This week you will be compiling a summary of potential topics. In Week Two, you will choose one topic and write two different essays aimed at using the same or similar information and research targeting two very different audiences: public policy advocates and business executives. To get you started, we will use this discussion to explore the various unique and overlapping needs of these groups. Pick a topic that has been in the news lately. Compose two short summaries of how or why this topic would be of interest to public policy advocates and business executives. Keep in mind that you choose one topic to address two audiences.

Your initial post should be at least 350 words in length. Support your claims with examples from required material(s) and/or other scholarly resources, and properly cite any references. Respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts by Day 7. Each response should be at least 125 words long. Consider how Section 1.4 in Chapter One on Understanding Genre might affect a choice of topic for different audiences.

Topic and Audience Analysis

The assigned readings for this week discuss how and why we address different audiences using different styles of writing or rhetorical situations.

Select three potential topics that you might write an essay about, and that would apply to both a public audience and a business audience. Review the “Rhetorical Context and the Audience” discussion for ideas. One of these topics will be the basis for your essay assignment in Week Three and Week Five. For each of the three topics, write a 350 word summary that contains:

• A description of the topic.
• An analysis of why the issue is important to a public policy advocates that includes at least one source appropriate to the audience and concludes with at least one specific action the audience might take.
• An analysis of why the issue is important to a business audience that includes at least one source appropriate to the audience and concludes with at least one specific action the audience might take.

Be sure to use APA style (including a cover page and reference pages) and include proper citations for all sources. Use direct quotations, paraphrasing, and/or summary when including ideas and materials from outside sources, including the text and other readings and videos. For information regarding APA, including samples and tutorials, visit the Ashford Writing Center.

Carefully review the Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.