Posted: April 11th, 2015

Audience Analysis Memo

Audience Analysis Memo

Order Description

Assignment Guidelines:
For this assignment, choose two Websites that present information on the same subject.
However, the two Websites should be aimed at different primary audiences. One of them should be designed for a non-technical audience (such as WebMD, http://www.webmd.com/) and the other for a specialized/professional audience (such as the National Institutes of Health, http://www.nih.gov/).
Write a memo to your instructor analyzing both Websites and their audiences (primary and secondary) and explain the persuasive strategies each Website uses to serve its primary audience’s needs.
Synthesize your analysis to the following questions:
• What primary audiences do the two Websites seem to aim for? What kind of knowledge do the audiences seem to possess about the subject matter? What are
their age(s), genders, education level, occupations, and cultural background? (Just because a Website is available on the Internet does not mean it is designed for everyone. You need to think carefully and find out the specific primary audience that the Websites aim to serve.)
• Who are the secondary audiences of these Websites? Who else might use information found on this site?
• What persuasive strategies do the Websites employ to appeal to their primary audiences? Do they use claims? Do they make an effort to connect with the audience?
• To what extent do the Websites use technical language? Do you see any examples of jargon? List examples.
• How long is the average sentence in each Website? How long is the average paragraph? Does this tell you anything about the audience?
• How formal/informal are their respective styles? Why?
• Is there advertising? If so, what do the ads tell you about the audience?
• Do the Websites use tables, graphs, or figures? How do they differ on the two Websites? What do they accomplish?

Requirements
• Keep in mind that your purpose is to contrast the two Websites, not merely to describe them.
• Do not simply type the questions followed by your answers. Like all professional memos, this one should summarize and organize the information into coherent and well-written narratives.
• Format: Use a business memo format. See Chapter 11: Memos and Letters for examples of business memo format. You can also use a memo template in Word.
• Minimum word requirement: 750 words
• Complete in MS Word.
• Make sure to include the Websites’ URLs in your memo.