Purpose, audience, and context

Question 1

Read the excerpt below: "Dear City Council, as you consider the upcoming budget, I urge you to allocate 200,000 to expand the free bike‑share program. Recent studies show that every 1,000 invested yields a 15% reduction in traffic congestion and cuts carbon emissions by 2.3 tons annually. By supporting this initiative, our community will become a model for sustainable urban living." Which statement correctly identifies the intended audience and purpose of the text, and explains how the language choices support that identification?

Accepted Answer

The audience is the city council members, and the purpose is to persuade them to fund the bike‑share program; the writer uses a formal greeting, direct request language (“I urge you”), and specific statistics to appeal to policymakers.

Answer

The audience is the general public, and the purpose is to inform them about the benefits of bike‑sharing; the writer presents facts and uses inclusive words like “our community,” but does not address a specific decision‑maker.

Answer

The audience is high‑school students, and the purpose is to teach them how to write persuasive letters; the writer includes data and a call to action, which are examples of persuasive techniques.

Answer

The audience is local business owners, and the purpose is to sell them memberships in the bike‑share program; the mention of budget allocation and community reputation is meant to entice businesses to invest.

Question 2

Both passages discuss the same new discovery about a plant that can clean polluted water. One is a newspaper article and the other is a scientific report. Which statement best describes how the newspaper article differs from the scientific report in terms of register (tone) and structure?

Accepted Answer

The newspaper article uses a casual, persuasive tone with short paragraphs and a catchy headline, while the scientific report uses a formal, objective tone and is organized into sections such as Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion.

Answer

Both the newspaper article and the scientific report use the same formal language, but the newspaper article is longer because it includes more background stories.

Answer

The scientific report uses a playful tone and short sentences, whereas the newspaper article follows a strict section‑by‑section format with technical headings.

Answer

Both texts have identical structures, but the newspaper article includes more tables and graphs than the scientific report.

Question 3

You read a short excerpt from a newspaper article written in 1876 about the invention of the telephone. Why does knowing the historical time when the article was written help you understand the text better?

Accepted Answer

It explains why the writer uses formal, scientific language and emphasizes progress.

Answer

It tells you exactly how many phones were sold that year.

Answer

It reveals the writer’s favorite sports team.

Answer

It shows the current price of a telephone today.

Try three questions

Both passages discuss the same new discovery about a plant that can clean polluted water. One is a newspaper article and the other is a scientific report. Which statement best describes how the newspaper article differs from the scientific report in terms of register (tone) and structure?

You read a short excerpt from a newspaper article written in 1876 about the invention of the telephone. Why does knowing the historical time when the article was written help you understand the text better?

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