Author*s Purpose - Crafton Hills College
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Transcript Author*s Purpose - Crafton Hills College
3 Reasons to Write
There are three main reasons an author writes a text:
Persuade
Inform
Entertain
The easiest way to remember this is the acronym
PIE!
Audience
The purpose of a text depends on who will be
reading it. This is called the audience.
Discuss in your groups who the audience might be
for the texts on the following slides.
P. I. E.
Now you will analyze each of the three purposes for writing nonfiction texts: Persuasion, Informational, and Entertainment
Persuasion
If an author is writing to persuade,
he/she is trying to convince the
reader to believe his/her perspective
on a topic.
Common Examples:
Advertisements
Essays
Opinion articles
Speeches
Debates
Reading Persuasive
Writing
With a persuasive text, the reader
must evaluate the author’s argument.
Consider the following:
What is the author’s claim?
Is another point of view presented?
What reasons do the author give to
support his/her claim?
What evidence is given to support
these reasons?
Is this evidence relevant and
convincing?
Inform
If an author is writing to inform he/she is giving
facts and details on a particular topic.
Common Examples:
Educational websites
Encyclopedias
Textbooks
Reports
How to articles
Documentaries
Reading Informative
Writing
With an informative text, the reader should
take note of the main ideas and important
details.
Consider the following:
What ideas are emphasized in the
introduction and conclusion?
Are there additional text features that help
you understand the ideas and details such as
charts, graphs, or images?
Are there key vocabulary words defined
throughout the text?
Is the author being objective (unbiased; only
facts) or subjective (biased; opinions)?
If you are not sure, see if there another text that
has the same information?
Entertain
If an author is writing to entertain, he/she is trying to
relate to the audience on a personal level.
Common Examples:
Novels
Stories
Poetry
Magazines
Essays
Screenwriting & Plays
Reading Entertaining
Writing
With an entertaining text, the reader
should be looking for clues about how the
author is trying to connect with the
reader.
Consider the following:
Is the author sharing a personal story or
experience?
Is the author trying to tap into certain
emotions in the reader? –sadness, fear,
anger, joy, humor, love, etc.
Does this reading require the reader to use
his/her imagination? If so, to what extent?