ABSTRACT
Let us suppose that a writer proposes to communicate some insight A to a reader. Then by an insight B the writer will grasp the reader's habitual accumu lation of insights C; by a further insight D he will grasp the deficiencies in insight E that must be made up before the reader can grasp the insight A; finally, the writer must reach a practical set of insights F that will govern his verbal flow, the shaping of his sentences, their combination into paragraphs, the sequence of paragraphs in chapters and of chapters in books. Clearly, this practical insight F differs notably from the insight A to be communicated. It is determined by the insight A as its principal objective. But it is also determined by the insight B, which settles both what the writer need not explain and, no less, the resources of language on which he can rely to secure effective communication. Further, it is determined by the insight D, which fixes a subsidiary goal that has to be attained if the principal goal is to be reached. Finally, the expression will be a failure in the measure that insights B and D miscalculate the habitual development C and the relevant deficiencies E of the anticipated reader.
