Authors Purpose

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Authors Purpose
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Whats This?

• It's test time again and you've just finished
  reading the first selection in the test booklet
  and are preparing to answer the questions. The
  first question? Piece of cake! It's a context
  clue. The second question? No problem! The
  answer's right there. The third one is a little
  harder - it's an inference question, but you
  still figure it out. Whoa! What's this? Which of
  the following was the author's purpose in writing
  this? "To torture students who have to take these
  tests," you think grumpily, but that answer is
  not one of your choices...

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Authors Purpose

• Authors' purpose questions are another way of
  saying, "Why did the author write this anyhow, or
  what was the reason this piece was written?"

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Authors Purpose Cont.

• There are several reasons that authors write
  things. They write to inform or teach someone
  about something. Authors sometimes write things
  to entertain people. Still another reason is to
  persuade or convince, their audience to do or not
  do something.

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Lets Practice!

• 1.The main reason or purpose that I wrote this
  Power Point was to....
• Entertain you with a story about authors purpose
  questions.
• Inform you about authors purpose questions.
• Persuade you to enjoy taking tests that contain
  authors purpose questions.

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More Practice

• There are many pets that a child can have, but a
  dog is the best one of all! There are several
  reasons why dogs make better pets than other
  animals. They are always willing to play with you
  when you need a friend. Snakes are interesting,
  but they don't play with you. They just sit there
  coiled around your arm. Dogs can be trained to do
  many tricks, unlike cats who just stare at you
  when you try to get them to do anything that you
  want them to do. They are also very loyal animals
  that will try to protect you and your household
  from danger! Have you ever seen a hamster try to
  protect its master? If you are thinking of
  getting a pet remember that a dog makes the best
  one of all!

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More Practice

• The author wrote this to
• Entertain you with a story about why dogs are
  wonderful pets.
• Inform you that a dog is the best pet a child can
  have.
• Convince you that dogs make better pets than
  other animals.

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Whats the Answer?

• The author was not trying to entertain you or to
  make you laugh. Her reason for writing this was
  not to inform you about what great pets dogs
  make, or to tell you why they make great pets.
  The author's purpose in writing this was to
  convince you that a dog makes a better pet than
  other animals. "There are several reasons why
  dogs make better pets than other animals." and
  "If you are thinking of getting a pet remember
  that a dog makes the best one of all!" are two
  clues in the text that tell you the author's
  purpose was to convince you that dogs make better
  pets than other animals. When an author writes to
  convince, or persuade, s/he is trying to talk you
  into (or out of), doing or believing something!

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More Practice

• The Day Ralph Packed His Suitcase With Snowballs!
  Sammy and Ralph were snowmen. Sammy was Ralphs
  cousin. Sammy was a very proper little snowman
  and Ralph was a rebel. Ralph always wanted to be
  different and Sammy always wanted to do what he
  was supposed to do. One day Ralph decided to pack
  his suitcase full of snowballs. His cousin,
  Sammy, told him not to. He told Ralph that all
  the snowballs would melt and ruin his suitcase.
  Ralph packed his suitcase full of snowballs
  anyway, and they all melted. Ralph figured out a
  way to solve his problem. He put his suitcase in
  the freezer, and the water in his suitcase turned
  to ice!

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More Practice

• The author wrote this too
• Entertain you with a story about two snowmen who
  were cousins.
• Inform you about how Ralph solved his problem.
• Convince you that you should not pack snowballs
  in your suitcase.

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Whats the Answer?

• The author was not trying to persuade or convince
  you not to pack your suitcase with snowballs. She
  didn't write this to inform you about two snowmen
  who were cousins. The author wrote this story to
  entertain you with a funny tale about two
  snowmen!