Authors Purpose Notes

When you read, it is important to think about the authors

purpose because it helps us understand the text better.

Why else might it be important to think about the authors purpose?

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There are many purposes a writer might have, but the three main
purposes are :

To entertain to get us thinking and appeal to our creative

mind
-typically a fiction story (mystery, fantasy, etc)
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To inform to give us factual information about something

we might not be familiar with, a new learning
topic
-typically a non-fiction text (articles, Time for
Kids)

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To persuade- to try to talk the reader into thinking like

him/her
-typically a letter or editorial (like in the
newspaper)
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*Some other purposes might be:

To create a mood the author might be trying to set the tone,

or
create a mood to enhance a story
-typically in a mystery story or tall tale
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To express personal feelings to share emotions or draw out

emotions of the reader

-typically a fiction story or a poem
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To describe- sometimes the author may just want to share a

vivid
description of an event/experience/place
*Different from inform because it is the authors
opinion, not necessarily facts!
-typically an advertisement, brochure, etc
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