What is the author’s
purpose?
• All authors have a reason, or
purpose, for writing. The details
and information that they present
demonstrate their purpose.
• Ask yourself, “What does the
author want me to learn or think
as a result of reading or viewing
their work?”
Four Main Purposes
•
•
•
•
To
To
To
To
persuade
entertain
inform
describe
• A piece of writing can have more
than one purpose
Name the author’s purpose:
• A comic book
• A weather report
• An editorial article
• The sports section of the
newspaper
Name the author’s purpose:
•A comic book
•A weather report
•An editorial article
•The sports section
of the newspaper
Name the author’s
purpose:
•A comic book
•A weather report
•An editorial article
•The sports section of the
newspaper
Answer:
In an editorial, the
author writes an article
to express his/her
opinion on a subject.
The author’s purpose in
writing an editorial is to
persuade the audience to
agree with his/her
opinion.
Name the author’s purpose
• A comic book
• A weather report
• An editorial article
• The sports section of the
newspaper
What is the author’s purpose?
A Tabloid Newspaper Writer
Answer:
What is the author’s purpose?
A propaganda poster:
“The Eternal Jew”
Answer:
Night by Elie Wiesel
•A memoir based on
Wiesel’s experience during
the Holocaust and having
lost his faith in God and
humanity.
•Elie Wiesel describes
living in the ghetto,
surviving the
concentration camps, and
finally being liberated.
•His purpose: to inform
and to describe.