​​​Identifying the Author’s Purpose

What is author’s purpose?

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What is it when we identify the “why” behind an author’s writing?

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We call it “author’s purpose”

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• What motivated the author to write the piece?

• What was their intent behind their writing and what did they hope to achieve with that writing?

  • By analyzing the author’s purpose, students gain a deeper understanding of the text.

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Author's Purpose can be used to: ​

​Persuade: a text that is written to persuade aims to convince us to believe or do something.

​Inform: a text that is written to inform aims to enlighten us about real-world topics and facts;

Entertain: a text that is written to entertain aims to surprise us or make us laugh;

Describe: a text that is written to describe aims to have us paint a picture in our imagination;

Explain: a text that is written to explain aims to tell us how to do something or show us how something works.

​Here are some short sections of different kinds of writing. Think about the author’s purpose for writing each one.

​Read the following excerpt below:

​"The energy that drives the water cycle is heat. When heat is added to ice, the ice melts into water. When heat is added to water, the water evaporates, turning from liquid into gas."

​Read the following excerpt below:

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"​If you’ve tried and have not won, Never stop for crying. All that’s great and good is done Just by patient trying."

​Read the following excerpt below:

​When meteoroids enter the earth’s atmosphere and start to burn, they are called meteors. They are visible from the ground, as they appear to shoot across the sky. We call them shooting stars. Shooting stars are not stars at all: they are meteors!

​Credit

​K-5 Worksheets