Writing for Different Audiences

Overview

Lesson 16 of 20 in the unit Literacy Skills for CAAs. Students explore how purpose, audience, tone and style shape written communication, then adapt the same message for two different audiences.

Learning intentions

• WALT identify how audience and purpose influence writing choices.
• WALT compare formal, informal and persuasive language.
• WALT adapt tone, vocabulary, sentence structure and detail for different readers.
• WALT explain the choices made in our own writing.

Success criteria

• I can identify the intended audience and purpose of a text.
• I can explain how word choice, tone and sentence structure suit an audience.
• I can rewrite the same message for two clearly different audiences.
• I can justify at least two language choices I made.

Curriculum links

• Creating meaningful written texts for a range of purposes and audiences.
• Selecting language features, vocabulary, text structures and conventions to communicate effectively.
• Developing and organising ideas clearly for a particular audience.
• Using critical literacy to recognise how language positions or influences readers.

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–5 minutes – Hook: Same message, different reader Open with the hook and lesson introduction slides. Display the message: “You need to bring your permission form tomorrow.” Ask students to imagine receiving it from a close friend, the school principal or a younger sibling. Students briefly discuss how the wording might change.

2. 5–13 minutes – Teach: Audience, purpose and register Use the audience, purpose and tone teaching slides to define audience, purpose and register. Model how a message can be formal, informal, persuasive or informative. Highlight changes in vocabulary, contractions, sentence length, politeness, detail and punctuation. Explain that effective writers make deliberate choices rather than simply making writing “fancier”.

3. 13–22 minutes – Guided comparison Display the two versions on the comparison activity slides:

• Informal: “Hey, can you chuck your permission slip in tomorrow? We need them sorted.”
• Formal: “Please return your signed permission form by tomorrow so that we can complete the arrangements.” In pairs, students identify differences in tone, vocabulary, sentence structure and level of detail. Take feedback, recording useful observations on the board.

4. 22–40 minutes – Main writing task Distribute the audience adaptation writing worksheet. Students choose one scenario, such as promoting a school event, requesting improved sports equipment, explaining a digital safety rule or inviting people to a community clean-up. They write the message twice for two different audiences, such as a friend and the principal, or a younger student and a local council member. Remind them to identify purpose and audience before drafting. Circulate, conferencing with students and prompting: “What does this audience already know?” and “What response do you want?”

5. 40–52 minutes – Peer review and revision Use the peer-review instructions and prompts. Students exchange work with a partner and read both versions. Partners comment on whether the audience and purpose are clear, which language choices are effective, and one possible improvement. Students revise at least two features of their writing and underline or annotate the changes.

6. 52–60 minutes – Share and reflect Invite two or three pairs to read contrasting versions. Use the plenary reflection slides to ask: “What changed when the audience changed?” and “Which choice had the greatest effect?” Students complete the final reflection on the worksheet, naming two adaptations and explaining why they were appropriate.

Resources

• the audience, purpose and tone slide deck
• the audience adaptation writing worksheet
• Whiteboard and markers
• Pens or pencils
• Exercise books or devices, if students are drafting digitally
• A timer
• Optional highlighters for identifying changes in tone and register

Assessment

• Listen to pair discussions and questioning during the comparison task to assess understanding of audience, purpose and register.
• Check the two drafts for deliberate changes in tone, vocabulary, sentence structure and detail.
• Use the peer feedback and final reflection to assess whether students can explain and justify their writing choices.

Differentiation

• Provide a word bank with formal alternatives, sentence starters and audience prompts for students who need scaffolding.
• Allow students to plan orally with a partner before writing; provide a partially completed example for students with literacy or processing needs.
• Support EAL learners with visual audience profiles, explicit modelling of contractions and polite forms, and permission to draft key ideas in their first language.
• Extend confident writers by requiring a third version for a digital audience, such as a school social media post, and asking them to consider brevity, implied audience and potential misinterpretation.