Revision

Main Idea and Purpose

Objectives
By the end of the lesson students should be able to:
1. Differentiate between the writer’s purpose and the main point
2. Read a given passage and identify the main point and writer’s purpose
3. Explain the difference between language techniques and organizational
strategies
4. Identify examples of each
5. Define the term tone
Identifying the Writer’s Main Point
● The main idea is the most general and important statement that the writer
makes about the topic
● The main idea is what the writer is writing about, the idea that you as the
reader get as you read or is left with after you are finished reading.
● The main idea is always definitive and balanced. Sometimes students make
the mistake and write only the negatives and omit the positives on the
topic.
● If you were asked the question, “What is the piece about?” and “What is the
writer saying about it?” your responses will be what you determine is the main
idea.
Main Idea Cont’d
● The main idea is never a verb so it can never b stated like this…”The main
idea of this passage is to inform…..”
● An example of how to state the main idea can be, “The main idea of the piece
is that students have problems answering the Module One Essay
 Read the extract below taken
from the May 2011 Cape Paper 2
and identify the main point.
 Example
Though it's true that tsunamis are ocean waves, calling them by the same name as the ordinary wind-driven variety is a bit like referring to
firecrackers and atomic warheads both as "explosives." Triggered by volcanic eruptions, landslides, earthquakes, and even impacts by asteroids
or comets, a tsunami represents a vast volume of seawater in motion -- the source of its destructive power.
On the open ocean, tsunami waves approach speeds of 500 mph, almost fast enough to keep pace with a jetliner. But gazing out the
window of a 747, you wouldn't be able to pick it out from the wind-driven swells. In deep water, the waves spread out and hunch down, with
hundreds of miles between crests that may be just a few feet high. A passenger on a passing ship would scarcely detect their passing. But in
fact the tsunami crest is just the very tip of a vast mass of water in motion, as a tsunami can travel great distances with little loss of energy. The
1960 earthquake off the coast of Chile generated a tsunami that had enough force to kill 150 people in Japan after a journey of 22 hours and
10,000 miles.
As the waves in the tsunami reach shore, they slow down due to the shallowing sea floor, and the loss in speed is often accompanied by a
dramatic increase in wave height. Tsunamis also flood in suddenly without warning. Tsunami waves usually don't curve over and break, like
Hawaiian surf waves. Survivors of tsunami attacks describe them as dark "walls" of water. Impelled by the mass of water behind them, the
waves bulldoze onto the shore and inundate the coast, snapping trees like twigs, toppling stone walls and lighthouses, and smashing houses
and buildings into kindling.
The contours of the seafloor and coastline have a profound influence on the height of the waves -- sometimes with surprising and
dangerous results. During the 1993 tsunami attack on Okushiri, Japan, the wave "runup" on the coast averaged about 15 to 20 meters (50 - 65
feet). But in one particular spot, the waves pushed into a V-shaped valley open to the sea, concentrating the water in a tighter and tighter space.
In the end, the water ran up to 32 meters (90 feet) above sea level, about the height of an 8-story office building.

'Adapted from Daniel Pendick, Courtesy of WNET.ORG (http://www.pbs.org/wnet/savageearth/tsunami/index.html)

