The transactional model: The transactional theory of reading and writing

Today we publish a peculiar text by the American researcher, critic, professor, and creator.
Louise Michelle Rosenblatt (1904-2005), titled The Transactional Model: The Theory
transactional nature of reading and writing. In it, the author outlines the fundamental keys of her
theory about the relationship experienced by the triad reader, text, and context; clarifying the reading
as a very complex transactional activity where emotional experiences are combined and
reader's experiences together with the cognitive and properly referential exposed by the
texts, all framed within the sociocultural characteristics imposed by the context that
surrounds the reading process.

Louise M. Rosenblatt studied at Barnard College of Columbia University, New York.

He obtained a PhD in Comparative Literature at the University of Paris (Sorbonne) in 1931.
He met and shared with scholars of the caliber of Margaret Mead and John Dewey. His particular
theory about reading -as she herself has acknowledged- is indebted to thought and work
by Charles S. Peirce, J. Dewey, and William James.

To date, we believe that among the texts he published, those in Spanish can be found.
following:

Literature as Exploration. Fondo de Cultura Económica, 2002. Mexico.

The Transactional Model: The transactional theory of reading and writing. Texts in
context. 1. The processes of reading and writing, 1996. Buenos Aires: Reading and Life, Association
International Reading.

His books, in their original language, are:

Literature as Exploration (1938). Literature as Exploration. New York: Appleton-Century;
(1968). New York: Noble and Noble; (1976). New York: Noble and Noble; (1983). New York:
Modern Language Association; (1995). New York: Modern Language Association.
Research development seminar in the teaching of English. New York: New York University
Press. (1963).
The Reader, The Text, The Poem: The Transactional Theory of the Literary Work
Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press (1978). Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois
University Press (reprint 1994).
Making Meaning with Texts: Selected Essays (2005)

However, his work is quite extensive, much of which is spread across publications.
periodicals and specialized compilations in English. Some of them are:
Toward a cultural approach to literature, in College English, 7, 459-466. (1946).
The enriching values of reading
communication(pp. 19-38). Freeport, NY: Books for Libraries. (1949).
The acid test in the teaching of literature
"The poem as event" in College English, 26, 123-8. (1964).
"A way of happening", inEducational Record, 49, 339-346. (1968).
Towards a transactional theory of reading, in Journal of Reading Behavior, 1(1), 31-51.
(1969)
Literature and the invisible reader, in The Promise of English: NCTE 1970 distinguished
lectures.Champaign, IL: National Council of Teachers of English. (1970).
 What facts does this poem teach you?
The transactional theory of the literary work: Implications for research
Cooper. (Ed.), Researching response to literature and the teaching of literature. Norwood, NJ:
Ablex. (1985).
Viewpoints: Transaction versus interaction — a terminological rescue operation
in Research in the Teaching of English, 19, 96-107. (1985).
The aesthetic transaction
Literary Theory, in J. Flood, J. Jensen, D. Lapp, & J. Squire (Eds.), Handbook of
research on teaching the English language arts(pp. 57-62). New York: Macmillan. (1991).

We must encourage the child's delight in the music of words, but we must also help him connect
experiences and concepts defined by those sounds as they occur in different contexts; must come to understand
more and more what a word implies in the outside world. (...). Perhaps adolescent students are often
hermetic to the allure of literature because for them words do not represent sensory, emotional perceptions
and intense intellectuals. This indicates that throughout their education, the element of perception and personal experience
has been neglected in favor of verbal abstractions.

L. R. Literature as exploration.

THE TRANSACTIONAL MODEL:

The transactional theory of reading and writing (*)

LOUISE M. ROSENBLATT
New York University

Terms such as the reader, although convenient, are misleading fictions. The reader
horn a generic term, the literary work as a generic term also does not exist. In reality,
there are only millions of possible individual readers of individual literary pieces… The
The reading of any literary work is, necessarily, a unique and individual fact that is perceived
only in the mind and emotions of a particular reader (Rosenblatt, 1938/1983).

This assertion, first published in Literature as Exploration

exploration) in 1938, I find it especially important to reiterate when presenting a 'model'
theoretical" of the reading process. A theoretical model is by definition an abstraction, or a guideline
generalized conceived with the aim of elaborating a certain topic. It is therefore crucial
recognize, as I said, that while we can generalize about the similarities between a process
or another, we cannot overlook the fact that in reality there are only countless
independent transactions that each reader engages with the text.

Trying to understand how we construct the meanings called novels, poems, pieces
theatrical, I discovered that I had conceived a theoretical model that encompasses all types of reading.
Ten years in charge of literature and composition courses had preceded such a statement, and they
I had been allowed to observe different readers exposed to a wide range of texts.
"literary" and "non-literary," which were analyzed, kept notes of the texts during the reading itself,
they transcribed their spontaneous reactions on paper and wrote reflection essays. And even more
decades of such observations preceded the publication of The reader, the text, the poem
reader, the text, the poem) (Rosenblatt, 1978), when the presentation was open to criticism
completion of the theory and its implications.

That is to say, the theory arises from a process very suitable for pragmatic philosophy.
It represents. The problem surfaced in a practical situation, in the classroom. The repeated observation of
relevant episodes led to the formulation of hypotheses that constitute the theory of the process of
reading, and these in turn were applied, tested, confirmed or reviewed in light of new
observations.

Fortunately, while I specialized in English language and comparative literature, I stayed

in contact with the forefront of various disciplines. The interpretation of these observations in
different readers were enriched by a variety of diverse perspectives —literary and social history,
philosophy, aesthetics, linguistics, psychology, and sociology—. The knowledge of anthropology gives him/her
they infused a particularly important aspect. Ideas were conceived that in some cases only
They recently achieved acceptance. It seems necessary, therefore, to start by establishing some of
the postulates and basic concepts that support the transactional theory of the reading process. This
it will also involve the presentation of the transactional point of view on the drafting process and
the relationship between the author and the reader.

The transactional paradigm

Transaction

The terms transaction and transactional are in accordance with a philosophical stance that each has.
more acceptance in the 20th century. A new paradigm in science (Kuhn, 1970) made it necessary
a change in habits regarding our way of conceiving the relationship with the world around us.
For three hundred years, Descartes and his dualistic view of being as distinct from nature.
for example, sufficed to account for the Newtonian paradigm in physics. The being, or 'subject', was
separated from the perceived 'object'. They sought 'objective' facts, completely free of
subjectivity, and it was believed possible to capture the 'reality' directly and immediately. The theory of
Einstein and the evolution of subatomic physics revealed the need to recognize that, as
As Neils Bohr explained (1959), the observer is part of the observation, human beings are part
of nature. Even the facts of physics depend to some extent on interests, the
hypotheses and observer technologies. It became evident that the human organism is the mediator
last of all perception of the world or of all sense of "reality".

John Dewey and his pragmatic epistemology responded to the new paradigm. This is how Dewey,
together with Arthur F. Bentley, they began to create a new terminology in Knowing and
the Known (Knowledge and the Known) (1949). Both believed that the term 'interaction' is
was too closely associated with the old positivist paradigm in which each unit or element was
separately predetermined, like "thing balanced against thing" and its "interaction" was studied.
They, on the other hand, chose 'transaction' to say 'non-fragmented observation' of the situation.
in its entirety. "Descriptive" and "designating" systems are used to "deal with the aspects
and phases of the action, without ultimately attributing them to 'elements' or 'entities', 'essences' or 'realities'
presumably separable or independent” (p. 108). The knower, the knowledge, and the known
are distinguished as aspects of a 'single process'. Each element conditions and is
conditioned by the other in a situation developed in a reciprocal manner (Rosenblatt, 1985b).

The new paradigm requires abandoning established thought habits. The old dualisms
stimulus-response, subject-object, individual-social yield to the recognition of relationships
transactional. The human being is considered a part of nature, continuously in
transaction with the environment and each one determines the other. Where perhaps with greater clarity it has been
Assimilating the transactional way of thinking is in ecology. Human activities and relationships.
transactions are considered in which the individual and social elements merge with the
cultural and natural elements. Many current authors may differ on their implications.
metaphysical but do consider it necessary to accept the new paradigm.[1]

The language

The transactional concept is closely tied to the understanding of language.

Traditionally, language was considered, first and foremost, as an autonomous system or code, a
set of arbitrary rules and conventions that speakers and authors rely on; a
instrument, a code that is printed in the minds of readers and listeners. Although the approach
transactional is accepted, this way of thinking —so ingrained— continues to operate in a
tacit or explicit in many of the texts related to teaching, research, and theory.
[2]

That vision of language, essential for the transactional model of reading, has a debt of
gratitude to the philosopher John Dewey but owes even more to his contemporary Charles Sanders
Peirce, who is recognized as the American founder of semiotics or semiology, the
study of verbal and non-verbal signs. Peirce coined concepts that differentiate the perspective
transactional language and reading, from structuralist and post-structuralist theories
(especially deconstructionism). These reflect the influence of that other great of the
semiotics, the Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure (Culler, 1982).

Saussure (1972) differentiated concrete speech (parole) from the abstractions of the
linguists (language), but emphasized the arbitrary nature of signs minimizing the aspect
referential. Even more important was his formulation of the dyad 'signifier-signified', that is
the relationship between word and concept. This aspect encouraged the view of language as a system
independent and autonomous (Rosenblatt, 1993).

On the contrary, Peirce (1933, 1935) developed a triadic formulation. 'A sign,' Peirce wrote,
it is in joint relation with the thing it denotes and with the mind...” The “sign is related to
its object only as a consequence of a mental association, and depends on habit" (3.360).
references indicate the volume and paragraph number). The triad constitutes a symbol. Peirce in
Repeated occasions refer to the human context of meaning. It is clear that their intention does not...
it was important to highlight the concept of 'mind' as an entity since it typically spoke of a nexus
set between sign, object and 'interpretant', which should be understood as a mental operation and
Not like the aforementioned entity (6.347). The triad of Peirce's model supports language, without a place for
doubts, in the transactions of each human being with their world.

