Identify Author’s Purpose
Why
do you think the author wrote this piece? To persuade? To entertain?
To inform? To express? Author’s purpose is the reason or reasons
an author has for writing a selection. Authors may have more than one purpose for writing.
Purpose can be stated explicitly or readers may have
to infer the intent.
Reflective
readers are able to analyze information when they can describe
author’s purpose. Identifying purpose may give readers
clues about how to approach a text and what strategies to use before, during, and after reading to build understanding.
Guiding Questions:
- Based
on the title, why do think the author wrote this selection?
- Which
words do you think best describe the main reason the author wrote this
selection: to provide readers with information? To describe a person,
event, or issue? To express their own thoughts and feelings? To persuade
readers to think about an issue in a certain way and to take action?
Or to entertain the reader?
- Why did
the author write the article from a particular point of view?
- How did
the author influence your response to the selection?
- Was the
author’s purpose specifically stated?
- Do you
think that the author achieved his/her intended purposes? Did the article
effectively give information? Entertain readers? Express the author’s
thoughts and feelings? Persuade readers to think about an issue and/or
take action?
- What
examples from the text support your conclusions about author’s
purpose?
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