AUTHOR’S PURPOSE
Identifying and practicing with finding author’s
purpose
Review: What is author’s purpose?


Write this on your “white board”; write it on the
yellow side if you are unsure and one the green
side if you are sure.
Author’s purpose: why the author writes the piece.
Different purposes

Authors write to…
 Inform
 Teach
 Entertain
 Persuade
Identify purpose

It was a glorious morning in Alabama. The sun was
shining through the trees. Alan couldn't wait to find his
fishing pole and call his friend Sam to go fishing. They
had a great time on these early morning fishing trips.
They took their dogs with them and the dogs would
swim in the lake while they fished. It was so funny to
watch those dogs paddle around the lake.
Identify Purpose

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Identify Purpose

The Underground Railroad was a secret organization
which helped slaves escape to freedom. Many slaves
were able to escape because of the conductors and
station masters. The northern states were free states
and slaves were free once they arrived in the north.
Secret codes and signals were used to identify the
conductors and station masters.
Review: What is Satire?

a form of social commentary (can be protest) that
ridicules something in order to INSPIRE CHANGE
To make it SATIRE one must…


Have a point
Want to inspire change
THUS! The author’s purpose in a
parody/satire is…


To ENTERTAIN
To PERSUADE
Dora the Conquistador Dolls (P3)

Read this article to yourself and highlight anything
that might be following the purpose
 TO
ENTERTAIN
To Persuade



What does this ridicule?
 “Dora the Explorer”
Why are they ridiculing it?
 It is humorous (to entertain)
 It is familiar (most know about it)
 It connects modern “conquests” to former
“conquests”
What are they trying to convince you?
 Consumerism
is slightly out of control
 Conquistadors are falsely heroized.
How do you know the MAIN purpose?

For it to be satire…it must inspire a change in:
Mentality
 Action

Explorers can be seen in different
ways:
Heroes
Villains
Narratives Accounts


tell the story of real-life events
useful to historians and other researchers as
primary or secondary sources
Primary sources


Firsthand accounts: created by people who lived
through significant historical events.
often biased: may reflect the writer’s personal
“slant” or one-sided perspective.
Secondary sources


Secondhand accounts: written by people who
researched the events but did not directly witness or
experience them.
more objective: may lose immediacy and accuracy.
Two we’ll look at



Narrative Account
Journal
Primary or Secondary?
Names to Know



Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca
García Lopez de Cardenas
Christopher Columbus
Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca

Exploration narrative writer: “A Journey Through
Texas”
through FL (2nd command)
 Unfriendly conditions=Shipwreck on the way to Mexico.
 Journey
 60
men survived
 Washed upon the shore at Galveston, TX.
 15 lived through the winter
 3 survived to the end of the journey (18 months of
wandering)
 Journey

sparked exploration of Texas.
Always encouraged others to explore America
García Lopez de Cardenas



Credited with being the first European to explore
the Grand Canyon (1540)
Searching of “Cibola”—stationed near what was
rumored to be one of the 7 cities of gold.
Was dispatched on a mission to find a great river
 Found
it
 Couldn’t get to it
Christopher Columbus
 Originally
from Genoa, Italy.
 Explored from a young age—had bigger
dreams
 Petitioned Portugal for the funds
 Turned
him down
 Petitioned
 King
Spain
Ferdinand and Queen Isabella accepted
 Left in 1492.
Think of a time when you explored something. This
can be a new place, a new school, a new store, a
purse, a subject, anything that you explored. What
did you explore? Where were you? What was the
purpose of your exploration? Did you learn
anything new? What are some of the details of
your exploration?
A narrative can encompass any
type of exploration!
In what way can narrative accounts be
seen as a timeless art?
What’s the purpose of an exploration
narrative or journal?
 Inform?
 Teach?
 Entertain?
 Persuade?
STYLE
Author’s style

How they write what they write
 Diction
(word choice)
 Emotion
 Figurative language
 Descriptions
Diction: Signal words
Passage
Signal Words
Purpose
1. On that same day many fell sick, and
on the next day eight of them died.
On that same day; On the next
day
Indicates a time shift
2. We called them “of the cows,” because
most of the cows die near there.
Because
Indicates a reason for
something happening
3. What from the top seemed easy was,
on the contrary, rough and difficult.
On the contrary
Indicates a contrast—
compares 2 or more
things.
4. They entreated us not to be angry any
longer, because, even if it was their
death, they would take us where we
chose.
5. The next morning all those who were
strong enough came along, and at the
end of three journeys we halted.
6. The people who heard of our approach
did not come out to meet us, but we
found them at their homes.
Comparing works
Writer
Landscape and
cultural details
Writer’s reaction
Cabeza de Vaca
Lopez de Cardenas
Cabeza de Vaca
Similarities
Lopez de Cardenas
Act 1

With your group create the following chart and find
details from the text
Act 2

Now, think about how these ideas are similar and
different by creating a chart like this one
Act 3

Discuss the following
question and then write
your response in your notes.
Make sure you have at
least 3 supporting details
to back up your response:

Which narrative do you
think is more effective?
Consider author’s purpose
and style in your response
(diction, word choice, verb
usage etc)
Answer
Supporting detail 1
Supporting detail 2
Supporting detail 3
Diction: verbs


Why do strong verbs help us SEE what’s going on?
Find some examples in “Boulders Taller” and “A
Journey”
Consider as you read
Purpose
Style
Diction
Signal words
Verbs

Columbus’ Purpose
Descriptions
“I went ashore, and found no habitation save a
single house, and that without an occupant:
we had no doubt that the people had fled in
terror at our approach” (60).
“A thousand different sorts of trees, with their
fruit were to be met with, and wonderfully
delicious odor” (61).
“I discovered also the aloe tree, and am
determined to take on board the ship
tomorrow, ten quintals of it, as I am told it is
valuable” (61).
“If the weather serve, and sail round the island,
till I succeed in meeting with the king, in order
to see if I can acquire any of the gold, which I
hear he possesses” (62).
Purpose