Author’s Purpose

Reasons for Writing

 Three Main Purposes
1. To Entertain
2. To Inform
3. To Persuade

• A piece of writing can often fulfill more than one purpose. It can, in
fact, be informative, persuasive, and entertaining all at once.
However, the writer usually has one primary purpose in writing it.
 Writing to Entertain
The MAIN purpose is to amuse readers
with humor, suspense, or stories

Examples
• Novels
• Poems
• Plays

You may learn something from a story, but

the MAIN purpose is to entertain.
 Writing to Inform
The MAIN purpose is to enlighten the reader.
The author presents facts and explains ideas
to the reader.

Examples
News article
Instructions or directions
Report

Informational writing may be entertaining, but

the MAIN purpose is to inform.
 Writing to Persuade
The MAIN purpose is to convince the reader. The
author uses facts and opinions to argue for or against
some idea
Examples
Advertisement
Campaign
Opinion Column
Persuasive writing attempts to change the reader’s mind or get
them to do something. This kind of writing may take form of
sarcasm or satire which may be perceived as ‘entertaining’ but
the main purpose is persuasion.

.
 Identifying the Author’s Purpose
• Look at the information in the passage. Does it contain a lot of facts? If it
does, the purpose may be to inform or to persuade.
• Look at the language in the passage. If it is neutral and objective, the
purpose is probably simply to inform the reader.
• If it includes terms that are strongly positive, negative, or emotional, the
purpose is probably to persuade the reader.
• If it includes situations or descriptions that are funny, surprising, or
intriguing, the writer probably wants to entertain the reader.
Practice
 1
A note written by a young girl asking her ex-
boyfriend to forgive her.
 2
A small book about a boy who loses his
Mom’s cell phone and learns that telling
the truth is the most important thing
 3
The lyrics of Via Vallen’s song
 4
The warnings on a bottle of Paracetamol.
 5
A mailing from the American Cancer Society
asking for donations to help fight cancer
 6
A timeline showing important events from
the American Civil War
 7
A map and schedule of bus routes
 8
A poem about how the world’s fresh water
supplies are polluted
 9
An internet banner telling you to click it for a
free I Phone
 10
A schedule of movies and the times that
they show for a local theatre
 11
An orange sign advising drivers that the
road beyond is under construction
 12
A classified ad in which the seller lists a
chair in good condition for ten dollars