In another variation, students write letters with the same information to different readers and adjust the text of each letter according to audience. Another good way to help students write for different audiences is to publish children's writing. In her study, students who published their writing viewed the readers' reactions as important and helpful. When people read my book it's like they help me. When they read it, I get more ideas for another story.
Publishing takes many forms, some more appropriate for older students than for younger students.
Young students frequently appreciate seeing their writing displayed on a bulletin board in the classroom or bound into a book and placed in the library. Older students in middle school and high school are more likely to appreciate compositions and stories printed in school newsletters and literary journals or even in commercial magazines. When teachers develop assignments and strategies that sharpen students' sense of audience, the students learn the value of writing as a process of communication. Paper presented at the 34th Annual Meeting of the Conference on College Composition and Communication, 1983. Developing audience awareness.