Answer

The main point may actually be located in the last sentence of the introductory
paragraph. Therefore, the main point is that 'a tsunami represents a vast
volume of seawater in motion which is the source of its destructive power.'
Identifying the Writer’s Purpose
● To understand or know why the writer wrote the piece is to understand the
writer’s purpose
● To analyze that is to examine what is written and how it was written is to
understand the writer’s purpose
● It is what the writer wants to happen as a result of your reading the piece.
● The writer’s purpose/intent is always stated as a verb!
● Being aware of the writer’s purpose when you read helps you evaluate how
well the writer has achieved the purpose and decide whether he or she has
convinced you as a reader.
Writer’s Purpose Cont’d
● The active reader reads more than the words and more than even the ideas.
The active reader reads what the writer is doing.
● The active reader reconstructs both the strategies and the techniques that the
writer used to realize the purpose.
● Likewise the writer’s overall or dominant purpose determines the
techniques he or she uses.
Examples
● A purpose for the list of stock market prices in the daily newspaper can be “to
report information needed for making new decisions.”
● An editorial in the same paper might be considered specifically “to criticize the
actions” of a particular public official.
● The purpose of the comic strip would be “to entertain”
● The use of personal anecdotes in any given piece might suggest that the
writer is seeking your emotional response or sympathetic involvement in the
material
● The heavy use of statistics in an excerpt suggested that the writer’s major
purpose is to provide documentation and proof of the particular topic
Examples Cont’d
● The writer’s purpose might be to persuade the reader of the attraction of the
island as a nature lover’s paradise.
● The writer’s purpose is to criticise the behaviour of the government’s policy on
crime
Reread the passage from slide five (5)
and identify the writer’s purpose.
Avoid stating the main point and the purpose as the same
thing. They may be similar in content but how you state it in
your responses should be clearly different:

The main point is that....

The purpose is to....

NOT the main point and the purpose is to...

You will score 0 marks if you respond in this way. The

examiner will not be able to tell whether or not you
recognize the difference between the two concepts.
Let’s Play

https://quizizz.com/admin/quiz/6098a8ecfbe2de001b5a0236
Language Techniques and Organizational Strategies

When you are asked to identify both the language techniques and the
organizational strategies that the writer used to help achieve the dominant
purpose of the piece, what you are really being asked to do is to identify the
pieces of information (found in the techniques and strategies) that the writer
carefully and specifically used to get the message across.
Examples of Language Techniques
● Similes
● Metaphors
● Personification
● Visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory, gustatory and kinaesthetic imagery
● Rhetorical questions
● Alliteration
● Anecdotes
● Repetition
● Contrast
● Comparison
● Use of quotation marks to highlight a specific point
● The use of ‘we’ to include the reader
● Complex phrasing
● Long complex sentences
 Examples of Organisational Strategies
● Historical Data- photographs, artefacts this adds credibility to the piece
● Use of short paragraphs to put forward an argument (effective because the
information is easily understood)
● Presentation of a chronological outline of the development of events
● Presentation of an overview
● Opinion of a reliable source- this is effective in that the readers like to know
that well known persons have a say in the matter. This adds to the credibility
and reliability of the information.
Effectiveness of Organizational Strategies and Language
Techniques

When you have identified a technique you need to specify what it is (do not give
line number alone) and then you must write about the effectiveness of the
device.

When you write about effectiveness you are writing about:

● What the device is adding to the piece
● How the device is impacting on your senses
● How the device is adding to your understanding of the piece
● And most importantly how the device is helping to achieve the writer’s
purpose.
Organisational Strategies Cont’d

● Statistical Data - numerical information that has been verified

● Cause & Effect - shows logical trends of thought
● Comparison & Contrast - highlights similarities and differences
● Authoritative Reference - use of reputed persons or organizations for information
.
These two simple steps will help you to write about the effectiveness of each
organizational strategy and language technique:-

1. Remember or look back at the verb that you used in the purpose
2. Ask the question, “How is this personification helping to persuade the
reader to visit St. John?” or, “How is referencing an expert helping to
persuade nature lovers to visit St. Johns?”
Tone

Tone is the attitude of the author towards the topic that he or she is writing about.
Tone is closely linked to the writer’s purpose. One easy way of understanding tone
is to ask, “what attitude did I get from reading the author’s words?

Always use adjectives such as persuasive, sarcastic, formal, informative,

humorous, mysterious, critical and straight forward to describe the writer’s
tone.
Student Activity
Can you identify the organizational strategies and language techniques in the following?
● Use of the acronym UNESCO which is a reputable international organization in the extract.
● Repetition
● The use of academic language
● Use of humor
● Use of 2nd person pronoun to directly address the reader
● Use of literary devices
● Conversational tone or style
● Use of rhetorical questions
● Use of analogy
● Use of short sentences or paragraphs
● Presentation of data in a sequential timeline
● Use of step in a process approach
Independent Activity

Explain the terms:

Reliability

Validity

Credibility