Also known as the writer-reader contract. For our purposes, the mutual expectations both writers and readers have of each other. Writers expect (and Readers promise) to engage a text fully, to read and seek meaning with it. Readers expect (and Writers promise) not to waste the Reader’s time. A reader who scans over a text or offers a general summary has not fulfilled their obligations, and one might dismiss their interpretation as being reckless or ill-informed. A writer who writes poorly might be set aside unfinished.
In Roman times, Horace suggested that all texts should entertain (dulce) and/or offer instruction (utile). Later thinkers have created dozens of variations on these expectations. Many are particular to the written genre. For instance, a murder mystery novel violates the contract if it gives away the killer’s identity too early or it offers too few clues for reader’s to anticipate the solution.
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