Audience Purpose Power

Overview

In this lesson, students identify the target audience and purpose of persuasive texts. They explore how different audiences respond to different persuasive appeals and brainstorm audience-specific ideas.

Learning intentions

• Students will describe the difference between audience and purpose in persuasive writing.
• Students will identify the target audience and the intent of a short persuasive text.
• Students will brainstorm persuasive ideas that suit a specific audience.
• Students will explain which persuasive appeals best match a particular audience.

Success criteria

• I can name the target audience for a persuasive text and justify why I think so.
• I can identify the purpose of the text (what the writer wants the audience to do/think/feel).
• I can match at least two persuasive appeals to a chosen audience.
• I can describe how word choices or evidence types could change for different audiences.

Curriculum links

• Developing and expressing ideas in English through planning and composing texts for an identified purpose and audience.
• Analysing how language choices influence meaning for different audiences.
• Using reading and viewing strategies to interpret information and author intent.
• Using interaction and discussion to clarify understanding and justify viewpoints.

Lesson structure (30 minutes)

1. 0–4 min: Hook and activate thinking

• Teacher displays two short prompts (spoken or on screen): “Get our school to allow pets” and “Encourage people to recycle more.”
• Students do a quick think-pair-share: Who would each message be for, and what does the writer want them to do?

2. 4–9 min: Mini-lesson—audience and purpose

• Teacher explains: audience is the group the text is aimed at; purpose is the outcome the writer wants.
• Use a simple chart with two columns: “Audience” and “Purpose,” with examples (e.g., “Students and parents” and “allow pets”).
• Emphasise that persuasive texts aim to influence beliefs or actions, not just inform.

3. 9–15 min: Guided analysis of a persuasive snippet

• Provide a short persuasive paragraph (teacher reads aloud or students follow silently).
• Students annotate using teacher modelling: underline words that suggest the audience (e.g., “as students…”, “families…”, “neighbours…”), and circle words that show purpose (e.g., “should”, “must”, “please”, “vote for”).
• In pairs, students complete a quick “Audience + Purpose” sentence frame:
• “The target audience is ____ because ____.”
• “The purpose is to ____ so that ____.”

4. 15–22 min: Brainstorming—audience-specific appeals

• Teacher sets up three audience cards (choose based on class context): “Year 5 students,” “Parents,” “School council.”
• Students choose one audience card and brainstorm persuasive appeals that would work for that group (at least 4 ideas).
• Remind students to include a mix such as:
• Reasons (why it’s a good idea)
• Evidence or examples (facts, statistics, stories)
• Emotional appeal (fairness, safety, pride)
• Values or ethical reasons (responsibility, community)
• Students record ideas in a simple “Appeals” grid: Appeal type → Example idea → Audience fit (one brief note).

5. 22–27 min: Share and justify (turn and talk + whole-class)

• Students form small groups and share their audience and brainstormed appeals.
• Each student must deliver one justification: “I think this works for ____ because ____.”
• Teacher listens for clear links between audience needs/expectations and selected persuasive techniques.

6. 27–30 min: Exit ticket—check understanding

• Students complete an exit ticket with two parts:
• Identify audience and purpose for a new short scenario.
• Write one sentence explaining how the message might change for a different audience (e.g., from students to parents).

Resources

• Teacher-prepared persuasive snippet (short paragraph) appropriate for Year 5
• Audience and purpose anchor chart (two-column display)
• Audience cards (3 options) and appeal-grid template (one per student or pair)
• Coloured pencils/markers or sticky notes for highlighting evidence
• Sentence frames for discussion and exit ticket
• Timer for structured turns and transitions
• Projector/screen for displaying prompts and chart
• Student notebooks or writing booklets

Assessment

• Teacher observation during guided analysis and group sharing using the success criteria language (audience, purpose, appeal fit).
• Exit ticket responses to check students can clearly identify audience and purpose and explain at least one adaptation for a different audience.
• Pair work check: completed “Audience + Purpose” sentences for correctness and justification.

Differentiation

• Support:
• Provide a word bank for purpose language (e.g., “should”, “must”, “vote”, “please”, “so that”, “because”).
• Offer sentence starters for justification (“I think the audience is… because…”).
• Use a shorter persuasive snippet for students who need reduced text load.
• Extension:
• Challenge students to include two different appeal types and explain why one appeal may be stronger for their chosen audience than another.
• Ask students to revise one brainstorm idea so it better suits a different audience card.
• EAL learners:
• Pre-teach key terms “audience,” “purpose,” “persuade,” and “appeal” with gestures and simple examples.
• Allow drawing or annotating instead of full writing for part of the brainstorming notes.
• SEN:
• Offer a guided choice of appeals (e.g., three provided appeal stems) to reduce cognitive load.
• Provide check-ins during the grid task and allow oral responses that students later transcribe with support.