Identify the author’s purpose
key notes:
✈️ An author’s purpose is what he or she hopes to accomplish with a given text. You can determine an author’s purpose by looking at the types of words, phrases, and sentences that an author chooses to include.
✈️ When authors write to persuade, or convince, they often state their arguments or positions directly and provide evidence to support those positions. They may state their positions with words like should,
✈️ must, best or worst, and they may include a call to action, such as Contact your local representative today!
✈️ When authors write to inform, they often provide facts, definitions, examples, and details about a topic.
✈️ When authors write to explain, they often break down a concept or process into smaller parts or steps.
✈️ When authors write to describe, they often use sensory details to tell what something looks like, sounds like or feels like.
Learn with an example
🏀 Read the text.
Slouched at a corner table in a forgotten diner in a quiet part of town, Rowan Shaw looks as if he just rolled out of bed. Shaw, who is known as the ‘difficult one’ in the boy band Momentum, is wearing a pair of heavily ripped jeans and a white T-shirt. His black leather jacket looks as if it might have been run over by a bulldozer. A faded straw fedora is pulled low over his forehead, casting a shadow across brown eyes fringed with ridiculously thick eyelashes.
🏀 Which author’s purpose is suggested by the text?
- to inform readers about the boy band Momentum
- to describe Rowan Shaw’s appearance
- The author’s purpose is to describe Rowan Shaw’s appearance.
🏀 Read the text.
Slouched at a corner table in a forgotten diner in a quiet part of town, Rowan Shaw looks as if he just rolled out of bed. Shaw, who is known as the ‘difficult one’ in the boy band Momentum, is wearing a pair of heavily ripped jeans and a white T-shirt. His black leather jacket looks as if it might have been run over by a bulldozer. A faded straw fedora is pulled low over his forehead, casting a shadow across brown eyes fringed with ridiculously thick eyelashes.
🏀 Which author’s purpose is suggested by the text?
- to describe Rowan Shaw’s appearance
- to convince readers that Rowan Shaw is an important musician
- The author’s purpose is to describe Rowan Shaw’s appearance.
🏀 Read the text.
Slouched at a corner table in a forgotten diner in a quiet part of town, Rowan Shaw looks as if he just rolled out of bed. Shaw, who is known as the ‘difficult one’ in the boy band Momentum, is wearing a pair of heavily ripped jeans and a white T-shirt. His black leather jacket looks as if it might have been run over by a bulldozer. A faded straw fedora is pulled low over his forehead, casting a shadow across brown eyes fringed with ridiculously thick eyelashes.
🏀 Which author’s purpose is suggested by the text?
- to inform readers about the boy band Momentum
- to describe Rowan Shaw’s appearance
- The author’s purpose is to describe Rowan Shaw’s appearance.
Let’s practice!
Read the text.
As an actor, it is your job to deliver lines in a realistic way. However, you must first memorise them.
To begin, handwrite your lines, copying them exactly and focusing on every word. Then, record yourself reading them out loud and play them back repeatedly. You can listen while doing other activities. Next, cover the lines with a scrap of paper, say them and check them.
Finally, ask someone to ‘run’ your lines with you. Have the person hold the script and read the other roles as you recite your lines. Move around, experiment with your delivery and allow yourself to make mistakes. Now, you are ready to perform!