1. Purpose Statements and Analysis
AP Language and Composition

2. How do I find it? EXPLICIT IMPLICIT Locate the thesis of the piece
FOUND IN: expository writing argumentative pieces debates speeches
Watch for patterns in the piece that occur throughout; consider the piece in its entirety (TONE)
FOUND IN: personal narratives descriptive pieces fiction/ creative nonfiction satire/irony

3. Most pieces we read have implicit purposes.
You have to think.

4. TONE
Definition: the speaker’s or writer’s attitude towards his subject
Described with a mature, accurate adjective
Look to denotation, connotation, and imagery to help you determine it
May shift throughout a piece
Shifts are key to the author’s overall intent
“to misinterpret TONE is to misinterpret PURPOSE”

5. Practice
Look by through Rodriguez’s chapter.
Mark changes in TONE. Label each section with an appropriate tone word.
CONSIDER: How do the changes in tone help to reveal Rodriguez’s overall purpose?

6. Analytical Writing Rhetorical Analysis Literary Analysis Fiction
Focuses on how THEME is developed through literary devices and techniques
Theme statement includes: TOPIC + AUTHOR’S STATEMENT+ SO WHAT?
Non-fiction
Focuses on how PURPOSE is developed through rhetorical devices and techniques
Purpose statement includes: SUBJECT+ WRITER’S MOVES+ INTENDED IMPACT ON AUDIENCE

7. Sample Purpose Statement
Anne Roiphe's "Confessions of a Female Chauvinist Sow" first appeared in the magazine New York in In this essay Roiphe aims to convince her readers that women must put faith in the idea that they are equal to men, not superior: "Women who want equality must be prepared to give it and believe in it " Personal anecdotes, contrast, and comparison are techniques Roiphe skillfully uses to create a strong, convincing essay.
What
How

8. Sample Purpose Statement
Novelist, Amy Tan, in her narrative essay, “Fish Cheeks,” recounts an embarrassing Christmas Eve dinner when she was 14 years old. Tan’s purpose is to convey the idea that, at fourteen, she wasn’t able to recognize the love her mother had for her or the sacrifices she made. She adopts a sentimental tone in order to appeal to similar feelings and experiences in her adult readers.
What
How