Understanding & Identifying Author's Purpose

What is the main goal of an author's purpose question?

• Identify the author's feelings

• Identify why the author wrote the text

• Describe the setting of the text

• Explain the plot

Which choice best states the author's purpose if they wrote to inform?

• To convince readers to change their minds

• To make readers laugh

• To describe a person's feelings

• To explain how a process works

When an author writes to entertain, their purpose is to...

• Convince readers of something

• Provide factual information

• Give readers enjoyment

• Teach a specific lesson

If a passage explains the history of the internet, what is the author's purpose?

• To inform about how the internet began

• To argue against the internet’s importance

• To entertain with internet stories about memes

• To describe future technology

Which detail best helps identify the author's purpose in a passage about climate change?

• The author discusses their personal life

• The author describes a funny incident with an electric car

• The author jokes about the weather

• The author lists several solutions to climate change

What is one question you should ask when attempting to determine the author's purpose?

• Who is the intended audience?

• How often is this topic written about?

• When was the passage first released?

• What publication was this first in?

The question, "What does the author want the reader to think, feel, or do?" relates to...

• Support

• Intent

• Audience

• Main Idea

Author's purpose questions require you to go beyond what a text says and work to determine...

• how the text says it.

• when the work was written.

• why the text says it.

• who the author is.

Which detail would most likely appear in a passage where the author's purpose is to persuade?

• A summary of historical events

• A list of facts without opinion

• A description of a personal experience

• An argument supported by evidence

What is the author's purpose in a passage about how photosynthesis works?

• To explain the process of photosynthesis

• To persuade readers to grow plants

• To entertain with plant stories

• To argue that photosynthesis is unnecessary