3 Author's Purpose
Learn to identify an author's purpose and explain how evidence, tone, language, and point of view help communicate it.
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An author's is what the author hopes to accomplish by writing. Common purposes include informing or explaining, persuading, and entertaining. A text may have more than one ; for example, a personal story might entertain while also persuading readers to care about an issue.
The is what a text is about, while the is what the author wants to do about that . A text about school gardens could explain how gardens work, persuade a school to build one, or tell an entertaining story set in one.
Identify the author's
Begin by considering the whole text rather than relying only on its title or a single sentence. Ask what the author wants readers to know, feel, believe, or do. Also notice what is emphasized or repeated, what appears at the beginning or end, what kind of text it is, and who seems to be its intended audience.
A text type can provide a clue, but it does not prove the author's : an article may inform, argue, or do both. Support your interpretation with details from the text. Close reading and text-dependent questions can help readers move from basic understanding toward analyzing and supporting interpretations with .
Analyze the author's choices
Authors shape meaning through the they select, their , and their language. Analysis should explain not only what choices the author makes, but how those choices help accomplish the .
may include facts, examples, explanations, expert opinions, personal experiences, or descriptions. Notice what the author includes, emphasizes, or leaves out. Consider whether the is relevant and sufficient to support the author's claims. Analysis of also considers how supports points or responds to other viewpoints.
is the author's attitude toward the subject or audience, conveyed through details and wording. A may be hopeful, urgent, amused, skeptical, or disapproving. is not the same as : a writer may use an urgent to persuade readers or a calm, objective to explain a process. Identify specific words or details that create the , then connect it to the author's goal.
Language and
means word choice. Precise technical terms can help explain a subject, vivid imagery can make a story engaging, and emotionally charged words can influence readers' reactions. Figurative language, repetition, and direct address can also shape meaning and . Consider why the author may have chosen particular words instead of more neutral alternatives.
in a short argument
In the argument below, the author proposes turning an unused part of the playground into a garden:
Our school should turn the unused corner of the playground into a garden. A garden would give students a place to observe plants during science lessons, and classes could grow vegetables for the cafeteria. In a survey, most students said they would like to help care for it. Instead of leaving that corner empty, let’s make it a lively outdoor classroom.
The main is to persuade the school to create a garden. The author gives reasons connected to science lessons and cafeteria vegetables, and includes a survey suggesting student interest. The phrase “lively outdoor classroom” creates a positive, hopeful . Contrasting the proposal with “leaving that corner empty” makes the garden seem like a better use of the space. Together, these choices make the proposal seem useful and appealing.
and
is the position or perspective from which a subject is presented, and it can reveal what the author believes or emphasizes. In a story, distinguish the author from the narrator: the narrator's perspective shapes how events are described, but it is not automatically the author's own view.
When comparing accounts of the same , look at which facts, examples, and perspectives each author emphasizes.
Build an -based explanation
To explain an author's and choices, make a claim, cite a specific detail, and explain the detail's effect:
The author’s is to ___. The detail “___” supports this because ___. The author’s [, , or word choice] encourages readers to ___.
A complete explanation identifies what the author wants readers to know, believe, feel, or do, then uses specific textual to show how selected , , and language advance that . Consider the author's , and do not assume that a narrator's perspective is automatically the author's own.