ENGL 361 – Audience Analysis Assignment
Scenario
You are a part of a group that works as web design consultants for ALLCAPS Inc. Your boss, Morty McFly, is aware that everyone on your team is taking a class in technical communication and would like for you to use what you have learned about audience and purpose to conduct an analysis of two competing Web sites.
Tasks
Step 1: On page 113 in your textbook, complete the “Team Exercise” activity individually (#4; a-c only)(Image attached)—Do not write about how the two sites were perceived by the different members of the group.
Step 2: On your own, from the two sites that you reviewed and selected, choose the Web site that you think meets the audience’s needs most effectively. Develop an analysis that discusses how effectively the better Web site relays its message to its intended audience using the information presented in Chapter 5 and in class. Your analysis of the Web site should include the following:
1. Indicate is the names of the websites you reviewed and give an overview of the commercials/products (use the criteria in #4, a-c to help you write your overview). Choose the better web site and provide the URL addresses.
2. Identify the intended audience. Who is the primary reader? Is the intended audience an expert, semi-professional, or layperson? Why do you say so?
3. Explain why the ad meets the primary audience’s needs. Based on what you learned, is the language in the ad appropriate for the skill level of the intended audience? Note: If the ad does not contain text, does the visual meet the needs of the intended audience? Explain how.
4. Explain why the Web site effectively displays its intended purpose. Provide examples. Show how the opposing website fails in its attempt to meet the purpose.
5. Discuss the kind of research you think the creator of the better Web site conducted to analyze his audience’s needs, attitudes, and expectations.
6. Illustrate how the ad appeals to its audience’s
a. Attitudes and expectations? Give an example.
b. Education? Give an example.
c. Cultural characteristics? Give an example.
Rhetorical and Practical Concerns:
1. Use the information that you learned in Chapters 1-5 to write your analysis.
2. Use headings and paragraphs to answer each question (Do not use the numbers above in your analysis).
3. Support your contentions about the Web site’s message and purpose by referring to specific elements in the advertisement or inferences drawn from the context.
4. Consider your non-judgmental observations as evidence.
