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Worksheet/
Analyzing Context for Instructions
To begin analyzing the context for your proposal, 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 proposal. You should also answer questions about your purpose for doing this type
of writing. By considering these questions, you analyze the context for your proposal 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 proposal see pp. 382 - 384.
Audience knowledge, values, and needs
- What sorts of experiences (personal or secondhand) have my readers had with the procedure I am explaining?
- How will this procedure help my readers accomplish some goal associated with doing a job or pursuing a hobby?
- Do my readers have any biases or preconceptions concerning the procedure I am explaining? If so, what are they,
and do I have any information that will correct (or reinforce) those attitudes?
Audience expectations for content
- What aspects of the procedure are likely to be confusing or difficult for my readers?
- 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 instructions to look?
- Are there any visual features (for example, photographs, charts, or numbered lists) that my readers are likely to expect or appreciate?
- Are there ways in which my instructions will need to look different from the readings in this chapter?
Circumstances
- Where, when, and why will my readers be using my instructions?
- What physical or psychological circumstances might make it difficult for my readers to follow my instructions?
Purposes
- Beyond helping someone carry out a task or accomplish a goal, what purposes am I trying to accomplish in writing my
instructions? Do I, for example, need to reassure or motivate my readers?
li> What sort of voice do I want readers to hear when they read my instructions?
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