Determine the Audience

Generally speaking, your readers’ knowledge of the subject will influence the type of background information and technical language you use in your report. You need to know if you’re writing for an expert audience or for the general public.

Ask these questions:

> What do they know already?

> What do they need to know?

> What do they want to know?

You’ll need to reflect the answers in your style, the words you use, the content itself and the degree of explanation you give. Sometimes it’s possible to provide more detailed content for your “expert readers” and a general outline for those who don’t need all the facts and figures. We’ll look at this later when we discuss how to organize your report.