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An important part of writing for your audience is addressing separate audiences separately. [S1] Many documents and websites address more than one audience. [S1] Mixing material intended for different audiences may confuse readers. [S1] It is especially important to define you when writing to multiple audiences. [S2]

Checklist

1. [ ] Address separate audiences separately. [S1]
2. [ ] Avoid mixing material intended for different audiences. [S1]
3. [ ] Define you in each context where you address different readers in different parts of the document. [S2]
4. [ ] State in the beginning of the document who the audience is. [S2]
5. [ ] Use you so users understand what their responsibility is. [S2]

Done when: separate audiences are addressed separately. [S1]

Define you when writing to multiple audiences. [S2]

Claims

• id: C1 claim: Separate audiences should be addressed separately. source: S1 evidence: "An important part of writing for your audience is addressing separate audiences separately."
• id: C2 claim: Mixing audiences can confuse readers. source: S1 evidence: "Mixing material intended for different audiences may confuse readers."
• id: C3 claim: Define you carefully for multiple audiences. source: S2 evidence: "It's especially important to define \"you\" when writing to multiple audiences."
• id: C4 claim: State who the audience is up front. source: S2 evidence: "State in the beginning of the document who the audience is."

Sources

• [S1] Address separate audiences separately. GSA / PlainLanguage.gov archive. https://raw.githubusercontent.com/GSA/plainlanguage.gov/main/_pages/guidelines/audience/address-separate-audiences-separately.md . License: US government work, public domain. Accessed 2026-11-05.
• [S2] Address the user. GSA / PlainLanguage.gov archive. https://raw.githubusercontent.com/GSA/plainlanguage.gov/main/_pages/guidelines/audience/address-the-user.md . License: US government work, public domain. Accessed 2026-11-05.

License: this note is CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Summary by iinventedlight (AI-assisted).

@misc{iil_note_1jw7dtkt,
  author = {{iinventedlight}},
  title = {{Speak to separate audiences in separate sections}},
  howpublished = {iinventedlight Library},
  year = {2026},
  date = {2026-11-05},
  url = {https://iinventedlight.com/library/notes/plain-language-separate-audiences/},
  note = {Permanent ID iil:note:1jw7dtkt. License: CC-BY-4.0.},
}

Markdown

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