The most recent descriptions by neurologists and other scientists about the functioning of
brains seem to follow Peirce's opinion and although they deal with a level that is not essential to the
The theoretical effects of our work are an interesting endorsement. "Many prominent scientists,
including Dr. Francis Crick, believe that the brain creates unified circuits by making
distant components oscillate at a common frequency” (Appenzeller, 1990:6-7). Neurologists
they speak of a 'convergence zone of third parties' — which would seem to be a version
neurological of Peirce's interpretant—, which mediates between the convergence zones of the word and
the concept” (Damasio, 1989:123-132). The studies conducted with children about the acquisition
The language backs the triad of Peirce, and concludes that a vocalization or sign becomes a word,
and verbal symbol, when the sign and its object or referent are linked by the same "state"
"organic" (Werner and Kaplan, 1962).
Although language is often defined as a system of communication of social origin,
the true communicating vessels of any society, the concept of the triad reminds us that
language always results from a human being who internalizes it when entering into transaction with a
environment in particular. While Vygotsky recognizes the social context, this does not prevent him
emphasize the role of the individual: the 'meaning of a word' is 'the sum of all events'
psychological that such word awakens in our consciousness. It is a complex, fluid whole and
dynamic that has several zones of unstable equilibrium. The meaning —that is, the reference— is
only one of the areas of meaning, the most stable and precise. A word acquires its meaning from
from the context in which it appears; in different contexts, it changes meaning (1962:46).

Vygotsky postulated 'the existence of a dynamic system of meaning, in which the affective and the
intellectuals come together." The child's earliest verbalizations clearly represent a fusion of
processes that will later branch into partial referential, emotional, and associative processes
The child learns to differentiate the different aspects of 'meaning'
associated with a sign, to decontextualize it and to recognize the public aspect of language, the
collective language system. This, however, does not eliminate the other dimensions of meaning. A
The act of language cannot be conceived as absolutely affective or cognitive, or as
absolutely public or private (Bates, 1979:65-66).

Bates elaborates the useful metaphor of the 'iceberg' as the total meaning of a word for a subject: the
The visible tip represents what I call the public aspect of meaning, which rests on the
submerged base of private meaning. “Public” designates uses or meanings that appear in the
dictionaries. The multiple meanings indicated for the same word reflect the fact that
the same sign takes on different meanings at different times and in social contexts,
cultural or personal differences. In other words, "public" refers to the uses assigned by
certain groups of people and that another individual shares.

It is noteworthy that 'public' and 'private' are not synonyms for 'cognitive' and 'affective'.
words can have publicly shared affective connotations. Private associations
each person's word may or may not correspond to the connotations it has for them
group, although these last ones must also be acquired individually. The words
unavoidably involve for each person a mixture of both public and private elements
Vados, the base and also the tip of the semantic iceberg.

For the person, therefore, language is that part, or set of characteristics, of the public system.
that has internalized through his own experiences with words in life situations
The lexical concepts must be shared by speakers of a common language... and without
embargo, there is room for a considerable difference from person to person in terms of what it does to the
details of any concept” (Miller and Johnson-Laird, 1976:700). The remainder of all the
the past transactions of a person, particularly the social and natural contexts, constitute what
it can well be called a reservoir of linguistic experiences. William James suggests in
particular the presence of a language aura that accumulates experiences.

Expression of quantity of postulated, attitudes, and consolidated expectations regarding language and
world, this inner capital is all that each of us has as a reference for speaking,
listen, write or read. We give meaning to a new situation or transaction and grant new
meanings applying, reorganizing, reviewing or extending the public or private elements
that we have selected from our own reservoir of linguistic experiences.
Linguistic transactions
Face-to-face communication —such as a conversation in which one speaker explains something to another
persona— can you provide a simplified example of the transactional nature of any activity
Linguistics. A conversation is a temporary activity, a back-and-forth process. Each person
it arrives at the transaction with an individual story, which manifests in what has been called
a reservoir of linguistic experiences. The verbal signs are the air vibrations ori-
generated by a speaker. Both the speaker and the person to whom he is speaking, permanently
they contribute to the entirety of the spoken text (even if the listener remains silent) and to the interpretation
that the text demands as it progresses. Each one must build a certain sense of the other person.
Each one does it based on a specific reservoir of linguistic experiences. The situation in
issue - which can be social and personal - as well as the environment and the occasion of the
conversation in themselves, feel the guidelines or establish the limits of the framework or the general topic
and, therefore, also of the references and implications of verbal signs. The speaker and their
listeners generate new guidelines that delimit them through facial expressions, tones of voice and
gestures. In addition to such non-verbal indications of the constant mutual interpretation of the text, the
the listener can ask questions or make comments. The speaker, therefore, constantly receives
help to evaluate and confirm, review or expand the text and, consequently, speaker and listener
they are shaping it in a transactional way.

The first words of a conversation, far from being static, may have taken on a
different meaning at the end of the exchange. And the attitudes, the mood, even the traits
manifestations of personality may have undergone a change. Moreover, the oral text can be
interpreted differently by each of the participants in the conversation.

But how can we apply the transactional model of conversation to the relationship between writers?
and readers, when so many of the elements that contribute to oral transaction are absent: the
physical presence, the opportunity, the specific environment, non-verbal behaviors, tones of
voice, etc.? The signs written on the page are all that the writer and the reader have at their disposal.
scope to compensate for the absence of these other elements. The reader focuses attention on a
element of the environment with which it makes a transaction, specifically with the signs that
they appear on the page, with the text.

Despite all those important differences, speaking, reading, and writing share a
same basic process: the transaction through a text. In any linguistic instance,
speakers and listeners as well as writers and readers only have their reservoirs of
linguistic experiences as a basis for interpretation. Every interpretation or every meaning
new imply a restructuring or extension of the language's corpus of experiences—both oral
as written— to make themselves present. In terms of Peirce, the connections between sign,
object and interpretant must lay the groundwork to establish new connections, or in other words, new
structures of meaning. Instead of an interaction similar to that caused when the
billiard balls push against each other, a transaction has occurred, conceived in exchange
like reverberation, rapid oscillation, like combinations and mutual conditioning.

Selective attention

William James' concept of "selective attention" illustrates this process very well. During the
the first half of this century (20th), a combination of behaviorism and positivism led to neglect
this concept, but since the 1970s psychologists have reaffirmed its importance
James (1890) tells us that we are constantly devoted to
a "choice activity" that is called "selective attention" (I.284). We are faced with a
permanent selection of that flow or field of consciousness 'thanks to the activating action and
attention inhibitor" (Y.288). This function is sometimes referred to as "the cocktail phenomenon":
we are in a room full of people where many conversations happen at the same time,
we focus our attention only on one of them at a time and the other conversations are part of the
background noise. We can direct our selective attention towards a more or less broad area of that
field. Thus, although linguistic activity involves a kinesthetic, cognitive, and affective matrix
associational, that which is referred to the background or suppressed and that which becomes conscious and
it is organized in a meaning depending on where selective attention is focused.

The concept of transaction will prevent falling into the mistake of considering selective attention as a
mechanical selection among a range of fixed entities, considering it instead as a
dynamic approach to certain areas or certain aspects of the contents of consciousness. It should not
to assume that the linguistic reservoir encompasses verbal signs linked to fixed meanings
if you reserve fluid possible triads of symbolizations. Such residual links of the sign, the
significant and the organic state, as will be seen, become real symbolizations as
selective attention comes into play under the shaping influence of certain moments and
special circumstances.

In the linguistic fact, any process will also be affected by the physical and emotional state.
of the person —fatigue or stress, focused or wandering attention, intense or superficial—. In the debate that
It is proposed below that such factors enter into the transaction and affect quality.
of the process we are analyzing.

The paradoxical situation is that the reader only has those marks inscribed in black and white on the
leaf as the only means to reach the meaning, and that meaning can be constructed only
resorting to the reader's personal experiences, both linguistic and from their own life. Given
that a text must first be written down in order to be read, logic would seem to dictate that it must
start with an analysis of the writing process. It cannot be denied that the writer seeks to express
a something, but its goal is to communicate with a reader (even if it were the writer himself that
intended to preserve its ideas or experiences for future reference). Typically, the text is
addressed to others and, therefore, a certain sense of the reader is implicit in the writing process, or to
Less a certain sense of the fact that the text will always undergo a reading process. For
Finally, I will describe the reading process first and then the writing process. Subsequently,
I will address the issues of communication and the validity of interpretation before moving on to consider
their relationship with teaching and research.

The reading process

Transaction with the text

The concepts of transaction, the transactional nature of language, and selective attention
They can now be applied to the analysis of the reading process. Every act of reading is an event,
or a transaction that involves a particular reader and a particular pattern of signs, a text,
what happens at a particular moment and within a particular context. Instead of two entities
fixed that act on one another, the reader and the text are two aspects of a dynamic situation
total. The 'meaning' does not exist 'in advance' 'in' the text or 'in' the reader, but is awakened or
Acquire entity during the transaction between the reader and the text.

The term "text" in this analysis denotes, therefore, a set of signs capable of being
interpreted as verbal symbols. Far from already having a meaning that can be imposed on
all readers, the text is simply marks on paper, an object in the environment, until
some reader makes a transaction with it. The term 'reader' implies a transaction with a
text; the term 'text' implies a transaction with a reader. The 'meaning' is what
It happens during the transaction. Hence the fallacy of believing them to be separate and distinct entities instead of
of factors in a global situation.

The concept that brands themselves hold meaning is hard to dismiss. However,
we know that the brands that appear on a page, for example the word 'pain', for a
A French reader will connect with the concept of bread and an English reader with the concept of physical pain or
mental suffering. A sentence that Noam Chomsky (1968:27) made famous will allow us to understand
It accounts for the fact that not even the syntax has a previously given entity in the signs of the text but
that depends on the results of the specific transactions.

Flying planes can be dangerous

(Airplanes in flight can be dangerous)

Flying planes can be dangerous

In fact, only after selecting a meaning can we deduce the syntax from
of the same. Normally, factors that enter into the total transaction, such as the context and the
The reader's purpose will determine the choice of meaning for the reader. Even if this person...
It recognizes the different syntactic possibilities, these factors still prevail. This raises doubts.
about the concept that the syntactic level, due to its lesser complexity, necessarily
always precedes semantics in the reading process. The transactional situation suggests that the
meaning implies a syntax and that there is a reciprocal process in which are involved the
broader aspects that guide the choice.

Here we see the difference between physical text, defined as a pattern of signs, and what
it is usually called 'the text', a set of verbal symbols with a syntactic pattern that
assume entity during the transaction with the signs arranged on the page.

When we see a set of such marks on a page, we believe that they should lead to
to a meaning that is more or less coherent. We draw on our accumulation of experiences
to verify it. Multiple internal alternatives vibrate with the signs. Not only the triads of links
not only with the signs but also certain states of the organism, or certain ranges of feelings enter
in motion in the reservoir of linguistic experiences. From these activated areas, attention
selective - conditioned, as we have seen, by multiple physical, personal, social factors and
cultural elements that participate in the situation - choose the elements to organize and synthesize in what
will constitute a 'meaning'. The elections will likely have been held simultaneously, to
to the extent that 'enter into transaction', so to speak, the various 'levels' that condition each other
to others.

