Analysing the purpose and audience of non-fiction

In a nutshell

When analysing a non-fiction text, you should always think about why it is written (the purpose), and whom it is written for (the audience). A text might be written to describe, inform, persuade or even to make you laugh! The audience might take a narrow scope, e.g. appealing only to younger fans of Formula 1; or a wide scope, e.g. written for adults living in Britain.

Purpose

Remember, the text type is often your first port of call when it comes to figuring out the purpose of your text. Below is a list of different purposes a non-fiction text is likely to have. As you're reading, try to guess which types of text are likely to carry which purpose.

To inform

Non-fiction, at its most basic, often informs us of a particular idea, event or experience. Informative texts might describe (giving specific details) and explain (the "how" and "why"), too.

To entertain

A text designed to entertain should do exactly that – amuse the reader and hold their attention. Look out for idiomatic language, puns and humorous turns of phrase.

To argue

Arguing is putting your case, or position on a certain topic, forward. A writer may give a balanced argument, or it can be biased toward one particular viewpoint. Essays are most likely to be argumentative in nature.

To persuade

A persuasive text aims to convince the reader of the writer's point of view. More so than argumentative writing, persuasive writing might try to get the reader to do a certain thing or behave a certain way. Look out for persuasive devices.

To analyse

An analysis breaks down a certain volume (e.g. another text) into different elements to help explain the writer's intention. This is done by carefully examining the writer's language, form – and even purpose/audience!

Audience

An audience is the person or group of people that a particular text is aimed at. An author usually has an "ideal" or "target" reader in mind. When imagining the audience for a text, think first about demographics: is the text for a younger/older reader? A man/woman? Somebody of a particular nationality or living in a certain place? Next, think about if it's aimed at a particular interest group (e.g. gardeners, railway enthusiasts and the like). Sometimes, an audience might be as broad as possible – this is known as having broad appeal.

The subject matter

This is usually your first clue as to the audience – you can probably guess the target audience of a magazine article about action figures, just as you could for an advert about baby clothes. After reading the whole text, try to think about who is most likely to read, and get something out of, the text.

The vocabulary

Take a careful look at the wording used. If there are any specialist terms, think about if the text is aimed at the general reader or a specialist or enthusiast in that area. For example, if an article mentions motherboards, bandwidth and encryption, the audience might be avid computer geeks or technicians alike.

The tone

The character and style of the language used in a text can help determine its audience. Simple sentence structure and vocabulary lends itself to younger or less specialised readers whereas more complexity in the language lends itself to older readers or those with more knowledge of the subject matter – e.g. an economics column in a broadsheet newspaper.

Definitions

Balanced argument	A balanced argument is one which presents both (or all) points of view in a fair manner.
Biased	The opposite of balanced – a biased text seeks to present only one point of view.
Persuasive devices	Persuasive devices are techniques used by the author to persuade or convince the reader of a particular point of view.
Demographics	A demographic is a characteristic of a given population based on factors like age, race and sex.
Interest group	An interest group is a group of people who share a common interest, often for the purposes of political gain.
Broad appeal	If something has broad appeal, it attracts the interest of large numbers of people.