Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Jul 2012 Open Access

The Active Reader: What is Active?

Cees Van Woerkum

Abstract

How writers can adapt to their readers is an important issue in effective communication strategies, and certainly crucial in the case of functional texts. Therefore, it is necessary to look at how readers are constructed as partners in a communication co-production. This article explores the concept of the “active reader,” which is getting more and more attention nowadays. Its main aim is to present a typology of what this active readership means, in the phases before actual reading, in the reading phase, and in the after-reading phase. The elements of this typology are subsequently explicated. The article concludes with recommendations for writers who wish to use the concept of the active reader as a guideline.

Journal
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Published
2012-07-01
DOI
10.2190/tw.42.3.e
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