specifically to concepts that you use. If the reader is likely to be unfamiliar
with them, explain them in the text then put them in a glossary for good
measure.
Delvers
Readers in the delving category have two special needs of a text. First, they
have special need for retrieval aids, being the parts of the book that enable a
reader to access information. Examples are tables of various sorts and
indexes.
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Second, they want the information in the text to be as complete as is necessary
to give them the information that they need. They are the class of reader that is
likely to be the most frustrated if the writer states something without giving
obvious or important details.
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Porers and Delvers
Many readers will be both porers and delvers. Accommodate this by
observing the pieces of advice above –
write to their level of understanding,
include the information that they seek and insert appropriate aids for retrieving
information.
Extending the Class
I look forward to seeing my plays staged so that I can find out what they
mean.
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While the basic advice is to write to the level of understanding and knowledge
of your intended readers, it is worth considering how much or how little effort
is needed to make a text available to additional classes of readers. Assume for
example that you are writing an article on the definition of land in the tort of
trespass to land. One possibility is that you do not state the elements of
trespass, but launch straight into discussion of land as an element of trespass.
This means that your text addresses those who already know something about
trespass. Alternatively, you could start by stating the elements of trespass,
indicating that land is one of them. This will orient and make the text accessible
to an additional number of readers, for example beginning law students, who
might otherwise be lost.
___________________
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Chapter 2 Functions of a Text. The relevant part is the discussion of
devices for retrieving information.
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Chapter 5 Characteristics of a Text. The relevant part is the
discussion of length, in particular the treatment of completeness.
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Tom Stoppard, playwright
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