Except for journal or diary entries, most writing is meant to
be read by an audience, and so writers must learn to consider their
audience as they compose.  Anticipating your reader's needs,
attitudes and beliefs will help you decide questions both of form
and content.  The words you choose, the method you choose to
explain a point, the sequence of your argument are all influenced
by assumptions you make about who you are speaking to.  This is not
to say that you must change your opinion or point of view to please
your audience, but you must let your reader understand your
writing, whether or not he/she will finally agree with it.  For
most school writing, your immediate audience is your teacher,
usually an expert on the subject you are writing about.  But
instead of assuming that your teacher already knows everything you
have to say, it is usually a better strategy to assume that the
teacher is an interested reader who knows as much as most educated
people know about your subject (i.e., the teacher has what is
considered "common knowledge" of the subject).  You should then
design your writing so that such a reader can understand your
ideas.

     The following questions should help you to imagine your
audience more clearly.

1.   How old is the audience?

2.   What is the social or economic condition of the audience?

3.   What general philosophies of politics or government does
     the audience hold?

4.   What values and beliefs would be common to an audience of this
     age?

5.   What economic, social, and moral values is the audience likely
     to hold?

6.   What value does the audience place on education, religion, and
     work?

7.   Which of these values--economic, social, political,
     educational--is most important to the audience?  Least
     important?

8.   How does the audience feel about its past , its present, its
     future?

9.   Does the audience expect certain patterns of thought in what
     it reads?  Should you include a lot of data to convince the
     audience?  What authorities will be most convincing?  What
     terms do you need to define  Will stories and analogies be
     effective or confusing?  

10.  What issues make the audience angry or defensive?

11.  What are the options you a have for presenting unpopular
     opinions?

12.  What is the most convincing appeal you can make?  Should you
     appeal to logic or reason?  To the audience's emotions? 
     Should I try to convince the audience of my honesty and
     trustworthiness?

13.  Am I saying what I believe or what I believe my audience wants
     to hear?




(Questions from Karl R. Wallace's Topoi and the Problem of
Invention)