Teach students how to identify an author's purpose with this interactive presentation. Designed specifically for intermediate and middle school students.
3. Persuade convince
Inform give facts
Entertain fiction
Compare two or more
Express feelings
4. Persuade
Written convince you to change your thinking, spend
money, support a cause, or offer a solution to a
problem
Examples
Advertisements/Commercials
Political Speeches VOTE
Church sermons or literature
Opinion Editorials
Movie or book reviews
5. Inform
Written to give information or describe something.
Authors use facts and reasons to get the point
across.
Examples
Textbooks
News articles
Informational Brochures
Encyclopedias
Schedules, charts, instructions
6. Entertain
Written to interest the reader, or appeal to
emotions such as pleasure, sadness, anger, or
humor.
Examples
Fiction books and other stories
Plays and movies
Comic strips
Video games
Sports articles or programs
7. Compare
Examines the way two or more things are alike or
different. Can have a secondary purpose to either
inform or persuade.
Examples
Comparison essays
Political analysis
Consumer or product reports
8. Express
Written to share a writer’s feelings or express
opinions.
Examples
Poetry
Songs
Blogs
Love letters
Journals and diaries
Letters to the editor
10. What is the Purpose?
A song about a father’s joy and love for his new
baby girl.
A political speech recommending that you support
a tax increase.
A poster in the hall that encourages students to
say no to drugs.
A pamphlet in a doctor’s office that explains the
disease diabetes.
A letter explaining the differences between two
types of medical insurance.
12. Question Stems
• The purpose…
What is the most likely reason the author wrote …
…author probably wrote to…
Why do you think the author choose…
How do you think the author would feel about…
Why do you think the author decided to…
Why does the author begin (end) the story with…
13. Answer Choices
The types of author’s purposes are often revealed
in the answer choices. Learning key words will help
identify the purpose each answer choice
represents.
A) To solve the problem…
B) To encourage…
C) To describe…
D) To show…
14. Example 1
What is the most likely reason the author wrote
“Picture This”?
A)to persuade readers to learn photography
B) to share the benefits of a career in
photography
C) to explain how photographic film captures an
image
D)to encourage readers to develop their own film
15. Example 2
Source #1 and Source #2 are written on the
same topic. What was the purpose of each
passage? Were the purposes of the passages the
same? Did the articles achieve their
purposes? Use text evidence to support your
answer.
16. Example 3
Which detail supports the author’s purpose for
writing this selection?
A) Dog owners spend as much as $11,000 on their
dogs in their lifetime
B) Dogs in other countries live in packs
C) There are more than 65 million pet dogs in the
U.S.
D) People think that their dogs need only love from
them
17. Example 4
This article would most likely be found in a…
A)Textbook about animal behavior.
B) Popular science or health magazine.
C) Newspapers local news section.
D)Professional journal for veterinarians.
23. Practice Session
Identify the key words in the answer
choices to each question. Explain which
author’s purpose is indicated by that
key word.
24. You can tell from the first paragraph that
this excerpt comes from a biography because
the author…
A)explains what Latimer thought and felt
B) encourages readers to choose careers
that use their talents
C) creates suspense about a fictional
character.
D)uses stanzas and rhyming words to express
an idea.
25. What is the most likely reason the author
wrote the article?
A)To convince the reader to purchase a
meerkat for a pet.
B)To compare the meerkats ability to hunting
for food to that of the domestic cat.
C) To describe the characteristics of the
meerkat.
D)To discuss the importance of cooperation
for meerkats and humans.
26. The author probably wrote this selection
to…
A)educate pet owners about the best ways to
care for their pets
B)urge pet owners to make regular visits to
their vet
C) describe the process of adopting a pet
D)influence readers to adopt pets from
shelters
27. Created by
Barbara Yardley, M.Ed.
For more resources and ideas visit:
www.readingandwritingoutloud.com
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Barbara-Yardley/
Notas del editor
Why do you text our friends? Post to your facebook page? Pass a note? Briefly list some of the reasons for communicating in these written formats. Ask students to suggest reasons that writers create scripts for movies, write songs, or create advertising campaigns.
We often classify the purposes for writing into different categories. This unit introduces the five most common. They can be remembered by using the acronym PIECE. Recognizing what an author’s purpose is helps you to better understand the text you are reading. This skill is often tested on important reading assessments.
Caution: Just because an article or speech doesn’t convince you doesn’t change the intended purpose. Always consider what the author intended.
Caution: Just because an article or speech doesn’t convince you doesn’t change the intended purpose. Always consider what the author intended.
Caution: Some students will misidentify this purpose because they are not interested in the story. Since they are not entertained, they incorrectly assume that the author’s purpose must be something else. Caution students to always consider what the author intended when writing the piece, as opposed to the effect the writing has on them personally.
Caution: Just because an article or speech doesn’t convince you doesn’t change the intended purpose. Always consider what the author intended.
Poems and songs are in this category because the author purpose in writing the piece originally was to express some type of feeling. Although songs and poems do entertain us, when identifying an author’s purpose we always go back to the original intent.
Why would it be important to know when something is intended to inform or persuade?
Recognize when a question is asking about the author’s purpose or intent. Provide handout for reader’s journals.
Key words often appear at the beginning of the answer choices. Teach students to highlight these words and connect them to the author’s purposes.
Have students identify the key words in each of the answer choices and identify the type of author’s purpose it represents.
Discuss the audience and possible purpose of each one of these publications. Help students make the connection between the type of publication and the purpose of a text.
Look for key words in the answer choices. They often come at the beginning of the answer choice. For example: To encourage the reader to recycle paper waste; or To prove that buying products manufactured in America will decrease unemployment.
Examples: To explain how the Emperor Nero came to power; or To help the reader understand the process of photosynthesis; to instruct the reader on how to create a dream catcher; to give readers examples of different types of volcanoes
Examples: To create suspense; or To tell a humorous story about growing up.
Examples: To explain how both players have similar styles; to show how the National Parks in Utah and Florida are alike; to contrast the administrations of the two presidents
Examples: To share her feelings about being young and heart broken; to discuss the emotions Wendy felt when Peter takes her flying
