Academic Vocabulary

Academic Vocabulary

Author’s Message:

the "big idea" of the text or a part of the text; It is what the author wants the reader to learn or take away from reading the text. There may be more than one message in a text. What the author of an argumentative text is trying to convince the reader to think or do.

Author’s Purpose:

refers to an author's main goal in a piece of writing. If the goal is to inform or teach, it is very likely that the author will include facts, descriptions, and reasonable explanations.

Informational Text:

informative/explanatory texts which examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly. 

Central idea:

also known as the main idea; this is the most important thought of the entire text and tells the reader the author's main point in writing.

Inference:

to make connections within and beyond a text in order to draw conclusions about information or ideas not explicitly stated in the text. Students should use the text and prior knowledge to make an inference. 

Text Evidence:

information directly from texts used to justify responses