Reading —citing James's phrase— is an "activity of choices." From the beginning

same, and often even before, a possible feeling, a certain expectation, idea or goal, not
no matter how diffuse it is at the beginning, it starts the reading process and transforms it into that impulse of
constant self-critical review that guides selection, synthesis, and organization. The reservoir of the
linguistic experiences reflect the personal, social, and cultural history of the reader. The experience
past with language and with different texts generates expectations; other factors are also the
current situation of the reader and their interests. During the thorough analysis of the developing text, at
the light of past syntactic and semantic experience, the reader looks for keys on which to base
your expectations regarding what is to come. The text as a verbal guideline, as we have already said, is part
of what is under construction. Possibilities arise in relation to the general type of meaning
that perhaps is being created, and that affects the choices of diction, syntactic and linguistic as
as well as literary conventions.
As the reader's eyes glide over the page, the newly evoked symbolizations go
checking if there is a correspondence with the possible meanings already generated for the for-
The previous section of the text. Each new choice points to certain options and excludes others, in such a way
that even while "meaning" evolves, the selection, the drive for synthesis constantly goes
being formed and verified. If the marks inscribed on the page evoke elements that
they cannot be assimilated within the emerging synthesis, the guiding principle or framework is reviewed;
if necessary, it is disregarded and a complete re-reading takes place. New patterns may emerge,
new foundations for a hypothetical structure. Reader and text are immersed in a transaction
complex, non-linear, recurrent, and self-critical. The birth and realization —or the frustration and
Review of expectations contributes to the construction of an accumulative 'meaning'. From that
a game of back and forth between reader, text, and context emerges a synthesis or organization, more - or
less—, coherent and complete. And there is a feeling of correspondence between the text and this
meaning, this 'evocation'.

Precisely because for experienced readers, a large part of the reading process is, or
it should be, automatic, the aspects of the process tend to be described in mechanical terms and
impersonal. Psychologists, rightly so, are concerned about knowing how much more is possible
about what happens between the reader's first visual contact with the brands that appear in the
page and the concretion of what is considered an interpretation of them. They have been established
analytically different "levels", "systems" and "strategies" and the research has been oriented
to clarify its nature. This can be useful, but from a transactional point of view it is
It is important to recognize your possibilities and limitations. A mechanical analogy or metaphor lends itself
especially to a literal reading analysis of simple texts. We must be cautious in the
interpretation of the results. By recognizing the essential nature of both the reader and the text,
the transactional theory requires a supporting metaphor based on organic activity and on the
reciprocity.

In this aspect, the optical studies of Adelbert Ames (1955) and the 'transactional psychology' of
Ames-Cantril (Cantril and Livingston, 1963), which also derived its name from Knowing and the
Known (The known and the knowable) (1949) by Dewey and Bentley, deserves the highest regard.
recognitions. His experiments demonstrated that perception depends heavily on selection.
and organization of visual guidelines by the observer according to their interests, needs,
expectations and past experience. Perception should be reviewed through continuous transactions
between the subject that perceives and the object perceived.

F. Bartlett and his theory on the process of remembering (Remembering [1932] that I regret having
discovered even later than his own contemporaries) and his term "scheme" are always brought to
collation when one wants to explain psychological processes even broader than the special field of
what they were referring to. It is not clear, however, that those who so readily invoke their concept of
scheme, they really address their fears regarding a static and restricted use of the term.
Rejecting the image of a deposit of unchanging elements as a metaphor for the
schemes, Bartlett emphasized the "active guidelines in evolution," "constitutive elements of life,
temporary environments belonging to the organism" (Bartlett, 1932:201). His description of the
constructive nature of remembering
concepts of evolution and continuous revision of schemes, all have their parallel in theory
transactional of the linguistic fact. Its recognition of the influence that both interests have
of the individual as the social context at all levels of the process also seems to
decidedly transactional.

The reader's posture

The broad outline of the reading process described so far requires further elaboration.
An important distinction must be made between the operations that produce meaning,
let's say —as an example— of a scientific report, and the operations that evoke a work
of literary art. Neither contemporary reading theory nor literary theory does justice to such
readings, just as they should not be understood as a continuous flow rather than
as an opposition. The trend was generally to assume that such a distinction depends on its
totality of the texts in question. The nature of the "work" is considered to be completely inherent to
text. But we cannot simply observe the text and predict the nature of the work. No
we can, for example, assume that The Slaughterhouse by Esteban Echeverría describes a slaughtering scene
instead of the sociological aspects of an era. There are certain notices and reports in newspapers that
they are read as literary texts. Each alternative represents a different type of selective activity, a
different relationship between the reader and the text.

Essential to any reading is the adoption by the reader - whether conscious or unconscious - of
what I call a "position" that guides the "selective activity" in the continuous flow of consciousness.
It is important to keep in mind that any linguistic fact involves both public and
privates. As the transaction with the printed text stirs elements of the reservoir of the
linguistic experience, the reader adopts a selective attitude or stance, bringing towards the center of
attention to certain aspects and relegating others to the periphery of consciousness. The stance reflects the
purpose of the reader. The situation, the purpose, the set of linguistic experiences of the reader,
as well as the signs on the page enter into the transaction and affect the level of attention
What public and private meanings and associations receive.

The afferent-aesthetic continuum

The act of reading must be placed at some point on a continuous line, defined by the reader.
to adopt what I call a 'predominantly aesthetic' stance or a stance
"predominantly efferent". A particular posture determines the proportion or combination
of public and private elements of meaning that fall within the scope of selective attention
of the reader. Or, to recall Bates' metaphor, the position results from the degree and scope of the
attention paid to the tip or base of the iceberg. Such differences can only be represented
through a continuous line, which I call the efferent-aesthetic continuum.

The afferent posture

The term efferent (from the Latin efferre, to lead out) refers to the type of reading in which the
Attention is predominantly focused on what is extracted and retained after the act of reading. A
an extreme example is the man who has accidentally ingested a poisonous liquid and quickly reads
the label on the bottle to know what the antidote is. We see here illustrated, without a doubt, what
What does James mean when he refers to selective attention and our ability to direct towards
the periphery of consciousness or ignoring those elements that do not serve our interest
present. The man's attention is focused on figuring out what he should do after finishing reading.
It focuses on what the words point to, leaving aside everything that does not involve their
public naked references, building with all the haste they are capable of the directions of their
future action. It perceives that the evocation corresponding to the text is this structuring of ideas.

Reading a newspaper, a textbook, or a legal report often provides an example.

similar, albeit less extreme, to the predominantly efferent stance. In the efferent reading,
So, we mainly focus our attention on the 'public tip of the iceberg' of meaning.
meaning results from the abstraction and analytical structuring of ideas, information, directions or
conclusions that are retained, used, or put into practice after finishing the reading.

The aesthetic posture

The predominantly aesthetic stance accounts for the other half of the continuum. In this type of
reading, the reader readily prepares to focus attention on the experiences that arise during the
reading act. The aesthetic term was chosen because its Greek root suggests perception through the
senses, feelings, and intuitions. Now entering consciousness are not only the references
public aspects of verbal signs but also the private part of the 'iceberg' of meaning: the
sensations, the images, the feelings and the ideas that constitute the residue of facts
past psychological aspects related to these words and their referents. Attention may include
the sounds and rhythms of the words themselves, heard in the 'inner ear' as they are
they perceive the signs.

The aesthetic reader savors, pays attention to the qualities of feelings, of ideas,
situations, the scenes, personalities and emotions that gain presence, and participate in the
conflicts, tensions and resolutions of the images, ideas and scenes as they unfold
presenting itself. It feels that the lived meaning corresponds to the text. This meaning,
shaped and experienced during the aesthetic transaction, constitutes 'the literary work', the
poem, the story or the play. This 'evocation' and not the text, is the object of the 'response'
of the reader and their 'interpretation', both during and after the actual reading.

The confusion regarding the content of the position stems from the well-established habit of conceiving the
text related to the aesthetic, narrative or poetic, literary or non-literary, etc. Those who apply these
Terms to a text should understand that what they are actually doing is giving their own
interpretation of the writer's intention in relation to the type of reading that should be done of
"Efferent" and "esthetic" then apply to the selective attitude of the writer and the reader.
regarding the continuous flow of their consciousness during their respective linguistic acts.

Recognizing the essential nature of the posture does not minimize the importance of the text in the transaction.
The concept has been defended that there are several verbal elements — metaphor, the
stylistic conventions or the divergence of linguistic or semantic norms, and even certain
types of content—those that constitute the 'poetic quality' or the 'literary quality' of a
Such verbal elements actually emerge as guidelines that guide the experienced reader.
in the adoption of an aesthetic stance. However, it is possible to cite recognized literary works
value in which one or all of them are missing. Neither reading theorists nor literary theorists have
given the due credit to the fact that none of these elements nor any other arrangement of
words could make their "literary" or "poetic" contribution if the reader did not direct with
previously their attention to predominantly qualitative or experiential content of the
consciousness, that is, without its aesthetic stance.

The continuum

The metaphorical nature of the expression 'stream of consciousness' comes to hand to clarify the
concept of the continuous afferent-aesthetic. We can conceive of consciousness as a continuous flow to
through the darkness. The posture can therefore be represented as a mechanism that —when
focus attention— illuminates different parts of the continuum, selecting objects that emerge in
the surface of those areas, leaving the rest in the shadows. The stance, in other words, offers the
guiding orientation that activates special areas and elements of consciousness, that is, proportions
specific to the public and private aspects of meaning, leaving the rest on the periphery
distraction of attention. A portion of such a game of attention concerning the contents that
emerge into consciousness must participate in the multiplicity of options that the reader has from
from their reservoir of linguistic experiences.

"Afferent" and "aesthetic" are terms that reflect the two fundamental modes of perceiving the
world, frequently described as 'scientific' and 'artistic'. The redundant use that I make of
predominantly aesthetic or efferent highlights a rejection of the traditional, binary trend of
alternative option that sees them as opposites. The efferent posture pays more attention to the
cognitive, referential, factual, analytical, logical, quantitative aspects of meaning. And the
the aesthetic posture pays more attention to the sensory, the affective, the emotional, the qualitative. But in
We cannot find on one side the purely public or on the other the purely private.
Both aspects of meaning receive different proportions of attention in every linguistic fact.
One of the first and most important steps in any act of reading is, consequently, the
selection of a predominantly efferent or predominantly aesthetic stance regarding the
transaction with a text. Figure 1 indicates different readings from the same reader for the same
text at different moments of the aesthetic-efferent continuum. It is likely that with other readers
readings would appear located at other points of the continuum.

