Vanessa Vaquerano (SSR #5)

In Mary Jo Reiffs article titled Rereading Invoked and Addressed Readers

Through a Social Lens: Toward a Recognition of Multiple Audiences, the author
argues that past theories and research on a writers audience is left ambiguous. Reiff
suggest that one should stray away from focused on the invoked and the
addressed aspects of an audience and to instead find the middle ground; a
multiple-audience perspective that incorporates the diversity and complexity of
readers.
Mary Jo Reiff states that, there is no agreed upon meaning of audience (407) after
further analyzing articles written by literary scholars. The recognition of multiple
audiences will further help me in my genre project. The purpose of choosing two
different genres is for the professor to see how well we incorporate the different
types of audiences in our work. My topics focus is on the decriminalization of
abortion in El Salvador. While my research paper included a lot of information in
essay format, the genre project will prove itself as a task that will test my abilities to
efficiently evoke the same message I wrote to a different style thats representative
of all types of audiences. Say I was to make a flier. It would be in my best interest to
not just focus on one type of audience. If I were to focus it on just my peers, it would
be hard for others to find what I am trying to display as interesting, which is not
something I want. Like Reiff argues, the audience deserves a system that allows for
fluidity. If I were to just focus on what students were to see, I would be stuck in this
bubble that leaves my proposition static. The multiple-audience perspective allows
more flexibility than following a rigid definition of audience (419). Reiff put it in a
way that my view of audience should be a negotiation. When choosing my genres I
should be aware of the immediate, primary and secondary audiences all at once. I do
agree with on this point. Its just about finding balance. I felt this was a good read
before I start my last WP. I feel like I have a better understanding on what types of
audiences I should be aware of. I also believe considering various audiences will
allow me to better understand a subject because Id be putting myself in different
shoes. This empirical view of audience Reiff argues for seems to be the one that will
provide the most success for writers as well as capture all arrays of different
audiences. Furthermore, I also agree with Reiff when she believes that instructors
should teach their students not to consider their audience but to consider their
various audiences (420). Being aware of different audiences proposes a new way
of thinking.
If you were to make this argument into a billboard, how would you go about it?
What problems would arise? Why do you think scholars like Park, Ede and Lunsford
had trouble finding a clear definition of the term audience? If you were to speak to
those authors in person, how might you convince them that your social theory of
audience is more efficient in short speech?