Purpose And Audience Analysis Exercise

Purpose And Audience Analysisthis Exercise Asks You To Apply What You

Analyze one pair of works—either websites or videos—focused on a common subject. Evaluate each work's purpose and audience, then compare your analyses to see how content and design choices target different goals.

For each work, determine its purpose: what do you think it is, and what elements support this? Identify primary and secondary audiences, considering characteristics like knowledge level, personality, biases, etc., and justify your reasoning with evidence. Then, compare the two analyses to assess whether their purposes and audiences are the same or different, providing reasoning for your conclusions.

Paper For Above instruction

The analysis of purpose and audience is fundamental to understanding how authors and creators target their messages to specific groups, shaping perception and engagement effectively. This exercise encourages a comparative exploration of how different works addressing the same subject can diverge in their intent and intended viewers or readers. The selected pairs—either websites or videos—serve as exemplars for this analysis, highlighting the strategic choices that influence communication effectiveness.

For this paper, I chose the pair of websites: Bayer Crop Science's page on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in the United States and the Non-GMO Project's website. Both provide information on GMOs but do so from markedly different perspectives and likely serve distinct audiences with different purposes underpinning their content.

Analysis of the Bayer Crop Science Website

This website's apparent purpose is to inform and reassure its audience about the safety and benefits of GMOs, particularly those developed and promoted by Bayer Crop Science. The language used is technical yet accessible, framing GMOs as a scientifically validated, beneficial technology that helps feed a growing global population. The content emphasizes regulatory approval, safety testing, and benefits such as increased crop yields and reduced pesticide use. These elements collectively suggest that the purpose is to promote acceptance and trust in GMOs from an industry standpoint.

The target audience is primarily farmers, agricultural professionals, policymakers, and possibly the general public interested in the science behind GMOs. The website's language is somewhat technical but still designed to be understandable to individuals with a basic science background. Its presentation assumes some familiarity with agricultural issues but aims to convincingly portray GMOs as safe and beneficial, aligning with Bayer's industry goals.

Analysis of the Non-GMO Project Website

This website's purpose is to inform consumers about the potential risks and concerns related to GMOs and promote non-GMO alternatives. It aims to educate about the perceived health, environmental, and ethical issues associated with GMOs, often highlighting precautionary principles and advocating for organic and non-GMO products. The language is more cautionary and sometimes emotive, emphasizing consumer choice, transparency, and environmental integrity.

The primary audience appears to be health-conscious consumers, organic food advocates, activists, and individuals skeptical of biotechnology corporations. The audience is likely to have a higher awareness or concern about food safety and environmental issues, possibly with biases favoring natural and organic options. The website's tone and content suggest an intent to motivate consumers to avoid GMOs and choose non-GMO products, aligning with advocacy and activism goals.

Comparison of Purposes and Audiences

The purposes of the two websites are distinctly different. Bayer's site aims to promote understanding, acceptance, and trust in GMOs, serving industry and development interests that support GMO technology. Conversely, the Non-GMO Project seeks to resist or scrutinize GMO technology, emphasizing safety concerns and consumer rights, thus fostering activism and personal choice.

In terms of audience, Bayer's website targets a broader, perhaps more technically informed audience, including industry professionals and policymakers, with the goal of reinforcing positive perceptions of GMOs. The Non-GMO Project's audience is primarily consumers with skepticism or concern about GMOs, looking for reassurance or alternatives. The evidence includes language tone, content focus, and the framing of issues, which reflect these divergent goals and audience characteristics.

Conclusion

Analyzing these two works reveals how purpose and audience influence the messaging strategies and content choices. Bayer's industry-oriented purpose results in a factual, reassurance-driven approach tailored for knowledgeable or decision-making audiences, whereas the advocacy-focused website adopts an emotive and cautionary tone aimed at concerned consumers. Recognizing these differences enhances understanding of how communication is tailored to resonate with specific audience needs and goals.

References

• Bayer Crop Science. (n.d.). Genetically Modified Organisms in the United States. Retrieved from [URL]
• Non-GMO Project. (n.d.). About Non-GMO Project Verified. Retrieved from [URL]
• Lemonick, M. D. (2016). Genetically Modified Organisms: Friend or Foe? Scientific American, 315(2), 62–69.
• Shah, S. (2017). GMOs and Public Perception. Journal of Agricultural & Environmental Ethics, 30(5), 779–795.
• McWilliams, J. (2020). The Communication Strategies of GMO Advocacy and Opposition Groups. Food Policy, 94, 101906.
• Frewer, L. J., et al. (2013). Public perceptions of genetically modified foods: A review of the literature. Journal of Risk Research, 16(1), 7–29.
• Davies, S. (2019). Consumer Attitudes Toward GMOs and Organic Foods. Appetite, 133, 112–121.
• Hooker, N. (2018). Corporate messaging and public perception of biotechnology. Public Relations Review, 44(2), 251–259.
• Asilomar Conference on Recombinant DNA (1975). Principles for Safety in Genetic Engineering. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
• National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2016). Genetically Engineered Crops: Experiences and Prospects. The National Academies Press.