Determine the writer’s purpose and audience.

How well a writer explains a concept can demonstrate how well the writer understands the concept. That is why this kind of writing is so frequently assigned in college courses. But it is also a popular genre outside of the classroom, where writers typically know more about the subject than their readers do. It is especially important to anticipate readers’ “So what?” question and excite their curiosity. When reading the concept explanations that follow, ask questions like these about the writer’s purpose and audience:

• What seems to be the writer’s main purpose in explaining this concept—for example, to inform readers about an important idea or theory, to show how a concept has promoted original thinking and research in an area of study, to better understand the concept by explaining it to others, or to demonstrate knowledge of the concept and the ability to apply it?
• What does the writer assume about the audience—for example, that readers will be unfamiliar with the concept and need an introduction that will capture their interest, that readers will know something about the concept but want to learn more about it, or that the primary reader will be an instructor who knows more about the concept than the writer does and who is evaluating the writer’s knowledge?