The Writer's Audience Is Always a Fiction

Summary:

In Walter J. Ong's article, "The Writer's Audience Is Always a Fiction," he descrines the idea of an "audience" in a literary item. He starts by describing how in literature, oral and written verbalization are both important, but they are very different at the same time. Ong states that the concept of the audience is never impled, but in this article, he shows the difference between how the audience takes a writen versus an oral presentation.

Ong states that it is important to visualize or fictionalize who they want their audience to be. When performing an oral presentation, the performer may be able to change or manipulate its own work based on the audience's reactions towards what's being presented. On the other hand, when writing, the writing is not able to instantly know how the audience feels. That's why Ong believes that it is important to create a fictious audience in order to create a better connection between the writer and audience. As the article proceeds, Ong talks more about fictional audiences, and he gives several examples to demonstrate that the reader should know and connect with what the writing says.

Synthesis:

I agree with the author. When writing something, it is important to visualize our audience. For example, I am writing an essay to kids who like soccer, but the way in which I'm writing it seems that it is being directed to adults who like music. The kids who read this wil not only be confused, but there will not be a connection. Instead of doing this, it is important to know and understand who the audience of the essay will be. I believe that if the writing does not correspond to the audience, then there was no point in even writing it.