Introduction

Audience and Purpose in Non-Fiction

In this course, Dr Ailsa Grant Ferguson (University of Bristol) teaches us about audience and purpose in non-fiction texts. In the first module, we introduce the concept of audience and purpose, and think about how they interact with form. In the second, we focus on purpose, looking at our source texts. In the third, we focusing on identifying our audience. In the fourth, we analyse our sources, thinking about tone, style and register. Finally, in the fifth, we think about how to plan and structure our own writing.

Introduction

In this module, we think about audience and purpose in non-fiction texts as they relate to form, focusing on: (i) how to think about type, audience and purpose, (ii) what a non-fiction text is, (iii) 'truth' in non-fiction, especially in ads and persuasive writing, and (iv) different types of non-fiction writing, from diaries to newspapers to literary non-fiction.