Analyze Your Audience
Identify Readers: Semi-Technical Non-Technical Technical Generalists Operators Specialists Managers Fabricators Engineers Beginners Repair Shops PEs etc. etc. etc. www.booksbycarolinemiller.com, 2013 pearsonvue.com , 2013 cdn.cnwimg.com, 2013
Adjust for non-technical readers' needs: Avoid jargon. voiceless lateral fricative disneypictures.net, 2013 Figure 1: Connection local buckling of beam flanges and web at high levels of inelastic rotation. Structure , Nov. 2010, Michael D. Engelhardt.
Adjust for non-technical readers' needs: Give background--as needed. http://www.iris.edu/hq/files/programs/ education_and_outreach/retm/tm_100112_haiti/ BuildingsInEQs_2.pdf
Adjust for non-technical readers' needs: Avoid equations and formulas, but use simple spreadsheets. Item Qty. Cost/pkg. Total Twinkies 6000 pkgs. $2.00 $12,000.00 Fritos 500 bags $3.00 15,000.00 Snickers bars 20,000 $2.00 40,000.00 Total $ 67,000.00
Adjust for non-technical readers' needs: Use comparisons to familiar objects and ideas. Organic Material Found Trapped in Ancient Meteorite-Formed Glass Impact glass — Nola Taylor Redd, Astrobiology Magazine | SPACE.com – Wed, Dec 18, 2013 Approximately 800,000 years ago, a rock 100 to 160 feet (30 to 50 meters) across crashed down in Western Tasmania, Australia. As it slammed into the Earth, temperatures exceeded 1,700 degrees Celsius (3,100 degrees Fahrenheit), melting rock and creating glass sphericals, as well as a quarter- mile wide hole known as the Darwin Crater. "The reason the glass is so abundant seems likely to relate to the presence of volatiles like water at the surface when the impact occurred," lead author Kieren Howard A crater in south of the City University of New York told Astrobiology by email. "A bit like when water from your spatula drips into Australia a frying pan, having the right amount of water at shanekinnear.com, 2013 the surface during impact may have increased the magnitude of the explosion, and the production and dispersal of the melt."
Adjust for managers' needs by adding one or more of the following: $ $ • budget $ • personnel • scheduling Froidchappelle.be, 2013 • etc. www.smartsheet.com, 2013
Adjust for managers' needs by organizing to emphasize conclusions and recommendations. US Banks Table of Contents info.digital-mr.com, 2013
Adjust for semi-technical readers' needs by providing • Necessary technical background • Necessary theory • Definitions for technical jargon How important is that tolerance? • Comparisons Why do I have to wear a hard hat? ??? That long skinny thing
Adjust for technical readers' needs: Use jargon, but define any terms with stipulated or restricted meaning. johnsbootcamp.files.wordpress.com, 2013 www.utexas.edu, 2013
Adjust for technical readers' needs: Use accepted scientific methods in the work and the writing. I pressed really hard on that board to see when it would break. (Eng students, help me out here.) Force was applied to the beam to observe when failure would occur.
Adjust for technical readers' needs: Provide theory, equations, and detailed supporting data. engineering training.tpub.com, 2013
Adjust for technical readers' needs: Refer readers to additional sources. And more . . .
All readers appreciate • Visuals • Accuracy • Concise, correct writing
Check Level of Formality : Sentence Voice Contractions Person Voice length First and Informal Yes Short Active second First, second, Primarily Semiformal Sometimes Fairly short third active Active or Formal No Third Medium passive
Check tone : Brusque Professional Condescending Friendly Flippant Casual Chatty Objective Pushing Chatty Accusatory Respectful Outraged Polite
Analyze your audience and adjust your writing accordingly.
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