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Worksheet/
Analyzing Context for Reports
To begin analyzing the context for your report, you need to answer questions about the audience
members' knowledge, values, and needs; expectations for content, layout, and format; and the
circumstances in which they will encounter your report. You should also answer questions about
your purpose for doing this type of writing. By considering these questions, you analyze the
context for your report and establish a basis for making wise decisions about what to say and
how to say it. For an example of a student context analysis of a report see pp. 151 - 152.
Audience knowledge, values, and needs
- What sorts of experiences (personal or secondhand) have my readers had with my topic?
- How does my topic relate to things my readers know, value, or care about?
- Do my readers have any biases or preconceptions concerning my topic? If so, what are they, and do
I have any information that will correct (or reinforce) those attitudes?
Audience expectations for content
- What questions are my readers likely to want to have answered?
- What kinds of information are my readers likely to value?
Audience expectations for layout or format
- Which reading in this chapter comes closest to looking the way my readers will expect my report to look?
- Are there any visual features (for example, photographs) my readers are likely to expect or appreciate?
- Are there ways in which my report will look different from the readings in this chapter?
Circumstances
- Are there any recent events that might motivate my audience to read my report? If so, what are they?
- If not, what sort of background information should I provide at the beginning of my report?
Purposes
- What purposes am I trying to accomplish in writing my report? What overall impression do I want to leave my readers with?
- What sort of voice do I want readers to hear when they read my report?
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