Understanding Reader Expectations

Where are we going? How are we going to get there? Think like a Reader Map it out! Where are we going? How are we going to get there? Reader needs to know what to expect next on their journey and what it has to do with the whole picture: getting to a destination/arriving at the purpose

Writers must…. Readers Need… Provide clues about where the text is going Show how each part of text is related to what came before Unity and Coherence Old Information before New Information Forecasting and Fulfillment

Unity & Coherence Unity = Relationship between each part of an essay and the larger whole Coherence = Relationship between adjacent sentences, paragraphs and parts.

Thought Exercise A. Recent research has given us much deeper – and more surprising – insights into the father's role in childrearing. My family is typical of the east side in that we never had much money. Their tongues became black and hug out of their mouths. The back-to-basics movement got a lot of press, fueled by its fears of growing illiteracy and cultural demise. No coherence, no unity, just random sentences.

B. Recent research has given us much deeper – and more surprising – insights into the father’s role in childrearing. Childrearing is a complex process that is frequently investigated by psychologists. Psychologists have also investigated sleep patterns and dreams. When we are dreaming, psychologists have shown, we are often reviewing recent events in our lives. Coherence without Unity. Individual sentences do not develop the larger whole. Topic went from childrearing to dreams.

C. Recent research has given us much deeper – and more surprising – insights into the father’s role in childrearing. It shows that in almost all of their interactions with children, fathers do things a little differently from mothers. What fathers do – their special parenting – is not only highly complimentary to what mothers do, but is by all indications important in its own right. Coherent and unified. All parts relate to whole (unity) and clear sentence connections (coherence) = It makes sense

Old Info before New Info Readers move from old to new information = New Information is only relevant if it is linked to old information that is relevant. Example: Phone Book Directory Person’s Name = Old Information Person’s Phone Number = New Information

Thought Exercise You are a passenger on an airplane flight to Chicago and need to transfer to Flight 29 to Memphis. As you descend into Chicago, the flight attendant announces transfer gates. Which of the following formats is easier for you to process and why?

Option A: Option B: To Atlanta on Flight 29 Gate C12 To Dallas on Flight 35 Gate C25 To Memphis on Flight 16 Gate B20 Option B: Gate C12 Flight 29 to Atlanta Gate C25 Flight 35 to Dallas Gate B20 Flight 16 to Memphis

Forecasting and Fulfillment Readers Expect writers to Forecast what is coming and to fulfill those forecasts.

Thought Exercise The procedure is actually quiet simple. First, you arrange things into different groups. Of course, one pile may be sufficient depending on how much there is to do. If you go somewhere else due to lack of facilities, that is the next step; otherwise you are pretty well set. Next you operate the machines according to the instructions. After the procedure is completed, one arranges the materials into different groups again. Then they can be put in their appropriate places. Eventually, they will be used once more and the whole cycle will have to be repeated. However, that is part of life. Does it make sense? No of course not. Why??

????? No topic sentence! No context to provide reader with what to expect. Paragraph makes no FORECAST that can be fulfilled. Substitute opening sentences with: The procedure for washing clothes is actually quiet simple. Return to slide 12 substituting the first line with the one provided here and read paragraph again.

Ways to Forecast Effective Titles and Introductions Putting points at the beginning of Paragraphs Creating effective transitions and mapping sentences Using effective headings and subheadings (if appropriate for genre)

“We’re off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of Oz…..” Where are we going?? “We’re off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of Oz…..”

Forecast Transition #2 Fulfillment Transition #3 Transition #1 = Pauses/Yields Transition #2 The purpose: To get back home to Kansas. The Goal: To get to Emerald City to see the Wizard of Oz to get back home, a heart, brains, & Courage Fulfillment Transition #3 There’s no place like home