While many readings may be close to the extremes, many others, perhaps the majority, are.
They will be located closer to the center of the continuum. The confusion regarding the dominant position is more
probable and more counterproductive at the points where both parts of the iceberg of meaning are
they find more balanced. It is possible to read differently and assume that one has evoked a poem,
to read aesthetically and assume that one is arriving at logical conclusions in a discussion.

It is also necessary to emphasise that a predominant position does not rule out fluctuations. Within
From a specific aesthetic reading, attention can sometimes shift from experiential synthesis to analysis.
regarding the extent to which the reader recognizes a certain technical strategy or judges critically. From
in the same way, in a referential reading, a general idea can be illustrated or emphasized using
as an example, an experience perceived aesthetically. Despite the combination of aspects
private and public meaning in each position, the two dominant positions are distinguished
clearly. No second reading, even when the reader is the same, is identical. However,
Can someone else read a text fluently and paraphrase it in a way that satisfies our needs?
efferent purpose. But no one can read aesthetically, that is to say, feel and live the evocation of a
literary work by us.

Since reading is an act that occurs under special circumstances, the same text can be
read in an efferent or aesthetic manner. The experienced reader often approaches a text paying attention to
the guidelines that this text offers you, and - unless there is the intervention of another purpose-
automatically adopts the appropriate prevailing posture. Sometimes, the title itself constitutes
a guideline that is enough and satisfactory. Probably one of the most obvious guidelines is the arrangement with wide
margins and irregular lines that suggest the reader should adopt an aesthetic stance and assume
it is about a poem. The first lines of any text are especially important.
from this point of view, in that they denote a tone, an attitude and indicate in a way
the conventional stance that should be taken.

Of course, the reader may overlook the guidelines, or misinterpret them, or they may be
confusing. And the very objective of the reader, or the school teaching that indoctrinates everyone in the same
undifferentiated approach for all texts, they may dictate that a different stance be assumed than the
what the writer intended.
For example, a student who reads A Tale of Two Cities with an eye towards an exam in which he
evaluate the facts, characters, and plot will be able to adopt a predominantly efferent stance,
putting aside everything except the factual data. Similarly, the readings of an article about
zoology could range from the analytical abstraction of factual content to aesthetic evaluation
from the structure that organizes ideas, the rhythm of sentences, the images of animal life that
they bloom in consciousness.

Evocation, response, interpretation

The tendency to objectify words often becomes evident in discussions that are
focus on a title, let's say, The Invisible Man or The Declaration of Rights. These titles
can refer to the text —according to the meaning we assign here to the term— that is to say, to the
pattern of signs that are printed or physically written. More often, however, the
the intended reference is to 'the work'. But the work, ideas, and experiences related to the text, can-
to be found only in the reflections of a particular reader in each act of reading, the evocation and
the answers to it during and after said act.

Any linguistic activity has both a public component (lexical, analytical, abstract) and
a private one (experiential, affective, associational). The position is then determined by the
proportion achieved by each of those components in the sphere of attention action
selective. The efferent posture is more closely aligned with the public aspect of meaning; the posture
Aesthetics includes a greater percentage of the private, experiential aspect.

The reading and writing events A and B fall within the efferent part of the continuum; but B allows
more private elements. The read and write events C and D both represent the stance
aesthetics; but C has a higher percentage of attention towards the public aspects of meaning.
Evocation

So far we have focused on the aspects of the reading process that revolve around the
organization of a structure of elements of consciousness interpreted as the meaning of
text. I call this 'the evocation', to understand in this way both the transactions
aesthetics as much as the afferents. The evocation, the work, is not a physical "object", but, taking into account
from the other sense of that word, an object of thought.

The second continuous flow of the response

We must recognize during the act of reading a flow of reactions —as well as
Transactions—concomitant that emerge before the nascent evocation. Even during gestation.
From our recollection, we react to it: this can in turn affect our choices as we go along.
we proceed with the reading. Such responses can be momentary, peripheral, or well
to be interpreted as a mere general state, for example, an environment of acceptance or perhaps of
formation of ideas and attitudes that we bring to reading. Sometimes, something unexpected or contrary to
Presumptions or prior knowledge can trigger conscious reflection. Something that does not
It had been anticipated by the organization of preceding elements and can cause re-reading.
attention may shift from the evocation to the formal or technical features of the text. The scope of
the possible reactions and the range of degrees of intensity and expressiveness depend on the game
between the character of the signs written on the page (the text) —that which the reader brings
specific— and the circumstances of the transaction.

The different veins of the response, especially in the intermediate ranges of the efferent continuum-
aesthetic, sometimes they are simultaneous, interact and are intertwined. In reality, they may appear
like the very warp of evocation. Hence, one of the problems of critical reading is
differentiate the evocation that corresponds to the text from the concomitant responses, which can be
projections of how much the reader assumes a priori. It is easier to draw the dividing line between them in
the theory that in the practical situation of reading. The reader must learn to handle those elements
in the experience of reading. The problem takes on certain forms in referential reading and others
different in aesthetic reading.

Expressed response

The "response" to the evocation is often defined as subsequent to the act of reading. In
reality is established during the reading itself, in the second continuous flow of reactions.
The reader can recapture its overall effect after the act and may try to express it and remember.
that which in the evocation led to such a response. The reflection on "the meaning", even of a
simple text, implies the association, the reactivation of certain aspects of the process that occur
during reading. The 'interpretation tends to be a continuation of this effort to clarify the
evocation
The description of the reading process up to this point indicates an organizational and synthesizing activity, the
creation of possible meanings, and their modification as they approach the focus of attention
other new elements. In some cases, the reader at a certain moment simply registers the
a feeling of having completed a sequential activity, and moving on to other concerns. Sometimes,
towards the end of the reading, the meaning of the entire structure crystallizes.

expressed interpretation
In fact, the process of interpretation that includes reaching that certain sense of a whole has not
received enough attention in reading theories, perhaps because it is typical that research
on the topic I only dealt with simple reading acts. In dictionaries, the term 'interpret'
it appears with several relevant meanings. One of them is 'to establish the meaning of..., to elucidate,
explain. Another, "to explain or understand in a particular way". A third meaning is "to expose the
meaning of something through its execution (as in music)”. What precedes tends to reflect the
traditional concept that 'meaning' is inherent to the text.

The transactional theory requires drawing from the three uses outlined in order to fully describe the
way in which the term should be applied to the reading process. The evocation of meaning in
the transaction with a text is undoubtedly interpretation in the sense of execution, and the theory
transactional combines this with the idea of interpretation as individual elaboration. The evocation
then it becomes the object of interpretation in the sense of elucidating or explaining. The
expressed interpretation, therefore, takes elements from all these aspects of the transaction
integral.

Interpretation can be understood as the effort to inform, analyze, and explain the evocation.
The reader associates the felt, perceived, and thought evocation while at the same time uses a
framework of reference or method of abstraction in order to characterize it, in order to find how much it assumes
or to organize ideas that relate the parts to the whole. Then, the second is brought to mind.
flow of reactions seeking the causes in the evoked work or in assumptions and
prior knowledge. The evocation and the concomitant flow of the reaction can be related,
for example, accentuating the logic of the structure of ideas in an efferent evocation, or in the
aesthetic reading, emphasizing the assumptions about people or society that support
the experience.

Frequently, the interpretation is expressed in an eferent manner, highlighting the general ideas that
they support it and establish the connections with the signs of the text. Likewise, the interpretation
it can take on aesthetic form: such is the case with poems, paintings, music,
dramatizations or dances.

Hand in hand with interpretation comes the question of whether the reader constructed a meaning that is consistent with the
probable intention of the author. And here we would then be moving from the text-reader transaction to the
author-reader relationship. Before addressing topics such as communication, the validity of the
interpretation and the implications of transactional theory for teaching and research must
consider the process that produces the text.

The writing process

The transaction of the writing

Just like the reader approaching a text, the writer faced with a blank page has
as the only source, your own linguistic capital. The material with which to interpret the text comes from
residue of their past linguistic experiences in specific situations. As in the case of the
reader, every new meaning is a restructuring or extension of the accumulation of experiences, and to
this is sent to the reader when they embark on the task. There is a constant back and forth or process
sectional that occurs when the writer observes the page and expands the text in light of how much
wrote up to that moment.
However, there is an important difference between readers and writers that should not be overlooked.
high. In the triad sign-object-interpretant, the reader has the physical pattern of the signs with which
the symbolizations relate to each other. The writer in front of the blank page may perhaps start only with a
organic state, vague ideas and feelings that require greater definition of the triad before
that the symbolic configuration that is the verbal text can be formed.

Writing is always an event in time, occurring at a particular moment during the

biography of the writer, under particular circumstances, and under external and also internal pressures,
particular. That is to say, the writer is always engaging in transactions with a personal environment,
social and cultural. Therefore, the writing process must always be seen as expressing both factors.
personal as well as social, individual and environmental.

Given this conception of the verbal symbol as a triad, the more accessible this capital will be.
words and references related to the organism, the more fluid the writer will be. This allows us
put into perspective an activity such as 'free writing'. Instead of treating it as a
the prescriptive "stage" of the writing process, as some seem to do, should be seen as
a technique to extract from the linguistic reservoir without being disturbed by anxieties about the
acceptability of the subject, the sequence or the mechanisms. Especially for those who are seen
inhibited by certain unfortunate previous experiences, this type of writing may constitute
a liberating preparation exercise to let the nectar flow, so to speak, allowing
likewise to raise to awareness elements of the living flow, verbal components of
the memory and present concerns. Essentially, it is about activating the linguistic reservoir
individual.

Regardless of how free and uninhibited the writing may be, the flow of images, ideas, memories and
words is not absolutely random; William James reminds us that the "selective activity" of
selective attention works to a certain degree. As in the case of the reader, the writer must put in
I engage in the selective process with energy, to transition towards a first sense of focus for the
election and synthesis (Emig, 1983).

