Writing for Whom? Cognition, Motivation, and a Writer's Audience

Abstract

When writers write, how do they decide to whom they are speaking? How does this decision affect writers’ cognition about writing? Their motivation to write? In this article, I review literature on cognitive and social processes of writing, conceptualizations of audience, writing across distinct learning environments, and writers’ motivations. I then show how understandings of audience can be linked to those of motivation and interest—and how this combination may bridge a traditional divide between research traditions. Finally, I examine the implications of bringing these areas of literature together; the necessity of re-examining the role of audience in light of new media-infused learning environments; and the opening of possible areas for future research in writing, audience, and motivation.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This article is based on the theoretical framework of my doctoral dissertation. A collaborative audience is central to my own writing process. I acknowledge the valuable critique and thoughtful insight that Erica Rosenfeld Halverson, Deborah Brandt, Jen Scott Curwood, Matthew Gaydos, Ryan Martinez, Damiana Gibbons, Gale Sinatra, and two anonymous reviewers contributed to various drafts of this article. I thank them for their thorough reading and ongoing support of these ideas.