Audience memo
Note: You need to answer all of these questions; your failure to answer all questions will
result in point deductions.
• What primary audiences do the two websites seem to aim for? What kind of
knowledge do the audiences seem to possess about the subject matter? What are
their age(s), genders, education level, occupations, and cultural
background? (Just because a Website is available on the Internet does not
mean it is designed for everyone. You need to think carefully and find out the
specific primary audience that the Websites aim to serve.) !!!
• Who are the secondary audiences of these websites? Who else might use information found on
these sites?
• What persuasive strategies do the websites employ to appeal to their primary
audiences? Do they use claims? Do they make an effort to connect with the audience? Do they
use claims? Do they present evidence to support and strengthen the claims? How have they
established their credibility? (See pages 51-56 of your textbook for more on persuasion)
• To what extent do the websites use technical language? Do you see any
examples of jargon? Give examples
• How long is the average sentence in each website? How long is the average paragraph? Does
this tell you anything about the audience?
• How formal/informal are their respective style? Why?
• Is there advertising? If so, what do the ads tell you about the audience?
• Do the website use tables, graphs, figures, illustrations or images? How different
are they on the two websites?
Requirements
• Keep in mind that your purpose is to compare and contrast the two websites, not
merely to describe them.
• Do not simply type the questions followed by your answers. Like all professional
memos, this one should summarize and organize the information into coherent
and well-written narratives.
• Format: Use a business memo format. See Chapter 10: Memos and Letters for
examples of business memo format. You can also use a memo template in Word.
Minimum word requirement: 750 words.
• Make sure to include the Websites’ URLs in your memo.