Understanding Author's Purpose

• Reading comprehension comes from identifying key elements of a text, like the author's purpose.
• An author's purpose is the reason or motivation for writing.
• Knowing the author’s purpose allows readers to respond appropriately and match texts to their needs.
• The purpose for this book is to aid in butterfly identification and provide scientific facts.

Elements of Writing and Reader Questions

• Author's purpose: What response does the author seek from the reader?
• Audience: Who is the author primarily addressing? How does the reader's viewpoint compare to the original audience?
• Genre: Is the piece fiction or informational? How does the genre affect understanding?
• Structure: What text features are present? What are the relevant literary elements?
• Content: What is included in the text and why? What information is excluded?
• A clear understanding of the author's purpose is foundational to text analysis and information retention.

Consider the Author

• An author's biography can hint at their purpose.
• Relevant points include:
  • When the author wrote (consider the historical, political, and social context).
  • Where the author wrote.
  • What else the author wrote (is it part of a sequence or evolution of skills/viewpoint?).
  • Who the author is (personal background, authority, bias, experience).
• Becoming familiar with the author's background helps understand their purpose.

Types of Author's Purpose

• An author may have a specific and a general purpose.
• Before identifying the specific purpose, determine the general purpose.
• Three general categories of author's purpose:
  • Persuasion
  • Information
  • Entertainment
• Exceptions exist, but most writing fits into these categories.

Persuade

• Authors write to persuade readers to share an opinion or take an action.
• Persuasive writing is in essays, magazines, blogs, advertising, and books.
• Persuasive authors give opinions and make emotional appeals.
• Information may be biased, and facts may be presented from only one perspective.

Inform

• Authors write to inform readers of facts and information.
• Informational writing includes textbooks, guidebooks, journal articles, and news articles.
• Texts may be brief articles or books.
• Informative authors include factual information without opinion or interpretation.

Entertain

• Authors write to entertain readers.
• Fictional texts, like drama, science fiction, historical fiction, fantasy, romance, mystery, or realistic fiction, fall in this category.
• Entertaining text may be short or long, including mixed-media genres like graphic novels.

Multiple Purposes

• Texts, especially longer ones, are often written for multiple purposes.
• Informational texts may add elements of entertainment.
• Fictional entertainment may sway readers' opinions.
• Informational texts may include analysis or recommended reader response, combining information and persuasion.
• Look for multiple purposes in a text.
• Types of purposes include persuasion, information, and entertainment.

Persuasion Examples

• The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rainforest by Lynne Cherry sways emotions and encourages readers to preserve the rainforest.
• Martin Luther King's ''I Have a Dream'' speech persuades the audience to seek racial equality.
• Why Orwell Matters by Christopher Hitchens persuades readers on how to evaluate a classic author's work.
• Common themes of persuasive writing include philosophies, politics, economics, authors, famous people, and events.

Information Examples

• Cracking the AP Environmental Science Exam, 2020 Edition by the Princeton Review is a how-to book written to inform.
• Awesome Science Experiments for Kids: 100+ Fun STEM / STEAM Projects and Why They Work by Crystal Chatterton includes factual information and instructions.
• Are You An Ant? by Judy Allen gives information about ants' life cycle, food, shelter, and habits.
• Informational books are often targeted to a specific audience, so facts are tailored to their needs and understanding level.

Entertainment Examples

• Ready Player One by Ernest Cline combines science fiction and fantasy, exploring a fictional future society without pushing an agenda.
• Charlotte's Web by E.B. White is a children's story written for entertainment.
• Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie entertains readers with a fictional detective solving a crime.
• Many genres, fiction in particular, are filled with examples of work written to entertain.

Multiple Purposes Examples

• Tracking Trash combines information (what happens to trash in the ocean) and persuasion (take action against pollution!).
• The Magic School Bus books present scientific facts in an imaginative story, making it informative and entertaining.
• Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds is entertainment, but includes a persuasive message urging readers to consider the consequences of revenge.
• Comedy and young adult fiction often combine entertainment and persuasion.
• Informational texts are often written with an intent to persuade readers to a specific opinion or action.

How to Identify the Author's Purpose

• Readers can take these steps to determine an author's purpose:
  • Determine type of writing
  • Consider the argument
  • Think about amount of evidence or information
• First, determine the genre of the text, as essays, poems, plays, short stories, and journal articles can serve different purposes.
• A piece of fiction is at least partially for entertainment.
• Poems usually express strong emotion, so they may be used to persuade.
• Essays and journal articles are often informative and may also persuade.
• Plays may be entertaining, and often contain social commentary that can be persuasive.
• Once the genre is determined, look for further factors that reveal the author's purpose.

Consider the Argument

• Read the text carefully to determine if the author is making an argument.
• An argument is a statement of opinion defended with logic, emotion, or illustration.
• If the author argues a point, the purpose is likely persuasion.

Think About the Amount of Evidence or Information

• Evaluate the amount of factual information in a text.
• Basic facts from a neutral point of view or an argument presented from both sides indicate a purpose of information.
• Emotional appeal, single-sided argument, or biased analysis can indicate persuasion.

Explore how identifying the author's purpose is the key to reading comprehension. Recognizing the author's goal enables readers to respond effectively and select texts relevant to their needs. Learn how considering elements like audience, genre, and content enhances text analysis and information retention.