Author’s Purpose or Author’s...

Author’s Purpose

or

Author’s Viewpoint or POINT of VIEW

Or

Perspective

for Nonfiction

Objectives:

To use academic vocabulary to

discuss reading skills

To analyze and evaluate purposes

authors have for writing

To use text clues to identify the

author’s point of view in a passage

Discussion:

Why do authors’ write?

What are authors’ attempting

to do for the reader?

Why do you read?

Author’s purpose:

Author’s purpose is his or her main

reason for writing. An author must

establish a purpose that matches the

subject and audience. Authors use

tools, such as theme, to

communicate their purpose.

:

Word Meaning Example Sentence

ESTABLISH To prove or create James established that his

prediction was correct.

CONVINCE To cause someone to agree The candidate convinced

the crowd that she was the

best choice to be the

governor.

INTERPRET To explain or provide the

meaning of

Our teacher taught us how

to interpret the poem.

AUTHOR’S PURPOSE The main reason for writing a

piece

The author’s purpose could

be to inform, persuade,

entertain or reflect.

4 purposes for writing: Author’s Purpose Clues Types of Writing

To persuade Favors one side of an issue, author

tries to CONVINCE the reader of his

or her point of view

Editorials, opinion essays,

advertisements

To inform Author includes facts, statistics, and

details

Newspaper articles,

encyclopedias articles,

manuels

To entertain Author uses humor, suspense or

exciting language

Poems, plays, short stories,

novels, narrative nonfiction

To reflect Author provides personal comments

about the meaning of an experience

or an event

Autobiographies, diaries,

memoirs, essays

Notice:

3 MAJOR reasons:

To persuade

To inform

To entertain

Not as often: To reflect

Questions to help identify

author’s purpose: 1. Based on the title, why do you think the author wrote this selection?

2. Which words do you think best describe the main reason the author wrote

this selection: to provide readers with information? To describe a person,

event or issue? To express their own thoughts and feelings? To

persuade, readers to think about an issue in a certain way and to take

action? Or to entertain the reader?

3. Why did the author write the article from a particular perspective?

4. Was the author’s purpose specifically stated?

5. Do you think that the author achieved his/her intended purposes? Did the

article effectively give information? Entertain readers? Express the

author’s thoughts and feelings? Persuade readers to think about an issue

and/or take action?

6. What examples from the text support your conclusions about the author’s

purpose?

Read and answer: “One Out Away!”

Few people who saw today’s softball game will

ever forget it. Monica Bradshaw came within one

pitch of a no-hitter. In each inning, she eliminated

each of the opposing hitters, striking out every single

batter. Then, with two outs in the ninths inning and

Bradshaw’s team up 1-0, she walked Luisa Miller.

That brought Karen Wilson to the plate. Bradshaw

had struck Wilson out twice previously.

After two pitches, she had two strikes on

Wilson-but on the last pitch of the game, Wilson put a

good swing on a Bradshaw fastball. Everyone at the

game watched the ball sail over the left-field fence for

a game-winning home run. Monica Bradshaw was

one pitch away from a 1-0 victory and a no-hitter.

Instead, Karen Wilson gave her team a victory of 2-1.

What is the topic of

this article?

What happened in the

article that makes the

writer think this is

worthy of the reader’s

attention?

What is the author’s

main purpose for

writing this selection?

What clues convince

you that this is the

purpose?

Does the author have a

second purpose?

Explain.

Author’s Point of View in

Nonfiction The author’s opinion about a

topic.

How the author feels (bias)

about a topic.

How the author sounds (tone)

about a topic.

Word Defined Sentence

Opinion

An opinion is a feeling, judgment, belief, or

conclusion that cannot be proven true by

objective evidence.

ELA is the best subject.

Bias

Bias is a judgement in favor of or against one

thing, person, or group compared with

another, usually in a way considered to be

unfair.

Recognize bias and decided whether a

source of information can be trusted.

ELA is the best subject

because that is what I

teach.

