def METHOD_NAME(chars, encoding="utf-8", errors="strict"):
    """Coerce *chars* to six.text_type.
    For Python 2:
      - `unicode` -> `unicode`
      - `str` -> `unicode`
    For Python 3:
      - `str` -> `str`
      - `bytes` -> decoded to `str`
    """
    if isinstance(chars, binary_type):
        return chars.decode(encoding, errors)
    elif isinstance(chars, text_type):
        return chars
    else:
        raise TypeError("not expecting type '%s'" % type(chars))