In a nutshell: Audience = the people a text is written for. Every writer aims their words at someone — spot who, and the choices make sense.
Imagine you tell two people about the same film.
To your little cousin: “It's about a fish who gets lost, and his dad finds him!”
To your friend: “It starts slow, but honestly it looks amazing.”
Same film — but you picked completely different words, because the person you were talking to changed. That's audience. Writers do exactly the same thing.
Four clues to the audience
Vocabulary
Simple words = young/wide. Slang = a group. Jargon = experts. ‘chipset’ → tech fans.
References
Mentions of games, brands or places show who's meant to recognise them.
Tone
Chatty = friends/teens. Formal = a serious or older reader.
What's assumed
Whatever the writer doesn't explain, they expect you to know already.
Words · references · tone · what's assumed
The skill: Link a choice to the audience: ‘the slang ‘lush’ suits teenagers, making them feel the brand is one of them.’ That's the move.
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Why it matters in the exam: Strong answers link choices to a specific audience, not a vague ‘the reader’.
Who is this advert aimed at, and how does one choice target them? “New drop. Limited pairs. Cop them before they're gone.”
Model answer plan
See the mark-by-mark plan — for / against / judgement, with marking guidance — in study mode.
Watch out: ‘The audience is everyone’ is too vague. Name the specific group so you can explain the choices.