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Audience may not be very important to creative or expository writings， but has been acknowledged as crucial to argumentative writings.As we have learned， audience consideration is important to arguments as arguments aim to convince or persuade a group of people of something.Therefore， it is important to understand what audience is so that we can find ways to appeal to them.In this section， we first introduce different ways to identify audience and then discuss how rhetorical appeals can be used to move the audience．
Roughly classifying your audience can give you a general framework with which you need for developing arguments.However， you need more specific details about your audience to develop a concrete and specific image of audience， which will further facilitate your choice of background information，logical reasoning，evidence，counterarguments， structure of argument， types of argument， word choice and tone of voice.The following dimensions are helpful in drawing out a specific and full image of audience．
1 .Cognitive Dimension． The cognitive dimension of audience refers to their knowledge about the subject or issue in your argument.Analyzing their knowledge level of the issue matters a great deal to arguments， especially when we are deciding how much and what background information we need to provide， what terms we need to define， or how complicated our logical reasoning can be.Normally the educational background of the audience， their experience with the issue， and their familiarity with the subject can determine their knowledge level．
2 .Emotional Dimension． The emotional dimension of audience includes the feelings， emotions， and attitudes that the audience holds toward our subject or the kind of position they are taking about our claim.This dimension can help writers easily distinguish target audience from the rest of people.We roughly divide emotions into positive emotions and negative emotions although there are some emotions that are neutral.For our sake of discussion here， we focus on these two emotional poles， which are easier for us to identify emotional attitudes of the audience.The positive emotional attitudes are those that are friendly， comfortable， safe， welcoming， etc， such as honor，hope， pride， joy， happiness， being appreciated， included， or respected.The negative emotional attitudes can be emotions such as hostile， discomfort， discontent， resistant，etc．， such as disgust， hate， anger， shame， loneliness.Identifying the emotional dimensions of audience， as stressed over and again in this book， can help writers determine the positioning of their claim or the structure of their argument， just to mention a few benefits．
3 .Value Dimension. Oftentimes， as the cognitive or emotional dimensions of audience are not easy to identify， we may use the value dimension to draw some specific images of our audience.As we all agree， people’s values and beliefs are greatly shaped by elements such as their gender， profession， age， sexual orientation， social class， religious background， political affiliations， hobbies， interests， etc.These elements shape the value dimensions of audience.In using these elements to determine the value dimension of audience， we need to heed two cautions.（a） It is unnecessary to include all of these elements into the value dimension because some elements are more relevant than others.（ b） When multiple elements are relevant to the value dimension， it is necessary to identify the primary element as the most important marker and treat the rest as secondary elements．
4 .Situational Dimension. The situation in which the audience receives our argument can also shape the image we draw about audience.If the audience is obligated to read our argument as part of their responsibilities， jobs， or research， then we call them obligatory audience.Many times our audience is voluntary and under no definite obligation to read our arguments.For the latter， we need to try harder to attract their attention or to motivate them to read our argument.Most often， in order to appeal to them， we should first identify their need to be interested in the issue or side with our argument.Therefore， the situational dimension， though not as so value-laden or dividing as the previous dimensions， is also helpful in shaping the kind of audience we are targeting．
Once we identify the cognitive， emotional， value， and situational dimensions of audience， we need to appeal to their values and emotions and select examples and reasons more accessible to our chosen audience.The rhetorical appeals， namely the logical appeals， credibility appeals， and emotional appeals， are appeals to audience.The following section highlights a few frequently-used appeals from these rhetorical appeals．
Appeal to Audience’s Needs and Values. Once we are clear about the needs and values of our audience， we need to turn this awareness or knowledge into substantial appeal to audience.We may address their needs and values directly and explicitly， or indirectly and implicitly.Depending on the type of audience， we may choose to address their needs and values immediately in the opening paragraphs or delay such consideration till later.Regardless of how we address their values and needs， such a move helps build common ground between us as writers/speakers and our audience， makes our audience feel more connected， and consequently enhances our writers’/speakers’ credibility．
Appeal to Audience’s Emotions. Values and beliefs are often built upon the foundation of emotions.Therefore， appealing to audience’ s emotions is often critical in shaping and changing audience’s mind.As we have learned， we can appeal to audience’s emotions through a number of ways， including using specific and concrete language，choosing words and metaphors of appropriate connotation， using specific examples and narratives， and using images appealing to audience.Beyond these strategies， writers need also be careful about what emotions to appeal to， where to position these emotional appeals， and how much emotional appeal is appropriate.Generally speaking， we tend to appeal to positive emotions and transform negative emotions， but sometimes appeal to negative emotions， such as anger or shame， can also be effective in motivating audience into actions.Positioning emotional appeals in the beginning can be helpful in getting extremely hostile or indifferent audience involved in the issue while emotional appeals at the end are usually more effective in rendering audience more connected with your position and further motivating audience into actions.Emotional appeals can be effective，but overuse of emotional appeals may sometimes kill your argument or turn your argument into a weak， sentimental piece of manipulating audience’s emotions．
Appeal to Reasoning Accessible to Audience. Once we learn the needs and values of our audience， we should choose methods of logical reasoning and supports that are accessible to audience.The choice of whether employing inductive or deductive reasoning， whether using narratives or citing research sources， which support to choose from the list of possible supports is largely decided by the cognitive and value dimensions of your audience．