English Literature A-Level
Reader expectation
What Reader expectation means in English Literature A-Level, as defined for AQA.
Definition of Reader expectation
Check what you remember
Read the wording for your board, then hide it and explain Reader expectation in your own words. Rough notes are fine. This is a self-check, with no mark or grade.
Reference: AQA
Generic expectations shape a reader's response and how genre shapes interpretation.
Topics that use Reader expectation
- Subject content – A-level (AQA A-Level)
Related terms
- Authorial choice and textual effects
- Authorial shaping of meaning
- Comparative connections
- Context of production
- Convention, adaptation and subversion
- Critical evaluation and argument
- Form, structure and language
- Genre as a dynamic system of conventions
Using Reader expectation in the exam
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