This directionality will be encouraged by the writer's awareness of the situation.

transactional, the context that initiates the need to write and the possible reader(s) to whom the
the text will supposedly be directed. Often, in a way similar to trial and error, and
mediating several drafts that have flowed freely, the writer's sensitivity towards such
factors translate into an increasingly clear drive that guides selective attention and the
integration. For the experienced writer, the habit of that awareness, the control of the
the multiplicity of decisions or options that comprise the act of writing is more important than
any explicit preliminary definition of objectives or purposes.

The writer's stance

The concept of posture presented earlier in relation to reading has the
same importance for writing. A very important aspect of defining a purpose
in this there is the adoption of a stance that is located at some point of the afferent-aesthetic continuum. The
attitude towards how much is activated in the reservoir of linguistic experiences is manifested in the
range and nature of the verbal symbols that 'come to mind', and to which the writer applies the
selective attention. The dominant stance determines the proportion of public and private aspects
of the sense that will be included in the scope of the writer's attention (see Figure 1).

In real life, the selection of a predominant stance is not arbitrary but occurs based on
of the circumstances, of the writer's motives, of the theme, and of the relationship between the writer and the possible
reader or readers. For example, someone who has suffered a car accident would want to adopt
a very different position when writing the fact for the insurance company and when describing it in a
letter to a friend. In the first case, a selective efferent process would be activated that would bring to the center
from consciousness and to the page the public aspects such as statements that could
verified through witnesses or investigation of the accident site. In the letter to the friend, the
The purpose would be to share the experience. An aesthetic stance would draw the writer's attention.
the same basic facts along with feelings, sensations, tensions, images and
vivid sounds during this skirmish with death. The selective process would favor words.
that will harmonize with the internal sense that the writer has regarding the perceived fact and that
they would also activate in the probable reader, symbolic connections that would evoke a similar experience.
Given the diversity of purposes, other descriptions would be found at different points of
continuum afferent-aesthetic.

The purpose or intention should arise from the linguistic experience and real life of the writer, or
being able to allow you to imagine them. Past experiences are not necessarily the limit-
of the writer's reach, although before the blank page, the writer needs 'vivas', that is,
of ideas that have a strongly energizing link from the reservoir of experiences
linguistic. The purposes or ideas lacking the ability to connect with experience
The writer's past and current concerns cannot fully activate the reservoir nor provide
impulse to thinking or to writing.

A purpose grounded in personal experience generates and drives momentum. The vital ideas that
they arise from situations, activities, discussions, problems, or needs that provide the basis of the process
actively selective and synthesizer of the elaboration of meaning. The energized source of
images, ideas, emotions, attitudes, and tendencies to act provide the means to establish
new links, to discover new facets of the world of objects and events,
thought and creative writing.

Write about a text

When a reader describes, responds to, or interprets a work, that is to say, when they talk or write about
a transaction with a text, a new text is being generated. The implications of this fact in
process terms should be understood more clearly. When the reader turns into
writer regarding a work, the starting point is no longer the physical text, the marks arranged on
the page, but the meaning or the mood attributed to that text. The reader may
go back to the original text to capture again the way it entered the transaction, but it must
find words to explain evocation and interpretation.

The reader turned writer must once again face the problem of choosing a stance.
In general, the choice seems to be the efferent posture. The main purpose is to explain, analyze,
summarize and categorize the evocation. This is generally the case even when the reading has been
predominantly aesthetic and is a work of art. However, the aesthetic position can
to adapt in order to communicate an experience that expresses the response or interpretation. A
efferent reading, for example, the "Declaration of Independence" can lead to a poem or to a
history. An aesthetic reading of the text of a poem can also lead us not to a critical essay
written differently, but to another poem, a painting or a musical composition.

The translator of a poem is a clear example of the reader transformed into a writer, being first
reader who evokes an experience through a transaction in a language, and then writer who
try to express the experience through a transaction written in another language. The qualities
Experiences created in a transaction with a language must be communicated to readers - evoked.
for them— who have a different linguistic reservoir, acquired in a different culture.

The reading of the author

So far, we have drawn parallels between the way readers and writers select and
they synthesize elements from their personal linguistic reservoir, how they adopt stances that guide their
selective attention and build a changing selective purpose. We placed the fundamental emphasis
in the similarities in the structures of composition of the meaning related to the text. If the
readers are also, in that sense, writers —it is equally a fact, and perhaps more obvious— that
Writers must also be readers. And this is where differences begin to arise.
parallelism.

The writer, it is generally accepted, is the first reader of the text. And it is worth noting a
obvious difference, although overlooked: the reader enters into a transaction with the finished text of
writer, but the writer reads the text as it unfolds. Given that reading and the
writing is a recursive process that occurs over a certain period, its own similarities
they mask a basic difference. The writer often rereads the finished text as a whole, but —what
maybe it's more important—, the writer reads first, with that spiral, transactional relationship, the
text that appears on that page. And this is a different type of reading. It is of its own
authorship —the reading of the editor— and therefore must be considered as an integral part of the process
of composition. In fact, it is necessary to consider that this writing, or composition of a text,
it involves two types of reading, which I particularly call 'expression-oriented' and 'orientation-oriented'
towards the reception.

Reading by the author oriented towards expression

As their eyes move through the printed text, the reader constructs a framework or principle.
organizational. The recently evoked symbolizations are checked in order to verify if they
correspond to the possible meanings already created for the preceding portion of the text. If the
new signs imply a problem, this will lead to a revision of the framework, or even to a re-reading
complete the text to restructure the assigned meaning.

The writer, like the readers of another text, analyzes that succession of signs exhaustively.
Verbal elements that cover the page to see if the new words harmonize with the preceding text.
But it is a reading focused on different expression, which should be considered part
integral to the composition process. As new words appear on the page,
they must be verified, not just in terms of their correspondence with the previous text, but
also regarding an inner measure pattern: the intention, or the purpose. The meaning
emerging, even if it makes sense, should be judged in relation to how it facilitates or obstructs the
purpose, no matter how dark and lacking in expression it may be, because this constitutes the energy that
it encourages the writer. Reading aimed at expression leads to revision even during the
early stages of the composition process.

The interior measurement

Most writers remember a situation that can illustrate the functioning of

this 'interior measure'. A word comes to mind, or arises from the pen, and even if it makes sense,
seems not to be the right one. Word after word they reach consciousness, and dissatisfaction continues. To
Sometimes the writer understands why the word is not the right one, perhaps it is ambiguous or does not fit with it.
tone. But often the writer cannot clearly express the cause of such dissatisfaction. The
tension simply disappears when 'the right word' is presented. And when this happens,
There is harmony between the inner measure and the verbal sign.

An episode of this kind highlights the evaluation process regarding a measure.

internal. The French writer Gustave Flaubert in his search for le mot juste, 'the right word',
He proposes the analogy of the violinist who tries to make his fingers 'reproduce those sounds accurately.
"what it has inside it, with an inner sense" (1926:11,47). The inner measure can be a state.
organic, a state of mind, an idea, even a set of conscious guidelines.

For the experienced writer, this type of reading completely oriented towards their inner self, which is
an integral part of the composition process, it depends on and is fed by a sense of purpose each
more clearly though often tacit, whether this is referential or aesthetic. The writer tries to
satisfy their personal conception while refining it. Such transactional reading, such review, can
to occur during the entirety of the act of composition. In fact, there are times when this is the only
reading component; such is the case when one writes for oneself only, to express or
register an experience in a diary or personal book or perhaps to analyze a situation, or
the pros and cons of a decision.

Author-oriented reading towards reception

Normally, however, writing is considered part of a possible transaction with

other readers. At a given moment, the writer dissociates from the text and reads it through the eyes of
the possible readers; the writer tries to judge the meaning that they would give it in transaction with
this pattern of signs. But the writer does more than simply put on the 'eyes' of the possible
reader and again a double operation takes place. The evolving text is read to catch the meaning
what others could give them. However, this hypothetical interpretation must also be evaluated in
function of the writer's own inner sense of purpose that encourages them.

The trend has always been focused on writing with an eye on the intended reader. My
Concern is to show the interplay between the two types of reading that the author performs and the necessity —
conscious or automatic— to decide the degree of emphasis of one or the other. The problem is to find
verbal signs capable of activating connections in the linguistic reservoirs of potential readers
that correspond to those of the writer. A poet may find themselves in the situation of choosing between a
exotic metaphor that is a personal delight and one that is more likely to be encountered
within the experience of potential readers. Or the scientific writer may need to decide if a
broad and precise detail is too complex for the general reader.

Writers must have at least a certain mastery of that oriented internal awareness.
towards the expression if they expect to obtain the benefits of this second reading through the eyes of
the others: that one serves as the guiding criterion for the latter. It is likely that the reader
experienced make a synthesis, or a quick alternation, between the two types of reading in order to
orienting selective attention that is filtered from the verbal elements coming to us
mind. When the goal is communication, the review should be based on a double criterion to
the re-reading of the text.

The communication between author and readers

The back-and-forth process that the reader goes through to develop an interpretation becomes
a form of transaction with an author-person who breathes through the text, behind the text. The
The relationship in question is sometimes referred to as a 'contract' with the author. The closer their
linguistic experiences, the more likely it is that the reader's interpretation will fulfill the intention of
Writer. Sharing at least versions of the same language is so basic that sometimes it's simple.
one takes it for granted. Other positive factors that affect communication are belonging
to the same sociocultural group, to the same educational level, and to the same community, just as
academic, legal, literary, scientific or theological. Given such similarities, it is more likely that the
The reader should bring their prior knowledge, their information regarding conventions closer to the text.
linguistic and literary and how much it assumes regarding social situations that are necessary to
understand the implications or allusions and capture the nuances of tone and thought.

However, given that each person's experience is unique, the differences due to factors
social, ethnic, educational, and personal differences exist, even among contemporaries. The reading of works
written in another time talk about the inevitable difference of the linguistic, social or cultural context.
Here, in particular, readers will be able to agree on the interpretations without having to
necessarily assume that your evocations from the text correspond with the intention of the
author (Rosenblatt, 1978).

The differences regarding the author's intention often lead to inquiries in external sources.
textual. Especially with works from the past, scholars refer to systematic methods of in-
philological, biographical, and historical research with the intention of uncovering personal forces,
social and literary factors that shaped the writer's intention. The contemporary reception of
work also offers us clues. Such evidence, even if it includes the author's stated intention, of
In any case, it gives hypothetical results and cannot dictate our interpretation. We must...
Any way to read the text to decide if it supports the hypothetical intention. The reader constantly
facing the responsibility of deciding whether an interpretation is acceptable or not. We must commit ourselves to
the issue of the validity of the interpretation before moving on to consider its implications for the
teaching and research.

