This page supplements material from my book 7 Steps to Better Writing. It provides videos that amplify the chapter “Step 1 – Identify Readers & Purpose.”
Jordan Peterson elaborates his approach to thinking. He provides insight into how to identify purpose.
The first half of the following video discusses how to identify your readers and define your purpose for writing.
In the following video, Clare Lynch shows how to use empathy mapping to anticipate what readers are thinking.
Larry McEnerney, Director of the University of Chicago’s Writing Program, lectures on the importance of writing to academic success. He clarifies the difference between writing to think and writing to communicate. His remarks underscore the importance of keeping your readers and your purpose in mine when writing.
Conclusion
Get in your readers’ heads. Understand what they want, and then align your purpose to their wants and needs.