As Dr. Sentell mentioned in his video, know the audience, be the audience. To interest an audience about a purpose, if we have knowledge of this audience, we will be able to relate the information more directly to themselves and their lives. If you were speaking at the VMAs or in front of the Senate, you would obviously vary your approach to the information to make it more relative to that audience. To make information more interesting to an audience, it has to be in the vernacular of that audience, and something they can apply to their lives or that is related to them.
Through the use of thesis statements and PEE structure, this relation to the audience is achieved with academic audiences. The thesis statement helps the audience to know what to expect from the rest of your discourse. It gives them the points you are trying to prove or convey, and peaks their interest for the rest of your discourse. Using PEE structure helps identify the points that relate to your thesis statement that you wish to convey to your audience. It then provides evidence for these points to support them and your thesis. Finally it relates this information to your thesis and your audience to encourage an interest in them about your purpose.
Sonney, you identify an excellent set of contrasting examples: the VMAs and the State of the Union. As the pictures show, these audiences could not be more different, so the discourses that appeal to them also could not be more different. Excellent insights and illustrations! As for your writing process, I encourage you to spend a little more time revising the "higher-order concerns" like your thesis support, organization, etc.
ReplyDeleteSonney,
ReplyDeleteI really liked your examples of adapting your speech in different audiences. Making a speech at the VMA's and addressing the Senate are two very different situations. You explained the job of the thesis statement and PEE structure very well. Your explanations were very easy to follow and understand. I loved your images, too!
Sonney, you did a great job explaining the concepts that were assigned. I enjoyed reading your post, and I also liked the pictures that you included. Thank you for making your comments simple, so I could understand.
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