Validity of the interpretation

The problem of the validity of interpretation has not received much attention in theory.
reading nor in the educational methodology. Despite the extraordinary dependence on our
schools regarding evaluation, there seems to be little interest in clarifying the criteria that
participants in the evaluation of 'comprehension'. It is evident that in practice, the teaching of the
reading and the instruments to evaluate reading comprehension have been based tacitly, or
At least this is how it has been foretold, in assuming in the traditional way that there is a single
determined meaning "correct" attributed to each text. The factor of posture, the continuum
The aesthetic efferent has been particularly neglected; operationally, the efferent is highlighted, even when
it is about 'literature'.

The polysemous nature of language invalidates any simplistic approach to meaning, creating the
problem of the relationship between the reader's interpretation and the author's intent. The theorists
contemporaries are beginning to widely recognize that it is impossible to find a
unique absolute meaning for a text, or expect that any interpretation fully reflects
the intention of the writer. Even for the author, the term 'intention' is impossible to define
absolutely or to delimit. The word 'absolute', the concept of a single 'correct' meaning
inherent "to" the text, is the main obstacle. The same text takes on different meanings in
transactions with different readers or even with the same reader in different contexts or occasions.

Guaranteed affirmability

The problem of the validity of an interpretation is part of the broader philosophical problem that arises
I cited at the beginning of this work. The perception of the world always occurs through beings
individual humans in transaction with their worlds. In recent decades, some theorists
literary, with arguments developed from European poststructuralist writers and
assuming a Saussurean perspective of language as an autonomous system, they reached a po-
extreme relativistic position. They conceived a reading method that assumes all texts can
to be “deconstructed” to reveal their internal contradictions. Moreover, the linguistic system and the
literary conventions are supposed to completely dominate the author and the reader and the agreement regarding
to the interpretation, simply reflects the particular 'interpretative community' in which we
we found (Fish, 1980; Rosenblatt, 1991).

Such extreme relativism is, however, not a necessary conclusion from the premise that sustains that
absolutely determined meaning is impossible. By agreeing on the criteria of
evaluation of the interpretations, we can accept the possibility of alternative interpretations, and
anyway, deciding that some are more acceptable than others.

John Dewey, accepting non-foundationalist epistemological premises and forgetting the search for
the absolutes, solved the problem of science with his idea of "guaranteed affirmability" as
the final point of the controlled research (1938:9, 345). Given certain shared criteria
regarding research methods and types of evidence, agreement is possible in the
decision on what would be a well-founded evidence-based interpretation, that is, 'a statement
guaranteed". This is not established as an absolute and permanent truth but leaves open the
possibility of alternative explanations for the same facts, of the discovery of new
evidence, or of the conception of different criteria or paradigms.

Although Dewey primarily used scientific interpretation or knowledge of the world

based on scientific methods to illustrate guaranteed affirmability, it also considered that the
concept was able to understand the arts and all human concern. It can be applied to the
problem of linguistic interpretation (Rosenblatt, 1978, chapter 7; 1983:151). Given a certain
shared cultural environment and given certain shared criteria regarding the validity of the
interpretation, we can —without the need to declaim the obtaining of the 'correct' meaning of a
text - to reach consensus for an interpretation. Especially in the aesthetic reading, we can
find what other alternative interpretations meet our minimum criteria
feeling free in any case to consider some interpretations superior to others.

Contrasting with the concept of readers confined to a narrow 'interpretive community', the
emphasize that the implicit or underlying criteria become explicit, lays the foundation not only
of the agreement, but also for understanding the tacit sources of disagreement. This generates the
possibility of change of interpretation, the acceptance of sets of alternative criteria or the
review of the criteria. Such awareness on the part of readers can promote the
communication through social, cultural, and historical differences between the author and readers as well
also among readers (Rosenblatt, 1983).

To summarize, the concept of guaranteed affirmability, or shared criteria of validity of

interpretation in a particular social context recognizes that certain readings can satisfy the
criteria better than others. The basic criteria may be: 1) that the context and the purpose of the act
of reading, or of the total transaction, is taken into account; 2) that the interpretation does not enter into
contradiction —or that it does not take into account— the text in its entirety, or the written signs in the
page; and, 3) that the interpretation does not project meanings that cannot be related to the
written signs on the page. Beyond these elements arise the criteria of interpretation and
evaluation that arises from the entire structure of what we assume and share socially,
culturally, linguistically, or rhetorically.

This way we can open ourselves to alternative readings of the text of Hamlet, but we can also
to consider certain readings as superior to others according to certain explicit criteria, by
example, the complexity of the intellectual and emotional elements and also the nature of
implicit value system. Such considerations allow for comparison and 'negotiation' with different
readers of the same text, as well as clarify the differences regarding what constitutes a
valid interpretation of what we assume (Rosenblatt, 1983, 1978). On the efferent side of the continuum,
the current discussion about the alternative criteria for interpreting the 'Constitution' offers
another complex example of the same thing.

Criteria on the eferent-aesthetic continuum

Precisely because, as Figure 1 indicates, in every reading there are public elements present and
Private, the criteria for the validity of interpretation differ for readings at different points.
of the continuous afferent-aesthetic. Since the predominantly afferent interpretation must be
verifiable or publicly justifiable, the criteria of validity primarily rest on the
referential public aspects of meaning and require that there are no affective aspects and
dominant associational. The criteria for predominantly aesthetic reading require the
attention to cognitive and referential aspects but only as they are intertwined and
colored by the private, emotional, or experiential aspects generated by sign patterns
by the author. Especially in the mid ranges of the eferent-aesthetic continuum, it becomes important
for writers to provide clear instructions regarding posture, and for readers, to be
sensitive to the writer's purpose and the need to apply relevant criteria.

Literary aspects of referential reading

In recent decades, in a number of scientific fields, the opposition between writing

scientific and 'literary' has proven to be an illusion. Writers of social and natural sciences
they have become aware, as long as they engage in semantic and syntactic practices that
they had usually considered 'literary', that they also use narrative, metaphor
and other rhetorical figures. An example of this is the importance of metaphor when writing themes.
economic or the idea that the historian writes narratives and that he can never be
completely objective when selecting the facts. A more sensitive view regarding the tropes
sexist and racist has increased the awareness of the extent to which the metaphor seeps into
all kinds of text and of course in all kinds of language. Sometimes the distinction between referential-aesthetic
seems to disappear completely (for example, it is said that the historian sometimes writes 'fiction').

It is necessary to remember that the stance reflects the efferent or aesthetic purpose, not the figures.
syntactic or semantic by themselves, determine the appropriate criteria. For example, in a
treatise on economics or on the history of the border, the validity criteria of interpretation
appropriate to their respective disciplines, which primarily involve verisimilitude and logic, are
they would apply anyway. When an economist observes that 'scientists should conceive
good metaphors and telling good anecdotes" (McCloskey, 1985), the concept of dominant stance
it becomes even more crucial. The criteria for "good" should be not only how vivid and interesting
They are the anecdotes, but rather how they overflow with logic and facts and what value systems they imply.

The relevance of the eferent-aesthetic continuum (Figure 1) can be illustrated with the example of metaphor:
the scientist talks about the 'wave' theory of light and we focus the technical concept on the
efferent extreme of the continuum. And in the words of Shakespeare: "Just as the sea wave arrives
to the beach, thus our minutes rush towards the end" what we rescue from those images is,
in contrast, our aesthetic attention regarding the feeling of the inevitability of the passage of time
in our lives. And a political analysis suggested surrendering to the inevitability of fascism by calling it
"The social wave of the future... There is no way to fight against it." Despite the vividness of the
Metaphors, the efferent attention should have been dominant, applying the efferent criterion.
So, does the logic and factual evidence support that persuasive appeal?

Implications for teaching

Reading and writing: parallels and differences

The parallels between the processes of reading and writing have always been stimulating.
questions about their connections, especially in the classroom. The reading processes and
writing overlaps while differing. Both the reader and the writer engage in constituting
symbolic structures of meaning in a back-and-forth spiral transaction with the text.
They follow similar patterns of thought and refer to similar linguistic habits. Both
processes depend on the individual's past experiences with language in particular,
life situations. Both the reader and the writer, therefore, infer established links.
in the past with signs, signifiers, and organic states in order to create new symbolizations,
new links and new organic states. Both the reader and the writer develop a framework, a
purpose or a principle, no matter how nebulous or explicit, that guides selective attention and the
synthesizing, organizing activities that constitute meaning. Moreover, every act of
reading and writing can be understood as within the line of the afferent-aesthetic continuum, in
a point of her that places it as predominantly efferent or aesthetic.

The parallels should not mask the basic differences, the transaction that begins with a
text produced by another is not the same as the transaction that begins with a person in front of
a blank page. For the observer, two people carefully observing a written page
they would seem to be doing the same thing (that is, 'reading'). But if one of them is in the process of
writing that text, the activities that will necessarily follow will be different. The writer will
will take care of carrying out the reading of the author, whether oriented towards expression or towards reception.
Moreover, since both reading and writing are rooted in mutually
conditioning factors between people and their specific means, a person may have very
different with both activities, they may have different attitudes towards them and may be more effective
go in one way or another. Writing and reading are so different that they can dismantle that
presumption that it is about mirror images: what the reader does is not simply to return
act out the writer's process. Therefore, it cannot be assumed that the teaching of an activity
automatically improves the student's capacity in the other.

Nevertheless, the parallels between the processes of reading and writing that we described in the paragraphs
previous ones and the nature of the transaction that takes place between the author and the reader, allow one to expect
reasonably that the teaching of one can affect the student's performance with the other.
reading, essential to anyone for the sake of intellectual and emotional enrichment, offers to the
writer a sense of the potentialities of language. The writing deepens the understanding of
reader on the importance of paying attention to diction, syntactic positions, and emphasis,
the images and the conventions of the genre. The fact that the triad sign-interpretant-object
dependa —as Peirce said— on habit points to an even more important level of influence. The
cross-fertilization must arise from the reinforcement of linguistic habits and patterns of
thoughts arising from shared transactional processes that refer to attention
intentional selective and to the synthesis. The utility of the interplay between writing and reading of each
The student will depend greatly on the nature of teaching and the educational context.

