Reader Expectations

BEFORE: Madness was a hot topic in nineteenth-century America. Social perceptions were a mish-mosh of superstitions left over from the Dark Ages, religious fears of demonic possession, Enlightenment views of man as a biological machine, and innovative approaches from—and twisted interpretations of—the Moral Treatment Movement just then crossing the ocean from Europe. Terminology changed. Science advanced then broke into brittle facades of prejudice and cruelty. Cures—despite rigorous treatments—were rare.

AFTER: Madness was a hot topic in nineteenth-century America. At that time, whispered conversations were a mish-mosh of competing factors: superstitions left over from the Dark Ages, religious fears of demonic possession, and Enlightenment views of man as a biological machine. In addition, the Moral Treatment Movement was just then crossing the ocean from Europe to challenge perceptions from the past. New ideas, along with new terminology and treatments competed for dominance, but often broke into brittle facades of prejudice and cruelty. In the midst of this perceptual muddle, actual cures were rare.

Kolln’s explanation of reader expectations put a nebulous idea into words for me. In the Before paragraph, I considered cohesive flow to be achieved through a, more or less, instinctual process. Kolln very simply proved me wrong. In considering how the previous sentence logically sets up expectations for the next sentence, I believe my paragraph is easier to read and comprehend. For instance, in the Before paragraph, even though I use the term “hot topic,” my second sentence fails to connect by mentioning conversations, discourse, reports, or other examples of people talking to each other. The second sentence in the After paragraph flows more cohesively by mentioning “whispered conversations,” which not only connects to the first sentence, but uses power words to allude to the pervasive attitude that mental illness is shameful or scary and should not be spoken of.