(Questions from pp. 114-116 of Aims)

• Who are my readers? How do I define them in terms of age, economic and social class, gender, education, and so forth?
• What typical attitudes or stances toward my topic do they have?
• What in their background or daily experiences helps to explain their point of view?
• What are they likely to know about my topic?
• How might they be uninformed or misinformed about it?
• How would they like to see the problem, question, or issue resolved, answered, or handled? Why? That is, what personal stake do they have in the topic?
• In what larger framework--religious, ethical, political, economic--do they place my topic? That is, what general beliefs and values are involved?

• Is the difference a matter of assumptions? If so, how can I shake my readers' confidence in their assumptions and offer another set of assumptions favorable to my position?
• Is the difference a matter of principle, the application of general rules to specific cases? If so, should I dispute the principle itself and offer a competing one the audience will also value? Or should I show why the principle should not apply in some specific instance relevant to my case?
• Is the difference a matter of a hierarchy of values--that is, do we value the same things, but to different degrees? If so, how might I restructure my readers' values?
• Is the difference a matter of ends or of means? If of ends, how can I show that my vision of what ought to be is better or that realizing my ends will also secure the ends my readers value? If a difference of means, how can I show that my methods are justified and effective, more likely to bear fruit than others?
• Is the difference a matter of interpretation? If so, how can I shake my readers' confidence in the traditional or common interpretation of something and show them that my interpretation is better, that it accounts for the facts more adequately?
• Is the difference a matter of implications or consequences? If so, how can I convince my readers that what they fear may happen will not happen, that it will not be as bad they think, or that other implications or consequences outweigh any negatives?

• Do we have a shared local identity--as members of the same organization, for example, or students at the same university?
• Do we share a more abstract, collective identity--as citizens of the same region or nation, as worshippers of the same religion, and so forth?
• Do we share a common cause--such as promoting the good of the community, preventing child abuse, or overcoming racial prejudice?
• Is there a shared experience or human activity--raising children, caring for aging parents, helping a friend in distress, struggling to make ends meet?
• Can we connect through a well-known event or cultural happening--a popular movie, a best-selling book, something in the news that would impress or concern both your readers and yourself?
• Is there a historical event, person, or document that we both respect?