Writing Style: Audience and Register

Methods in this video

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1. 1

   Find the reader: named in the task, or set by the form

   ▶ 0:34

   When to use it: Before you write: the "who for" in reading the task. The task says for … or send … to …, or it only gives the form (a diary entry, a newspaper report).

   • Check the task first: does it name the reader? If not, the form tells you (a news report is for the public, a diary is for yourself).
   • If neither tells you, write for a general reader: someone who doesn't know you, but wants to read your story.
   • A news report isn't a speech: don't say hello. The first sentence says what happened.
   • Explain anything the reader doesn't know: who someone is and where a place is.
2. 2

   The formality thermometer: match the level to your reader

   ▶ 2:35

   When to use it: Once you know the reader, before the first sentence; or when a sentence sounds like it is talking to the wrong person (a message to the principal, an official notice to a friend).

   • Four levels, from the bottom up: formal, semi-formal, informal, intimate. Match the level to your reader (newspaper readers or a principal: formal; a diary: intimate).
   • The reader sets a range: for the same advice sheet task, one official sample is semi-formal and one is informal, and the marker says both suit the reader. Our advice: for students your own age, go for semi-formal: friendly and polite.
   • Formal isn't piling on hard words, and informal still has to be polite.
   • You can disagree, but don't blame: start by saying what you're asking them to do.
3. 3

   Hold the level: shift only when the content shifts

   ▶ 5:41

   When to use it: Halfway through or reading it over: one sentence sounds harsher, colder or more casual than the rest; or the content moves on to rules or schoolwork.

   • Choose a level and hold it from start to finish: Band 4 says mostly maintained, Band 5 says sustained.
   • A shift needs a reason: shift with the content (a bit more formal for schoolwork, and the marker praises it; Band 6: assured shifts). Same reader, same content, and one sentence suddenly turns harsh: the level isn't held.
   • A chatty phrase used on purpose still counts as holding the level (deliberate use of colloquialisms for effect); our advice: one or two in a piece.