The total context

Here we return to our basic concept that human beings are always involved in
transaction and in a reciprocal relationship with an environment, a context, a total situation. The
classroom environment, or the atmosphere created by the teacher and the students who engage in a transaction
mutual and the school environment expands to include the entire institutional, social, and cultural context.
These aspects of the transaction are crucial when thinking about education and especially the
"literacy problem." Given that the reservoir of linguistic experiences of each
person is the residue arising from past transactions with the environment, such factors condition
the sense of possibilities or potential organizational frameworks or schemes as well
the knowledge and how much we assume about the world, society, human nature, that each
one brings to transactions. Socioeconomic and ethnic factors, for example, influence the
behavior patterns, in the way of performing tasks, and even in the understanding of concepts
such as 'history' (Heath, 1983). Such elements also affect the person's attitude towards
itself, the activity of reading or writing, and the purpose for which these activities are
being carried out.[3]

The transactional concept of the text, always in relation to both the author and the reader
specific situations make it unsustainable to treat the text as an isolated entity or to highlight
too much to the author or the reader. Recognizing that language is not a self-contained system or a
static code avoids, on one hand, the traditional obsession with the product —with its skills,
techniques and conventions, despite how essential they are— and, on the other hand, prevents the pendulum from
go to the other side, that of overemphasizing the process or personal aspects.
The treatment of both reading and writing as a disjoint set of skills.
(although both require skills) or as the acquisition fundamentally of codes and
conventions (although both include them), inhibits sensitivity to the organic links of the
verbal signs and their objects. Manipulating syntactic units without a sense of context that
Connecting in a meaningful way can ultimately be counterproductive.

It should not turn the processes of reading and writing into a set of stages that
must be followed strictly. The writer's drafts and final texts - or the attempts to
reader's interpretation, the final evocation and its reflections—should be considered as stops
at different points of a journey, like the visible external signs of a continuous process in progress
from one point to the next. A "good" product, whether it is a "well-written" piece of work or
a serious textual interpretation should not be an end in itself, a term, but rather the result of
a process that strengthens the possibility of new journeys, or that changes the metaphor for greater and
new growths. "Product" and "process" become intertwined concerns in the
nutrition for growth.

Hence, the teaching of reading and writing at any level of development should
to focus first and foremost on the creation of environments and activities in which the
students feel motivated and encouraged to seek in their own experiences to create meanings
"lives". With this criterion as a foundation, the emphasis falls on strengthening the processes.
basics that, as we have seen, are shared by both reading and writing. The teaching of
one can reinforce the linguistic habits and the semantic approaches that are useful to the other. Such
teaching that focuses on the individual's ability to generate meaning will allow for the
constructive cross-fertilization of the processes of reading and writing (and speaking).

The enrichment of the individual's reservoir of linguistic experiences becomes a goal.

underlying educational broader than the specific concern regarding reading or writing.
Especially in the early years, the connection between the verbal sign and the experiential base is essential.
The danger is that many current teaching practices can counteract the processes themselves.
that are supposedly being taught. The organization of instruction, the atmosphere in the classroom,
the types of questions that are asked, the words used to assign tasks, and the types of
Evaluations that are taken should be analyzed from this point of view.

The importance recognized for purpose as a guiding principle is increasingly greater.

selection and organization both in writing and reading. The creation of contexts that
allowing for intentional reading and writing will enable the student to build in
based on their past life experience and language; adopt the appropriate stance for care
selectively and establish its internal measure or the frameworks for the choice and synthesis that will be produced
new structures of living meaning.

Collaborative exchange

In a favorable educational environment, speech is a vital ingredient of pedagogy.

transactional. Its importance in the individual acquisition of linguistic experiential capital remains
Of course. It can be an extremely important medium in the classroom. The dialogue between teacher
and students, as well as the exchange between students, can promote growth and the
cross-fertilization both in reading and composition. Such an attitude may be useful.
to awaken in the student the intuition of that transaction with the text and also understanding
metalinguistic skills and conventions within a meaningful context.
This intuition that the student reaches regarding their own reading and writing process can
consider the long-term justification of various strategies in the formulation of programs
study and teaching. For example, it can assist writers of any level to
understand your transactional relationship with your readers through the reading and discussion of texts
of their peers. The questions from colleagues, the different interpretations and confusions pose ...
I manifest the need for the writer to use verbal signs that make it accessible to the reader.
all the necessary data that allows you to share relevant sensations or attitudes or
perform logical transactions. It is that type of intuition that enables the author to carry out that
second reading directed towards the reader.

Similarly, the group exchange regarding the personal memories arising from each
text, whether these texts are by peers or adult authors, can generally constitute an instrument
powerful that stimulates the growth of reading ability and critical insight. The reader
be aware of the need to pay attention to the author's words in order to avoid
preconceptions and misunderstandings. When students share their answers to the
transactions with the same text, you may notice that the evocations from the
the same signs can be different, and they can return to the text to discover their own
selection and synthesis habits, becoming aware and being critical of their own processes as
readers. The exchange regarding the interpretation problems that arise in a group of
particular readers, as well as the collaborative movement towards interpretation
self-criticism of the text can lead to the acquisition of critical concepts and criteria
interpretative. Such metalinguistic awareness is valuable for students both in terms of
readers like writers.

The teacher in that type of situation is no longer simply the one in charge of the transfer of
prefabricated teaching materials or recording the results of prefabricated evaluations or
of presenting prefabricated interpretations. Teaching becomes an exchange.
constructive, facilitator, that helps the student, with their own spontaneous answers, to formulate
questions and to grow in their ability to handle increasingly complex transactions in reading
(Rosenblatt, 1983).[4]

The referential aesthetic repertoire of the student

The aesthetic-efferent continuum, that is, the two basic ways of considering the world, should be
part of the student's repertoire from their early years. Since both positions include
cognitive and emotional elements as well as public and private, students must learn
to differentiate the circumstances that make it necessary to take one position or another. It is unfortunate that
currently in practice the attitude that is taken tends to be counterproductive, either because one
It encourages taking a defined stance or because it implicitly demands an inadequate position.
Some of the most common examples are the reading book that asks "What facts does this narrate?"
Poetry? Or the boy who complained because he wanted information about dinosaurs and the teacher only gave him
storybook books. It is not surprising then that the students who graduate from our schools (and
universities) often read poems and novels in an enthusiastic manner or respond to statements
politicians and ads with aesthetic stances.

Despite the fact that in our schools the efferent stance is overly emphasized, the lack of understanding
the "public-private combination" makes even the successful teaching of reading impossible
drafting eferentes. The study programs and practices applied to teaching, from
from the very beginning, they should include both referential and aesthetic linguistic activity and they should
likewise achieve the acquisition of a sense of the different objectives of one and the other. The instruction
It should stimulate the habits of selective attention and synthesis that are nourished by relevant elements.
in the semantic reservoir and should in turn nurture the ability to handle the mix of aspects
appropriate public and private entities for a particular transaction.

Especially in the early years, this should largely be done indirectly, through,
for example, from the choice of texts or contexts that encourage reading or writing, or from
how the questions that are asked relate to the position. In this way, the texts serve
dynamically as sources from which to assimilate a sense of the potentialities of the
sentence in Spanish and an awareness of the strategies that organize meaning and express it
feeling. The emphasis on the analysis of evocations, or the terminology to categorize and
Describing them has no value if they overshadow or replace the evoked work. Such activities ad-
they want meaning and value when, for example, they respond to the writer's own problems in
as for the expression or they explain to the reader the role of the verbal strategies that the author uses to
to produce a certain feeling in the response.

The development sequence suggested here is particularly important in aesthetic reading.

A large part of poetry teaching at all levels, including middle school and the
university currently takes on a repeated and continuous remedial character due to confusion
constant regarding the stance as the efferent analysis of the 'literary' work is emphasized. It should
help students have aesthetic experiences free of impediments. To the very young children
little ones love the sound and rhythm of words, their interest in stories and their ability to
the ability to easily switch from verbal modes to other modes of expression fades too much
they need support to cling to the experiential aspect. When this
It can be taken for granted, the analytical discussions concerning the form or the background will not be
substitutes of the literary work but means to improve it. The discussion can then turn into
basis for assimilating the criteria for serious interpretation and appropriate evaluation in the different
points of the continuum and of the student's development status.

Implications for research

Transaction model-based research has a long history (Applebee, 1974; Farrell

Until quite recently, it generated research from those who
they were fundamentally engaged in teaching literature in secondary schools and universities, and
not so much those who dealt with reading itself in elementary school (Beach and
Hynds, 1990; Flood et al., 1991; Purves and Beach, 1972). It is not possible here to provide a description
from such a considerable body of research, much of which explores aspects of the response
to literature; there would also be no space to address recent volumes on the applications of the
transactional theory in elementary, middle, and university schools (Clifford, 1991; Cox and Many,
1992; Hungerford, Holland and Ernst, 1993; Karolides, 1992). I suggest instead to consider in a way
general research topics and the most common theoretical and methodological errors.

The transactional model of reading, writing, and teaching that we present constitutes, in a certain
meaning, a body of hypotheses that must be investigated. The change that implies moving from the
the Cartesian paradigm in the post-Hegelian era requires us to get rid of the limitations to research
imposed by the domain of positivist behaviorism. Instead of primarily addressing reading
as a compendium of separate skills or as an isolated autonomous activity, the in-
Research on any aspect should focus on the human being who speaks, writes, reads and
constantly engaged in a transaction with a specific environment in its circles of context in
expansion. And as Bartlett reminds us well, none of the secondary theoretical frameworks, such
as schemes or strategies, are entities but rather configurations in a dynamic process and
changing. Although the emphasis here will be on reading research, the
interrelation between linguistic modes, especially reading and writing, expands the
possible scope of the mentioned problems.

The conception of language as a dynamic system of meaning, in which the affective and the
cognitive sciences come together, raises doubts regarding the importance of past research. The interest of
The researchers, therefore, are exemplified by their approaches centered on the work of Piaget.
about the development of logical and mathematical concepts in the child, and the continuous lack of understanding
the emotional aspect for behavioral, cognitive psychologists and artificial intelligence. This slowly
is being balanced by the growing interest in the affective and the qualitative (Deese, 1973; Eisner
y Peshkin, 1990; Izard, 1977). We need to understand the growth more thoroughly.
child in their ability for selective attention and the synthesis of the various components of the
meaning.

Reading research should explore a range of interconnected disciplines, such

like physiology, sociology, and anthropology and should converge with the general study of
human development. The transactional theory specifically raises issues that involve such
broad connections. Likewise, the various subcultures and ethnicities represented by the population
student and the many variables that contribute to a democratic culture present a broad
range of concerns for the research of reading, teaching, and programs
study.

