1. AUTHOR’S PURPOSE
ANTR – Notes #1

2. WHY WAS THIS WRITTEN?

3. BASIC AUTHOR’S PURPOSE
TO INFORM
TO PERSUADE
TO ENTERTAIN

4. BASIC AUTHOR’S PURPOSE CLUES
TO INFORM
TO PERSUADE
TO ENTERTAIN
Explains or gives you information about a topic
Presents author’s own opinions, feelings, beliefs
Makes you feel emotions (e.g., happy, sad, scared)

5. AUTHOR’S MESSAGE
AUTHOR’s MESSAGE = the “big idea”; what the author is trying to tell the reader

6. FACT VS. OPINION
Fact = a fact states something that happens, has happened or is certain to be true, and is real or exists
EX: A lunar eclipse happens when the moons aligns exactly with the earth and sun.
Opinion = an opinion states something that is believed to have occurred, is believed to exist, and is believed to be true
EX: The teacher gave a pop quiz because she got mad at the class

7. AUTHOR’S BIAS
BIAS = a prejudice, A preconceived judgment, or an opinion formed without sufficient knowledge
AUTHOR’s BIAS = the favoring of one side, position, or belief; being partial and/or prejudiced

8. AUTHOR’S BIAS: OMISSION/SELECTION
OMISSION = the cutting of certain facts and/or details from a story
SELECTION = the choosing of certain facts and/or details for a story
Changes how readers think about the story
Selective details to support author’s purpose
Need to read several different sources for holistic understanding

9. AUTHOR’S BIAS: PLACEMENT
PLACEMENT = the decision of which information to present first, second, third, etc.
More important stories chosen to be seen first (think headline news!)
Less important stories chosen to be at the end
Within a story, most important/convincing facts placed first
Contradictory statements placed after

10. AUTHOR’S BIAS: STATISTICS
BIASED STATISTICS: the manipulation of statistics to change the way we think about them
EX#1: “The fundraiser for the school raised only 1100.
EX#2: “The fundraiser for the school raised over 1100.
EX#1: “A crowd of more than 900 attended the protest.”
EX#2: “Fewer than 1,000 showed up to protest.”
Decision of which numbers to present
Adjectives to describe numbers
Holistic vs. limited statistics

11. AUTHOR’S BIAS: WORD CHOICE
WORD CHOICE = the author’s purposeful usage of words to write about and describe happenings
Positive vs. negative words
Connotation vs. denotation
Word choice  tone
FACT = Frank spends very little money.
EX#1: Frank is thrifty.
EX#2: Frank is a cheapskate.

12. AUTHOR’S BIAS: TONE
TONE = the author’s attitude toward a subject, a character, or the reader
Examples: silly, sarcastic, angry, annoyed, proud, bored, etc.
WORDS CONVEY TONE!!!!!!!
DETAILS CONVEY TONE!!!!!