This study takes a dynamic view of transfer as reusing and reshaping previous knowledge in new writing contexts to investigate how novice Japanese as a foreign language (JFL) writers draw on knowledge across languages to construct L1 and L2 texts. We analyzed L1 English and L2 Japanese argumentation essays by the same JFL writers (N = 19) and L1…

Presents a procedural model for use as a prewriting strategy to help students "decenter" or distance themselves from their writing and avoid the generalities that characterize egocentric writing. The model provides opposing viewpoints in a student's analysis of problems or issues. (HTH)

Surveys three current perspectives on audience, exploring the strengths and weaknesses of each without arguing for the superiority of one view. Provides a conceptual framework that will clarify some of the things composition theorists can mean when they talk about the writer's audience. (FL)

Discusses the results of a study addressing the issue of whether writers are aware of the distinction between real and implied readers. Presents several questions for investigation, including (1) "Does a writer's way of perceiving a reader affect contextual development?" and (2) "Do shifts occur in writers' conceptions of…

Demonstrates why traditional methods of audience analysis in composition have so little practical rhetorical value. Provides a backdrop for a broader and more useful view of what can go into audience analysis. (HTH)

In order for students to write for a general audience, they must be able to address unknown readers. Research into how successful writers perceive their audience suggests that they write to an audience who is an idealized version of themselves. Writing for an unknown audience can be a writer's search for common ground, for a set of beliefs and…

To address the questions of whether writers create their audiences and, if so, how, a case study of three skilled student writers sought to elicit the students' tacitly held knowledge about composing and audience. The students wrote an essay that they were told would be published in a campus anthology, and then responded to questions in taped…

Discusses how junk mail letters can be used to teach students about rhetorical choices and the process of writing. (SRT)

Explores the background of "mutual knowledge"--an aspect of language theory--and modifies that notion so that it can be applied to composition theory and instruction, specifically audience analysis.

Investigates the effects an assigned audience has on undergraduates' attitudes, composing strategies, and persuasive writing. Finds that while assigning an audience had a limited effect on essay scores, it increased students' interest, effort, use of audience-based strategies, and ability to persuade. (SR)

Discusses idea strategies that can help the learner comprehend and communicate, and composition strategies that can be applied to writing for communication. Highlights include thought starters; information evaluation phases, including analyzing the audience; strategies in writing management; drafts and revisions; and introductions and conclusions.…

A study explored the complexities of audience adaptation by examining the relationships between writer/audience proximity, register, and overall quality in essays written for assigned audiences. Subjects, 100 college freshmen, each wrote one essay in response to two audience-specified tasks in which subjects were to write persuasive letters to…

A writer's audience may sometimes be actual readers (real individuals) or implied readers (the reader role the text imposes). Intended readers are individuals the writer expects will actually read the text while the addressed readers are those to whom the writer directs his or her comments--an important distinction in academic writing. For…

Urges that beginning writers be shown that by maintaining a consistent and appropriate rhetorical stance they not only signal their own role but also indicate the proper role for the audience to play. (MM)

Explores the role audience plays in composition theory and pedagogy by demonstrating that the arguments advocated by each side in the debate oversimplify the act of making meaning through written discourse. Points out the failings and strengths of each side, and proposes an alternative formulation that more accurately reflects the richness of…