Evolutionary processes

The adult's ability to engage in the enormously complex process of reading depends on
final stage of the long evolutionary process of the individual, starting with "learning to give"
meaning” (Halliday, 1975; Rosenblatt, 1985b). How does the child move from that stage
early, from that undifferentiated state of the world to "partial associative, emotional processes and
"referentials"? (Rommetveit, 1968:167). Evolutionary research can shed light on the
relationship between the emotional and cognitive aspects of the development of the ability to evoke
meaning in transactions with texts.

Research becomes necessary to accumulate systematic understanding regarding factors

educational and positive environmental impacts that do justice to the essential nature of both
linguistic behavior referent as well as the aesthetic, and likewise, to the role of the affective or of the
private aspects of meaning in both positions. How can they be reinforced?
sensorimotor explorations of the child's world, and maintain their sensitivity to sounds and to
the qualitative nuances of language? In summary, what can stimulate their ability to learn to
end of understanding, or constructing the poem, the story or the play? There is still much to know.
regarding the evolution of the ability to infer, or to establish logical connections, that is to say
read referentially and critically.

At what point in the child's early development must the context of the transaction with the text be
create a purpose for either a dominant stance, or help the reader know when to adopt it
appropriate posture to the situation? At different developmental stages, what should be the role or roles of
the reflection on the experience in reading through oral comments, writing and
from the use of other means?
One question that arises is how skills can be assimilated in a context that
promotes the understanding of its importance for the production of meaning? How can the
young reader to acquire knowledge, the intellectual frameworks, and the sense of values provided by
the links that connect discrete verbal signs and transform them into mental elaborations
significant? Traditional methods of teaching and assessment recognize the important
functions of the symbolic system, the alphabetic and phonological elements (the 'code'), and the
linguistic conventions through fragmentation into small and quantifiable units. These
they are quantitatively and, therefore, economically evaluable. But do such methods establish
habits and attitudes towards written words that inhibit the process of inferring meaning —or of
organize it and synthesize it— which is even part of the simplest reading tasks? How
Can we pave the way for transactions with increasingly rich and demanding text?

Performance

The evaluation of performance level is generally necessary as a means of ensuring the

"responsibility" of the school. Currently, there is a question of whether the evaluations
standardized tests adequately measure the student's ability. The research regarding
correlation between reading ability and factors such as age, sex, and
ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds have confirmed that it is, as expected, factors
assets. However, such research reports a state of affairs that is interpreted in accordance with
different assumptions, not all of them leading to the development of mature readers and writers. The
transactional accent in the total context of the act of reading emphasizes the democratic concern in
relationship with literacy and supports the need for a social and political reform of the factors
negative environmental factors that are energetic. At the same time, teachers must recognize that
Labeling each student group-wise and quantitatively can be unfair when creating expectations.
erroneous beliefs that become self-fulfilling prophecies.

Teaching methods

In the current transition that moves us away from more traditional teaching methods, there is the
risk that inappropriate research designs end up being used for evaluation
specific teaching methods. What criteria for successful teaching and what postulates regarding
the nature of linguistic processes supports the design of the research and the methods of
measurement? Any interpretation of results should take into account the different considerations
regarding reader, text, and context illustrated in the transactional model.

The results of the research evaluating different teaching methods suggest a

Important question: Was current teaching in accordance with the assigned label-formulas?
to the methods that were being compared? The vagueness of a term such as method 'response
of the reader" can illustrate the importance of a more accurate understanding of the processes of }
teachings that are specifically evaluated in a particular research. The same term has
has been applied to teachers who, after inducing responses to a story from the students, return to
fall into the usual methods of demonstrating the 'correct' interpretation, and to other teachers who
make the answers the beginning of a process of helping the student, to achieve that he
develop your ability to reach self-critical and sound interpretations.

There is much left to do to develop operational descriptions of the approaches that are under
comparison. Studies are needed on how teachers can lead, or
facilitate, without dominating or dictating. The ethnographic study of the classroom dynamics, the record of
teacher-student exchange, the videotapes taken in the classroom and the analysis of the text substantiate
the results of the evaluations.

Answer

The empirical responses to a text (fundamentally the written protocols) make up the basis
of much of the research on the methods that are generically referred to by the terms
"reader's response" or transactional. (The term "response" should be understood to cover multiple
activities). The protocols provide indirect evidence about the students' recall, about the
work just as it is experienced, with the reactions it provokes. Such research requires a system
coherent analysis of both written and oral work of the students. What evidence
Is there, for example, that the reading of a story was predominantly aesthetic?

The problem of the empirical evaluation of the student's aesthetic reading presents difficulties.
specific, especially since we do not postulate the existence of an evaluation or interpretation
"correct". This requires that interpretation criteria be established that reflect not only the
presence of personal feelings and associations, which are only one component, but also their
relationship with attitude and cognitive components. In short, evaluation must
to be based on clearly expressed criteria regarding the signs of increasing maturity for
manage the personal response, related to the evoked text, and the use of personal experience and
intertextual confronted with the responses of others.
In order to provide a basis for statistical correlation, analysis has been widely used.
content of the protocols to determine the components or aspects of the response. The
the purpose is to distinguish personal feelings and attitudes from, for example, analytical references,
referents of the sonnet. This requires having a set of systematic categories, such as Elements
of writing about a literary work: A study of response to literature. (Elements for writing)
about a literary work) (Purves and Rippere, 1968), which provides a common foundation for a large
amount of studies. As emphasis on the process increases, they have been conceived
refinements or alternatives. It is necessary to ensure the study of the relationship between the different
aspects of the response, or the selection and synthesis processes by which readers arrive at the
evocation and interpretation (Rosenblatt, 1985a). Qualitative research methods by
At the very least, they should complement or perhaps transform into the foundation of every method.
quantitative to evaluate transactions with written words.

The experimental designs that attempt to address the evolution of the ability to handle certain
aspects of literary art should avoid methodologies and experimental tasks that, on the contrary,
they are used to evaluate the efferent metalinguistic capabilities. For example, the levels of
the ability to elucidate a metaphor or repeat stories may not reflect the true degree of
sensitivity or experience that the child has from that metaphor or story, but rather
its capacity for categorization or referential abstraction (Verbrugge, 1979).

This dependency on the unique instance to assess individual reading ability begins to be
currently questioned and, in that sense, what has been said assumes particular importance to remember that
we deal with points on the continuous line of the evolutionary process always in motion. The habits
they are acquired and changed slowly; it may be that the effects of a change, for example, of the
traditional methods to response for teaching literature cannot be evaluated without a period
of transition between the previous approaches and the continuation of the new approaches over time.

Basic readers in the past were particularly clear examples of the questions and the
exercises that tacitly required an efferent stance towards texts defined as stories and
poems. There has always been a lack of material to help the student assimilate and
automate the aesthetic way of relating to a text and this is where it should be analyzed in
Detail the preparation for reading, the teacher's questions before and after reading, and the
mode of evaluation, as they have a powerful influence on teaching.

The studies that attempt to generalize the development of skills through evaluation
simultaneously at the different age levels present the problem of taking into account the factor
School instruction. To what extent do changes in the child's ability to tell a story or to
Commenting on the grammar of the story reflects proper instruction regarding the way of speaking.
Of a story? And likewise, to what extent have changes in literary interest occurred in the years
intermediates are not a reflection of changes in personality but rather overly narrow definitions
of the 'literary'?

Research methodologies

The previous discussion focused on suggesting problems that the transactional model can create.
research. Research methods or designs are primarily mentioned in
reference to its potentials and limitations to provide the necessary information and to the criteria
of data interpretation. Quantitative generalizations about groups are usually made
necessary, but currently there is an interest in clarifying the potentials and limitations
both quantitative and qualitative research. The empirical experimental designs
they are complemented or verified through other research approaches, such as case studies
(Birnbaum and Emig, 1991), the use of newspapers, and interviews during or after the event
linguistic, portfolios, and recordings in different media. Given that the evaluation by episode
unique has several limitations, the research in which researcher and teacher collaborate, or
carefully plan the research developed by the teacher, providing the opportunity to
extend these studies. The transactional model, in particular, indicates the ethnographic value or nature-
research list because it addresses problems in the context of people's real life and
groups in a specific cultural, social, and educational environment (Kantor, Kirby and Goetz, 1981;
Zaharlick and Green, 1991). The evolutionary emphasis also supports the need to use studies
longitudinal (Tierney, 1991). Interdisciplinary collaboration, desirable on all occasions, is
especially suitable for longitudinal studies. The research must be sufficiently
complex, varied and interrelated in order to do justice to the fact that reading is, at the same time,
an intensely individual and intensely social activity, an activity that has been
Early approaches encompass the entirety of the spectrum of modalities for observing the world.

Notes

I want to thank June Carroll Birnbaum and Roselmina Indrisano for reading this manuscript.
and to Nicholas Karolides and Sandra Murphy for having read previous versions.

The 1949 volume marks Dewey's choice of the term "transaction" to designate a
[1]

concept present in his works since 1896. My own use of such a term since 1950 is
it applied to an approach developed since 1938.
[2]
By 1981, 'transactional theory', 'efferent stance', and 'aesthetic stance' were such common currency.
current enough to be included in A Dictionary of Reading and Related Terms
reading and related terms), being attributed to my person. But the often confusing use of the
terms led me to write Viewpoints: Transaction versus Interaction - A Terminological
Rescue Operation (1985) (Perspectives: Transaction versus interaction. An operation of
terminological rescue
3
The transactional reading model presented here covers the entire range of similarities and
differences between readers and between author and reader. Always in the transaction between reader and text, the
the basis for the construction of new meanings and new experiences must be the activation of the
reservoir of linguistic experiences of the reader. Hence, it is applicable to bilingual instruction and
to the reading of texts produced in other cultures.
[4]
Literature as Exploration emphasizes the process of instruction.
which can be supported based on personal evocation and response. The illustrations of debates
in the classroom and the chapters that deal with expanding the framework, about the basic social concepts and
about emotion and reason indicate how the teacher can democratically moderate the
debate and help students grow, not only in their ability to handle increasingly complex texts
complexes but in their personal, social, and cultural understanding.

Bibliographic references

Ames, A. (1955) The nature of our perceptions, prehensions, and behavior. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Undivided attention

Applebee, A. N. (1974) Tradition and reform in the teaching of English. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of
English.

Bartlett, F. C. (1932) Remembering: A study in experimental and social psychology. London: Cambridge University
Press.

The emergence of symbols

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International Reading Association
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