To Whom Do You Write?

Since the ultimate purpose of writingiscommunication, all writers need to be aware of their audience, the people who will read what they write. For texbook authors, the audience is the student. For businesspeople, the audience may be a collegue or an employer or a potential costumer. For novelists, the audience is the general public.

The question here is: Who is the audience for students? In most cases, the audience is the teacher or the professor, although, for certain reports or projects, the audience may be a classmate or classmates. However, the purpose of writing is still the same: to communicate a message. The businessperson and the student utilize different style and content in their writing, but they both need to be aware of their audience, and they both must work to make their message as clear as possible. Problems of clarity, organization, and even punctuation are the same for both writers. 

Therefore, as you complete your writing assignments, keep in mind the classmate or teacher to whom you are writing, but remember that what you learn about academic writing will help you with any type of writing in English that you do in the future.