Tone Tone is the author’s attitude toward the

writing and the readers. A work of writing can

have more than one tone. An example of

tone could be both serious and humorous.

Tone is set by the choice of vocabulary and

other details.

ELA is extremely important

and necessary for every

day living.

Word Defined

Factual

Factual means the writing is based on facts or proven information

Trusted

Trusted writing means that it has been checked and double checked to

see if the writing is valid and truthful

Validity Validity refers to the credibility or believability of the research. Are the

findings genuine? Is hand strength a valid measure of intelligence?

Almost certainly the answer is "No, it is not." Is score on the SAT a

valid predictor of GPA during the first year of college? The answer

depends on the amount of research support for such a relationship.

Reliability Reliability refers to the repeatability of findings. If the study were to be

done a second time, would it yield the same results? If so, the data are

reliable. If more than one person is observing behavior or some event,

all observers should agree on what is being recorded in order to claim

that the data are reliable.

Questions to help with author’s point

of view in nonfiction

1. What opinion or belief statements are evident in the article?

2. Why do you think the author has this particular opinion or viewpoint?

3. What background information about the author does the reader have that

may help understand the writer’s perspective? Would another author have

a different perspective depending on his/her background experiences?

4. What pictures does the author paint for a reader?

5. What evidence did the author included to support his or her opinions?

6. What facts were missing?

7. What words and phrases did the author use to present the information?

8. Why did the author write this selection? Identifying the author’s purpose

helps you recognize possible perspectives, especially in persuasive

writing.

Directions

Read the passage.

Look at the choices.

Choose the best answer.

Write your answer on the

whiteboard.

What is the author’s viewpoint about

gym class?

I wonder who made gym class

mandatory? He was a great guy! It is

a welcome break from sitting in chairs.

In a recent poll, gym class was the

favorite subject of elementary students.

I wish there was gym class more often!

positive negative

Try Again!

Remember, the author’s viewpoint tells how s/he feels about a subject.

Look at his/her word choices for help.

That’s Correct!

You sure are smart about author’s viewpoint!


gym class?

Gym class is such a waste of time!

What is gym class good for anyway?

Students are better off learning to read

and do math. Some students have

expressed what a pain it is to remember

to wear sneakers once a week.

positive negative

That’s Correct!



bees?

Many people don’t like bees. However,

without these helpful insects, we would

not have many of our favorite flowers or

fruits. When bees drink nectar from

flowers, they carry away pollen. Bees

leave the pollen on the next plant they visit.

This helps create necessary new plants.

positive negative

That’s Correct!



bees?

Many people don’t like bees. They are

afraid of being stung. Lots of people

are even allergic to bee stings. Then,

they get a rash or take medicine if they

get stung. Bees are always

bothersome on a terrific summer day!

positive negative

That’s Correct!



full day kindergarten?

The average school day for kindergarteners

is getting longer, and it's paying off in

improved reading skills. This

improvement will continue from

elementary school to HS. These children

will be able to get better jobs when they

are adults.

Favors full day Not in favor of full day

That’s Correct!



full day kindergarten?

The trend toward full day kindergarten

programs in public schools is taking its toll

on today’s young children. Recent studies

showing improved reading skills may be

misleading. The improvement in reading is

unlikely to carry on as these children

progress through elementary school. Favors full day

Not in favor of full day

That’s Correct!


What is the author’s viewpoint on

people’s relationship with dolphins?

Many cities have aquariums that have adopted orphaned dolphins found in the ocean. Many of these dolphins were wounded and would not have survived alone. Because of the kindness of humans these animals are alive today.

People help dolphins.

People hurt dolphins.

That’s Correct!


What is the author’s viewpoint on

people’s relationship with dolphins?

Dolphins have suffered from the

carelessness of humans. Many

dolphins are killed each year in

fishing nets. Oil has been spilled into

ocean water, polluting the dolphins'

environment. People help

dolphins. People hurt

dolphins.

That’s Correct!


Congratulations!

You have learned that the author’s word

choices show how he/she feels about a topic!

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