Expository Discourse Addressed to Inexperienced Recipients
The article examines the peculiarities of interaction between the sender of the message and the recipient, when the former tries to shape a new concept in the mind of the recipient, and the latter lacks background knowledge essential for comprehension. The author of the article attempts to determine the ways of removing barriers to successful communication. The paper provides detailed analysis of the expository strategies that can be employed when the interaction is immediate and when it is mediated by the printed text. To explain a concept to a layman, it can be helpful to use: (a) paraphrasing and definitions instead of specific terms; (b) the rhetorical device of “division” to characterize different aspects of the object; (c) causality chains; (d) analogies from everyday life, etc. The article is concluded with summing up the tentative steps of organizing an effective expository message meant for an inexperienced reader or listener.