Audience Analysis of https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/14/opinion/sunday/death-penalty.html
Who is the intended audience?
After reading this article written by Nicholas Kristof, I believe his intended audience is older people who are interested in the criminal justice system. I believe this because a lot of the terminology used throughout Kristof’s piece are common criminal justice terms that only people with basic knowledge of the field would understand. Also his language throughout the article suggest his intended audience is older and has some schooling based on the vocabulary used. I can not tell from Kristof’s article if his intended audience has a specific gender however I can tell that he is targeting people with occupations in criminal justice. I would say this because a lot of the comments made under the article are from people in that field. Also he references credible people from that field, which suggests his audience has prior knowledge of who they are. Therefor his intended audience would be people working in the criminal justice field or people who are very interested in it.
Discuss how the intended audience is affected by or involved in the topic being discussed. Discuss the main characteristics of this audience, including values, assumptions, experiences, and stances that work for and against the piece’s interest.
I believe Kristof’s intended audience is involved with the topic either through work or interest. I would say the main characteristic of his audience would be people who like to examine our criminal justice system and discuss what works and what doesn’t with that system. I would also say his intended audience are people who are looking for justice and may have some occupation within the criminal justice system. I also believe has intended audience are people with contrasting opinions about the topic of lethal injection. I think he does this in order to start a healthy conversation about the death penalty.
How will the audience benefit from this topic? What can be done with the information provided? Why is it necessary to know this? What difference might it make?
I believe Kristof’s audience can benefit from this topic by going out and voting for what they think is right. I also think that the information he provided can be used to better understand the death penalty and the various arguments for and against it. I think this article could be eye-opening to many people and maybe change their views on the death penalty.
In what context is the reader looking at this material? Are the readers already somewhat interested? Are they completely unaware? Are they antagonistic/hostile toward the topic, or doubtful about any point which might be made? Are they supportive/sympathetic? Are they neutral? How do you know? Why do you suspect this to be the case? Give your reasoning and evidence.
I would say from reading Kristof’s article that his readers are somewhat already interested in this topic. This is because he really jumps right into his argument and doesn’t explain a whole lot. I would say Kristof is passionate about this topic and genuinely believe his own claims. However he doesn’t come off hostile with his argument which allows for a healthy debate. I believe this to be the case based off of Kristof’s tone throughout his article.
What questions might the audience need to have answered? What questions might the audience be left with after reading/seeing/listening to the argument? What kind of background information might they need before they accept the claim?
I think Kristof does a good job about answering a lot of questions his readers might have. However I think his readers are left with asking themselves what they truly think is right. Kristof’s argument is so strong because he makes his readers think and ask themselves what they truly believe. Paragraph
What is the audience’s background (for example, technical or educational)? In general, are they prepared and able to understand, interpret, and apply the information in the piece?
I would say Kristof’s intended audience is meant to have some background knowledge on the topic. I would also say that his intended audience is supposed to be able to understand and process this information. Kristof doesn’t do a lot of explaining of the topic, instead he Staes the facts and his argument.
Chloe's Writing Blog 