All you need to know about

Author’s Purpose, Position

and Point of View
in a nonfiction text

Graphics from Microsoft ™ ClipArt and Google Images

What will we learn today?
We will learn how to identify
the author’s purpose for
writing different texts.
 What is
Author’s Purpose?
Everything you read has a purpose.
When authors write books, magazines,
newspapers, on-line articles, even commercials,
they choose their words for a purpose.
The author’s purpose is the
reason for writing the text:
to Persuade, Inform,
Inform or
Entertain.
Entertain
 Author’s Purpose
to persuade
When the author’s purpose is to
persuade,
persuade the author wants the
reader to side with his or her
position.
A persuasive text contains facts
and the author’s opinion.
opinion
With persuasive texts, the author’s position
is for or against the issue or topic.
• Written to convince reader to
change their thinking.
• Sped money on something
• Support a cause
• Offer a solution to a problem
Examples of Texts that are written to
Persuade:
• Advertisements
• Campaign/Political Speeches
• Persuasive letters or notes
• Church sermons
• Opinion Editorials
• Movie or book reviews

*The primary purpose of such a text is to persuade

people to purchase a product or a service.
 Author’s
Purpose
to inform

If the author’s purpose is to inform,

inform the
reader learns something from the text.
It’s primary purpose is to enlighten the
reader or provide information about a
topic.
Examples of Texts that are written to
Inform:
• Expository Essays or Articles
• Textbooks
• Instructions or Directions
• Encyclopaedias or other
Reference Texts

*The primary purpose of such a text is to inform

its reader.
 Can you identify

the author’s
purpose?
YES! The correct
answer is to inform.
inform

The label contains information and

instructions on how to use the medicine.
Author’s Purpose
to entertain
If the author’s purpose is to
entertain,
entertain an author writes
to interest the reader.

It’s primary purpose is to entertain/amuse the

readers. This does not mean that the text must
be happy; the text could be a tragedy, but its
purpose is to give entertainment
Examples of Texts that are written to
Entertain:
• Stories
• Poems
• Dramas
• Songs

*The primary purpose of such a text is to

entertain readers.
Can a text have
2 purposes?
YES! Some texts will
have two purposes.

For example, if an article

is about eating healthy, it
will try to persuade you
to eat your vegetables
and inform you about the different types
of food groups.
Can a text have
2 purposes?
Some texts do
have two purposes.

For example, if a story tells how

a teen learned to deal with
moving to a new school, the
text would inform and entertain
the reader.
Here are 3 questions that
you can ask yourself to help
you identify the authors’
purpose:
Let’s
read!
 Is the text a poem, play or
story?
If the text is primarily providing readers
with facts and information, then we can
conclude that the author’s main
purpose in writing is to inform the
readers. If the text does not contain an
abundance of what appears to be
factual information, then go to the next
question.
Does the text provide a lot of
facts and information?
If the text is a poem, play, or story,
then it is safe to say that the
author’s main purpose is to
entertain readers. If the text is
not a poem, play or story, ask
yourself the next question.
Is the text attempting to get
the reader to do something?
If the texts contains many
arguments and claims, or a call
where a reader is urged to take
action, then the author’s main
purpose is to persuade.