---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Every text assumes a reader."
description: "\"Every text assumes a reader.\" — Alberto Manguel"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/139/alberto-manguel-2467_assumes_every-text-assumes-a-reader-2801134_2801134.jpg"
---

#  Every text assumes a reader.

![“Every text assumes a reader.” quote by Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/139/alberto-manguel-2467_assumes_every-text-assumes-a-reader-2801134_2801134.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/139/alberto-manguel-2467_assumes_every-text-assumes-a-reader-2801134_2801134.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/139/alberto-manguel-2467_assumes_every-text-assumes-a-reader-2801134_2801134.jpg)

> “Every text assumes a reader.”

[Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Every written message presupposes an audience, making communication a relational act.

**In simple terms:** Writing assumes a reader.

Key Takeaway

Write with audience in mind.

Themes

communication writing reader assumption

Mood

analytical thoughtful

Type

explanatory philosophical

When to use this quote

- marketing copy
- academic paper
- personal letter

Key Concepts

rhetoric interpretation context

Questions to Reflect On

- Who is your intended reader?
- How does audience shape content?

A Different Perspective

Readers may interpret differently.

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## Related quotes

> [A state of mind is something that one assumes. It cannot be purchased, it must be created.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/a-state-of-mind-is-something-that-one-assumes-it-cannot-be-purchased/)

[Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/)

> [Pity the mother who assumes the name without being all this implies!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-bronson-alcott/pity-the-mother-who-assumes-the-name-without-being-all-this-implies/)

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> [The past assumes the nature of the present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-stone/the-past-assumes-the-nature-of-the-present/)

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> [Everyone assumes because I'm on a reality show I can't act. Which is fine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-cavallari/everyone-assumes-because-i-m-on-a-reality-show-i-can-t-act-which-is/)

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> [In the Lord's Prayer, Jesus assumes that asking for forgiveness would be a daily occurrence, as would praying that we might be delivered from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-deyoung/in-the-lord-s-prayer-jesus-assumes-that-asking-for-forgiveness-would/)

[Kevin DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-deyoung/)

> [I don't have one specific dream role: I'm an actor, so I want to play everything. In this business, they'll pigeonhole you in two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaime-pressly/i-don-t-have-one-specific-dream-role-i-m-an-actor-so-i-want-to-play/)

[Jaime Pressly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaime-pressly/)

> [Im single because no one stays around enough to get to know me and just judges and assumes on my appearance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-single-because-no-one-stays-around-enough-to-get-to-know-me-and/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Everybody assumes I know everything, so they send me these notes sometimes, and I don't know what they're talking about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/everybody-assumes-i-know-everything-so-they-send-me-these-notes/)

[Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/)

> [My companion assumes to know my mood and habit of thought, and we go on from explanation to explanation, until all is said that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/my-companion-assumes-to-know-my-mood-and-habit-of-thought-and-we-go/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [The average person in Hollywood just assumes that if you're on a hit TV show, then that's the first thing you've ever done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah-washington/the-average-person-in-hollywood-just-assumes-that-if-you-re-on-a-hit/)

[Isaiah Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah-washington/)

> [Iraq assumes responsibility for its own future... They have got to step up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-sessions/iraq-assumes-responsibility-for-its-own-future-they-have-got-to-step/)

[Jeff Sessions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-sessions/)

> [“A stupid question asks about things so fundamental that everyone assumes the answer is obvious.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-norman/a-stupid-question-asks-about-things-so-fundamental-that-everyone/)

[Don Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-norman/)

> [When someone rings the doorbell my dog always assumes it's for him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-someone-rings-the-doorbell-my-dog-always-assumes-it-s-for-him/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I think that the first thing is you should have a strategic asset allocation mix that assumes that you don't know what the future…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/i-think-that-the-first-thing-is-you-should-have-a-strategic-asset/)

[Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/)

> [There's an inclination to get on the inside of Jesus' psyche, and I think that's a deep mistake because it assumes that what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-hauerwas/there-s-an-inclination-to-get-on-the-inside-of-jesus-psyche-and-i/)

[Stanley Hauerwas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-hauerwas/)

## More by Alberto Manguel

> [Most readers, then and now, have at some time experienced the humiliation of being told that their occupation is reprehensible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/most-readers-then-and-now-have-at-some-time-experienced-the/)

[Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/)

> [Libraries, whether my own or shared with a greater reading public, have always seemed to me pleasantly mad places, and for as long as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/libraries-whether-my-own-or-shared-with-a-greater-reading-public-have/)

[Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/)

> [At different times and in different places I have come to expect certain books to look a certain way, and, as in all fashions,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/at-different-times-and-in-different-places-i-have-come-to-expect/)

[Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/)

> [I have no feelings of guilt regarding the books I have not read and perhaps will never read; I know that my books have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/i-have-no-feelings-of-guilt-regarding-the-books-i-have-not-read-and/)

[Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/)

> [“Then one day, from the window of a car (the destination of that journey is now forgotten), I saw a billboard by the side…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/then-one-day-from-the-window-of-a-car-the-destination-of-that-journey/)

[Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/)

> [The shelves of books we haven't written, like those of books we haven't read, stretches out into the darkness of the universal library's farthest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/the-shelves-of-books-we-haven-t-written-like-those-of-books-we-haven/)

[Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/)

> [“I have no feeling of guilt regarding the books I have not read and perhaps will never read; I know that my books have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/i-have-no-feeling-of-guilt-regarding-the-books-i-have-not-read-and/)

[Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/)

> [Old books that we have known but not possessed cross our path and invite themselves over. New books try to seduce us daily with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/old-books-that-we-have-known-but-not-possessed-cross-our-path-and/)

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> [Ordered by subject, by importance, ordered according to whether the book was penned by God or by one of God's creatures, ordered alphabetically or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/ordered-by-subject-by-importance-ordered-according-to-whether-the/)

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> [The starting point is a question.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/the-starting-point-is-a-question/)

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> [“Ljubav je imbecilna izvesnost pomoću koje naša fantazija stvara verodostojnu utvaru.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/ljubav-je-imbecilna-izvesnost-pomo-u-koje-na-a-fantazija-stvara/)

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> [I know that something dies when i give up my books, and that my memory keeps going back to them with mournful nostalgia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/i-know-that-something-dies-when-i-give-up-my-books-and-that-my-memory/)

[Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/)

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[Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/)

> [Maybe this is why we read, and why in moments of darkness we return to books: to find words for what we already know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/maybe-this-is-why-we-read-and-why-in-moments-of-darkness-we-return-to/)

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> [As centuries of dictators have known, an illiterate crowd is the easiest to rule; since the craft of reading cannot be untaught once it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/as-centuries-of-dictators-have-known-an-illiterate-crowd-is-the/)

[Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/)

[Explore all 159 Alberto Manguel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/)

## More Assumes quotes

> [A state of mind is something that one assumes. It cannot be purchased, it must be created.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/a-state-of-mind-is-something-that-one-assumes-it-cannot-be-purchased/)

[Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/)

> [I think that the first thing is you should have a strategic asset allocation mix that assumes that you don't know what the future…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/i-think-that-the-first-thing-is-you-should-have-a-strategic-asset/)

[Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/)

> [Pity the mother who assumes the name without being all this implies!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-bronson-alcott/pity-the-mother-who-assumes-the-name-without-being-all-this-implies/)

[Amos Bronson Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-bronson-alcott/)

> [The past assumes the nature of the present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-stone/the-past-assumes-the-nature-of-the-present/)

[Oliver Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-stone/)

> [When someone rings the doorbell my dog always assumes it's for him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-someone-rings-the-doorbell-my-dog-always-assumes-it-s-for-him/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

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> [Iraq assumes responsibility for its own future... They have got to step up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-sessions/iraq-assumes-responsibility-for-its-own-future-they-have-got-to-step/)

[Jeff Sessions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-sessions/)

> [The average person in Hollywood just assumes that if you're on a hit TV show, then that's the first thing you've ever done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah-washington/the-average-person-in-hollywood-just-assumes-that-if-you-re-on-a-hit/)

[Isaiah Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah-washington/)

> [My companion assumes to know my mood and habit of thought, and we go on from explanation to explanation, until all is said that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/my-companion-assumes-to-know-my-mood-and-habit-of-thought-and-we-go/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [Everybody assumes I know everything, so they send me these notes sometimes, and I don't know what they're talking about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/everybody-assumes-i-know-everything-so-they-send-me-these-notes/)

[Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/)

> [Im single because no one stays around enough to get to know me and just judges and assumes on my appearance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-single-because-no-one-stays-around-enough-to-get-to-know-me-and/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I don't have one specific dream role: I'm an actor, so I want to play everything. In this business, they'll pigeonhole you in two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaime-pressly/i-don-t-have-one-specific-dream-role-i-m-an-actor-so-i-want-to-play/)

[Jaime Pressly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaime-pressly/)

> [In the Lord's Prayer, Jesus assumes that asking for forgiveness would be a daily occurrence, as would praying that we might be delivered from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-deyoung/in-the-lord-s-prayer-jesus-assumes-that-asking-for-forgiveness-would/)

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> [Everyone assumes because I'm on a reality show I can't act. Which is fine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-cavallari/everyone-assumes-because-i-m-on-a-reality-show-i-can-t-act-which-is/)

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> [There's an inclination to get on the inside of Jesus' psyche, and I think that's a deep mistake because it assumes that what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-hauerwas/there-s-an-inclination-to-get-on-the-inside-of-jesus-psyche-and-i/)

[Stanley Hauerwas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-hauerwas/)

[Browse all 30 Assumes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assumes/)

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