Minutes a day n e w y o r k

The Audience’s Relationship to the Subject
In addition, it’s essential to consider the relationship of your audience to your subject. What are they likely to know
about your topic? How interested will they be in what you have to say? How likely are they to agree or disagree
with your ideas?
What Your Readers Know about the Subject
One of the biggest mistakes writers make is to assume that their readers know what they’re talking about. Just
because you know your subject intimately doesn’t mean your readers do. You need to carefully consider how much
your readers may know about your subject. For example, you’ve decided to write about your interest in robotics
for your college application essay. If you use terms like “range weighted Hough Transform” and “sensor fusion algo-
rithm,” chances are your readers won’t know what you’re talking about. You’ll either have to explain your terms
or replace the technical jargon with words the average reader can understand.
Similarly, say you decide to write about your favorite novel. Should you assume your readers have read the
novel? If they have, should you assume that they read it recently enough to remember its characters, plot, and
themes? Unless you know for sure, or unless your assignment specifically mentions an assumption (“assume your
readers have read The Great Gatsby carefully”), you must provide sufficient background information for your read-
ers. You’ll need to briefly summarize the plot and provide context for the specific scenes and issues you’d like to
discuss.