Printed Page 108-109

Determining Your Purpose

Once you have identified and analyzed your audience, it is time to examine your purpose. Ask yourself this: “What do I want this document to accomplish?” When your readers have finished reading what you have written, what do you want them to know or believe? What do you want them to do? Your writing should help your readers understand a concept, adopt a particular belief, or carry out a task.

In defining your purpose, think of a verb that represents it. (Sometimes, of course, you have several purposes.) The following list presents verbs in two categories: those used to communicate information to your readers and those used to convince them to accept a particular point of view.

This classification is not absolute. For example, review could in some cases be a convincing verb rather than a communicating verb: one writer’s review of a complicated situation might be very different from another’s.

Here are a few examples of how you can use these verbs to clarify the purpose of your document (the verbs are italicized).

Sometimes your real purpose differs from your expressed purpose. For instance, if you want to persuade your reader to lease a new computer system rather than purchase it, you might phrase the purpose this way: to explain the advantages of leasing over purchasing. As mentioned earlier, many readers don’t want to be persuaded but are willing to learn new facts or ideas.

In situations like this, stick to the facts. No matter how much you want to convince your readers, it is unacceptable to exaggerate or to omit important information. Trust that the strength and accuracy of your writing will enable you to achieve your intended purpose.