Expectations: Teaching Writing from the Reader's Perspective

by George David Gopen

By exploring and explaining the perceptive patterns that readers of English follow in their interpretive process, this rhetoric approaches the task of teaching writing from the perspective of readers. As a result, students learn how to write with conscious knowledge of reader's expectations. Gopen Expect SMP 3.16.03 rev.doc Page 1 of 1

Genres: Writing

416 pages, Paperback

First published January 17, 2004

About the author

George David Gopen is Professor Emeritus of the Practice of Rhetoric at Duke University. He taught for 30 years in the English Department, part-time at the Law School (16 years), and as a lecturer to faculty on his Reader Expectation Approach (REA) to Writing in the English Language. He is known worldwide for his writing seminars and for his seminovular article, "The Science of Scientific Writing," published in 1990 by American Scientist. The article leads that journal's citation index and was selected as one of 36 "Classic Articles" from the first century of the publication.

Gopen received an award from the Legal Writing Institute for his lifelong efforts to improve legal writing. He has published five books and 80 articles. Forty-two of these articles were published quarterly for the American Bar Association's Litigation journal.

Gopen signed a three-book contract with Anthem Press, London, in February of 2026. The first book of that series is an update and expansion of the 1990 American Scientist article and will be titled "The New Science of Scientific Writing." It is set for release in June of 2026 with 17 translations forthcoming.

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

The genius of this book lies in the fact that it makes you think two seemingly contradictory things simultaneously: "I know this stuff; this is obvious" and "Why didn't I realise any of this stuff before?". Highly recommended for anyone wishing to communicate in the written form more successfully.

[Philip · Rating 5 out of 5]

Indispensable. Nearly every page presents a real passage just like the ones I constantly read (and write), and clearly dissects why that passage will fail to achieve its goal with many readers. Gopen then offers multiple revisions that make it clear that there were various different author intentions potentially lurking behind that passage (all but one probably invisible to the author), and explains how to make sure that the right one gets across.

Instead of rigid prescriptions, Gopen carefully explains how crafting carefully structured sentences clarifies the writer's own thinking and guides her ideas on their perilous journey into a reader's mind. He offers a concerete plan of action that will help anyone to write (or teach others to write) much more clearly.

[Rie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a game changer in the writing and communication.
The takeaways are the same as what you probably got from high-school writing classes. But the author walks through every logics behind. I really really admire the author, although sometimes he gets so wordy. But he is one of the few authors whose every sentence makes sense to me. You can't afford to miss any words from the book.