English Language Arts
Grade 8
15 min
Identify author's purpose
Identify author's purpose
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1
Introduction & Learning Objectives
Learning Objectives
Define the primary purposes authors have for writing.
Differentiate between the main author's purposes (persuade, inform, entertain).
Analyze textual evidence to support an identified author's purpose.
Explain how an author's purpose influences text structure and word choice.
Evaluate the effectiveness of an author's purpose in a given text.
Identify the author's purpose in various literary and informational texts.
Ever wonder why a writer chose *those* specific words? 🤔 Unlocking an author's purpose is like reading their mind!
In this lesson, you'll learn to identify the reasons behind a writer's choices, whether they want to convince you, teach you, or simply make you smile. Understanding author's purpose i...
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Key Concepts & Vocabulary
TermDefinitionExample
Author's PurposeThe main reason or intention an author has for writing a particular text. It's the goal the author wants to achieve by communicating with the reader.An author writing a cookbook has the purpose to inform and instruct; an author writing a fantasy novel has the purpose to entertain.
PersuadeOne of the primary author's purposes, meaning to convince the reader to agree with a particular viewpoint, opinion, or take a specific action.An editorial arguing for stricter recycling laws is written to persuade readers to support the new regulations.
InformOne of the primary author's purposes, meaning to provide facts, details, explanations, or instructions to educate the reader about a topic.A textbook chapter explaining the water cycle is wri...
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Key Rules & Conventions
The 'PIE' Strategy
Authors primarily write for one of three purposes: to Persuade, Inform, or Entertain.
When analyzing a text, first consider if the author is trying to convince you (Persuade), teach you something new (Inform), or tell a story/make you laugh (Entertain). This framework provides a starting point for deeper analysis.
Look for Clues: Textual Evidence
Identify specific words, phrases, sentence structures, and text features that directly support one of the PIE purposes.
For 'Persuade,' look for strong opinions, calls to action, emotional language, or rhetorical questions. For 'Inform,' look for facts, statistics, definitions, explanations, or step-by-step instructions. For 'Entertain,' look for narrative elements, descript...
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Challenging
Text 1: 'A new study from the Environmental Institute found that City X's air pollution levels exceeded federal limits on 15 days last month.' Text 2: 'The leaders of City X should be ashamed. Their failure to control air pollution is a direct threat to our children's health. We must demand stricter regulations now!' How do the purposes of these two texts differ?
A.Text 1's purpose is to inform by presenting data, while Text 2's purpose is to persuade by demanding action.
B.Text 1's purpose is to entertain with statistics, while Text 2's purpose is to inform about city leadership.
C.Both texts have the primary purpose of informing the public about pollution.
D.Both texts have the primary purpose of persuading the public to vote for new leaders.
Challenging
An author writes a story about a society where everyone is forced to be exactly the same. The story is engaging and has interesting characters, but it also makes a powerful point about the dangers of conformity and the value of individuality. What is the most likely secondary purpose of this text?
A.To inform readers about different types of societies.
B.To persuade readers to think critically about social pressures.
C.To describe the author's ideal form of government.
D.To provide a factual historical account of a past society.
Challenging
An author is writing about the importance of bees for the environment. How would the author's word choice and evidence likely change if their audience shifted from a group of first-grade students to a panel of professional scientists?
A.The purpose would remain the same, so no changes would be needed.
B.The author would use more complex scientific data for the scientists and simpler language for the students, even if the core purpose (to inform) is the same.
C.The author would use simpler language for the scientists and more complex data for the students.
D.The author would shift their purpose from informing the scientists to entertaining the students.
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