are they with the subject, and what special traits or circumstances must you account for in order to succeed with your message?

4. What is your primary audience's attitude toward you and your subject? How will you deal with these attitudes in shaping your message? Your secondary audience's attitude and your strategy?

5. How will your primary and secondary audiences take in and use your message? Will they read everything in order or will they read selectively? How will you organize the message to help both audiences succeed?

(Adapted from Paul V. Anderson, Technical Writing: A Reader-Centered Approach, 1995)