The Transactional Theory of Reading and Writing

Four components connect each individual in the transactional model.  Reading  Writing  Experience  Communication between author and readers

Reading  Transacting with text Perception depends on the viewer’s selection and organization of visual cues according to past experiences, expectations, needs, and interests. (Ruddell, p1369)

Reading The Readers Stance 1). Efferent —The meaning results from abstracting out and analytically structuring the ideas, information, directions, or conclusions to be retained, used, or acted on after the reading event. (Ruddell, p.1373) 2). Aesthetic-- The aesthetic reader pays attention to- savors-the qualities of the feelings, ideas, situations, scenes, personalities, and emotions that are called forth and participates in the tensions, conflicts, and resolutions of the images, ideas and scenes as they unfold. (Ruddell, p. 1373)

The Continuum Efferent and aesthetic reflect the two main ways of looking at the world—scientifically and artistically. (Ruddell, p. 1374) Everyone takes one of these stances when choosing to read. These stances can be intertwined, or one can be dominate. These stances can be conscious or unconscious. Stances can be public or private.

Evocation, Response, Interpretation Evocation—an object of thought; how we feel as we are reading Response—2 kinds 1). Second Stream of Response—momentary; felt as a general state 2). Expressed Response—What the reading means to you (the reader) (Ruddell, p. 1376) Interpretation—arriving at a sense for the whole. This is how it should be interpreted.

Writing Writing transaction—the writer is always transacting with a personal, social, and cultural environment. (Ruddell, p ) This is very important to what one will read and/or write.

Writing The writers stance—is a function of the circumstances, motives, the subject, and the relation between writer and reader. (Ruddell, p. 1380) One would not write a letter to the insurance company explaining a car accident, as they would write an e- mail to a friend telling them about the accident.

Writing about texts In general, is an efferent stance. Aesthetic may be adopted to communicate an experience, expressing response, or interpretation. (Ruddell, p. 1381) With the letter to the insurance company about an accident, one may need to take an aesthetic approach to get across how scared one was, or how shocked.

A Writers Reading Two kinds of authorial reading 1). Expression-oriented authorial reading leads to revision as the new words appear on the page. To the writer (authorial reader), the words must be tested for intention and purpose. (Ruddell, p. 1382) 2). Reception-oriented reading is when the writer at some point, dissociates with the text, and reads it through the eyes of potential readers. This is a hypothetical interpretation, and must be checked against the writer’s own inner sense of purpose. (Ruddell, p. 1383)

Experiences Our experiences every day make up our language, which in turn provides for linguistic transactions. These linguistic transactions will account for how we read, how we write, and what we say. (Ruddell, p. 1367) Some examples of linguistic transactions are: A conversation Comments Questions Facial expressions

Communication between author and readers Validity of Interpretation—How valid is the interpretation? The same text takes on different meanings in transactions with different readers, or even with the same reader in different contexts or times. (Ruddell, p. 1384)

Communication between author and readers Warranted Assertibility—when given shared criteria concerning methods of investigation and kinds of evidence, there can be agreement concerning the decision as to what is a sound interpretation of the evidence, or a “Warranted assertion” (Ruddell, p. 1385)

Communication between author and readers Criteria for the efferent-aesthetic continuum—is the idea that because we can choose on a range of efferent-aesthetic, it becomes important for writers to provide clear indications as to what stance they have chosen and for readers to be sensitive to the writer’s purpose, and to apply relevant criteria. (Ruddell, p. 1386)

Communication between author and readers “Literary” aspects of Efferent Reading-is the idea that the stance we take as readers/listeners/writers, will determine the appropriate criteria. (Ruddell, p. 1386) When a politician is talking about the “wave of the future”, more than likely we, as listeners, will not start daydreaming about waves on the beach, and imagining what the sand beneath our toes would feel like. We will remain at an efferent stance.

References Rosenblatt, L. M. (1994). The Transactional Theory of Reading and Writing. In Ruddell, R. B., & Unrau, N. J. (2004) Theoretical Models and Processes of Reading. (pp ). Newark, DE: International Reading Association