Author’s Purpose What’s the point?

Four Main Purposes for Writing  Inform  Gives us information, we learn from it  Persuade  Tries to convince us to think or act a certain way  Entertain  Written for our enjoyment – pleasure reading  Reflect  Share thoughts or feelings

Informational Writing  The author wants to give us information or share knowledge with us.  Informational Writing often includes facts; statistics; graphs, maps, or other visuals  Examples of Informational Writing include, but are not limited to:  Textbooks  Newspapers or online news  Non-fiction

How Do I Know It’s Informational?  Some clues would be facts, figures, and graphs  Not written in first person (no “I, me, my, our” statements)  We learn from it – it is factual

Persuasive Writing  The author wants to convince us to take action or think a certain way.  Persuasive Writing often includes opinions and is often biased, meaning the author has an emotional investment in the topic.  Examples of Persuasive Writing include:  advertisements  opinion pieces in newspapers or magazines  campaign speeches

How Do I Know It Is Persuasive?  It often contains ethos, logos, and pathos  Ethos – it is written with credibility (though the source may not actually be credible); we can believe it  Logos – it has a logical argument and has supporting claims  Pathos – it appeals to our emotions  You have to be very careful to look for bias, especially when doing research – Is there another side to the story?

Entertainment  The author wants us to read for pleasure – this does not mean it has to be humorous.  Entertaining reading material can be a mystery, sci-fi, or any type of narrative story.  It is usually fictional, but can be non-fiction as well. We can read about true events or people in an entertaining manner.  Examples include:  Novels  Plays  Newspaper columns  Memoirs

How Do I Know It Is Entertainment?  It is more than just the telling of a story  Look for descriptive or colorful word choices and phrases

Reflection  The author shares thoughts and feelings with us  Readers understand an author’s motivation for doing something or how something affected them  Reflective writing may be only for personal use, as in a diary or journal, or published, like in a memoir  People write reflectively to:  Remember an event (like a time capsule - Zlata’s Diary)  Work through difficult feelings (Zlata’s Diary)  Share their feelings with others (“Water”, by Helen Keller)

How Do I Know It Is Reflective Writing?  Look for phrases like “I felt”, “I remembered” or any descriptions of thoughts or emotions  It is personal in nature – written in first person with “I, me, my” statements  It cannot be written by another person sharing someone else’s experiences – a biography is not a reflection because the biographer cannot know what is going on in the other person’s mind

Any Questions???  Multiple Choice test on Wednesday  You will have questions about 3 reading passages  Some questions are more challenging; answering them correctly will earn you a 3.5 or 4  Be sure to read each question carefully and think through it. Just because it is multiple choice does not mean it is something to rush through.