Author's Purpose and Author's Perspective

Author's Purpose and Perspective Review

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Multiple Choice

What are the primary reasons an author writes an informational text?

• 
  To persuade, inform, entertain

• To persuade, inform, explain

Multiple Choice

How can understanding the author's purpose help readers analyze a text?

• It helps readers to imagine the text.

• It helps readers understand the message, tone, and perspective of the text.

• 
  It helps readers gain knowledge.

Author's Purpose

• An author's purpose is the reason why the author writes a text.

• The three main reasons are PIE:

• Persuade: The author will use their opinions to sway you to agree with them

• Inform: The author gives facts to teach the reader

• Entertain: The author is writing for pure enjoyment - such as a story with a plot

Multiple Choice

What is the author's purpose for this text?

Marsupials are a type of mammal. Female Marsupials have a pocket that they use for carrying and protecting their babies. Most marsupials, such as Kangaroos, wallabies, and koalas live in Australia. The only marsupial native to North American is the opossum.

• Persuade

• Inform

• Entertain

• No purpose

Multiple Select

Which of the following are examples of texts that are written to entertain? Check ALL that apply.

• poems and mystery stories

• math and history texts

• novels and chapter books

• debates and advertisements

Multiple Choice

What is the author's purpose of the following text?

You should really work on your AR goal this week. Not only will it raise your reading grade, but the more you read the better reader you will become! Reading is a fun activity and once you find a good book you'll never want to put it down.

• Persuade

• Inform

• Entertain

Author's Perspective

• An author's perspective is how they feel about the topic they are writing about.

• The author may have a negative or positive view of the topic

• Look closely at the connotations of words and phrases the author uses

• Ask yourself: How does the author feel about the topic?

Multiple Choice

The average school day for kindergartners is getting longer, and it's paying off in improved reading skills. Public schoolchildren who attended kindergarten for a full day showed more improvement than those enrolled in half-day programs.

Which statement would the author agree with?

• Longer school days improves learning

• School days should be shorter

Multiple Choice

The average school day for kindergartners is getting longer, and it's having an effect on our students. Public schoolchildren who attended kindergarten for a full day may be improving their skills, but at what cost? Young children are spending too much time in structured learning and returning home exhausted and with little time for learning life skills at home.

Which statement would the author agree with?

• We should not have longer school days

• We should have longer school days.

Multiple Choice

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. PE reinforces the importance of health, exercise and staying active. Every school should offer a PE class.

What is the author's perspective?

• The author feels that PE is an important class for all schools

• The author feels that PE should be offered in the junior high level schools only.

• The author has no perspective

Multiple Select

Identify two techniques an author might use to convey their purpose effectively.

• Rhetorical appeals (ethos, pathos, logos)

• 
  Using an anecdote (personal story)

• 
  Using words

• Using diction

Multiple Select

What might an author include to establish credibility when persuading an audience? (Pick all that apply)

• 
  Use of expert opinions

• 
  Personal anecdotes

• A loud voice

• research findings and data

Multiple Choice

How can an author’s background influence their purpose in writing?

• Their experiences can make them stuck in life.

• Their experiences, beliefs, and values can shape their perspective and intent.

Multiple Choice

Author's Purpose
What was the author's purpose in writing this passage?
Slowly I began to recover. I poured water over my face and neck and watched the dirty water run down my arms to the ground.

• To inform the reader that it is hot out.

• 
  To persuade the reader to believe that working in the fields is hard.

• 
  To reflect on a time that he was working in the fields.

• To entertain us with a story about an old injury.

Multiple Choice

The Underground Railroad was a secret organization which helped slaves escape to freedom. Many slaves were able to escape because of the conductors and station masters. The northern states were free states and slaves were free once they arrived in the north. Secret codes and signals were used to identify the conductors and station masters.

• to inform

• to persuade

• to entertain

Multiple Choice

Dribbling is a fundamental soccer skill. You can master it by first learning how to make gentle contact, or "touch," with the ball. When players use gentle touches, they contact the ball more often, which leads to greater control. Another key to controlling the ball is keeping it close to your feet, or "shielding." This makes it harder for other players to intercept the ball.

Now you're ready to dribble. Begin by gently passing the ball back and forth using the insides of your feet. Remember to keep your head up while dribbling so you know where you are on the field. With time and practice, you'll gain speed and control.

Which author's purpose is suggested by the text?

• 
  to convince readers that dribbling takes practice

  
  

• to teach readers how to dribble a soccer ball

Multiple Choice

Review the text.

Dribbling is a fundamental soccer skill. You can master it by first learning how to make gentle contact, or "touch," with the ball. When players use gentle touches, they contact the ball more often, which leads to greater control. Another key to controlling the ball is keeping it close to your feet, or "shielding." This makes it harder for other players to intercept the ball.

Now you're ready to dribble. Begin by gently passing the ball back and forth using the insides of your feet. Remember to keep your head up while dribbling so you know where you are on the field. With time and practice, you'll gain speed and control.

Which best shows that the author's purpose is to teach readers how to dribble a soccer ball?

• 
  The author lists specific steps that the readers should take turns to learn how to dribble a soccer ball.

• The author argues that dribbling is a fundamental soccer skill.

Multiple Choice

How to Make an Apple Mummy—Put an apple slice in a plastic cup. Mix 1⁄2 cup of baking soda and 1⁄2 cup of salt. Pour the mixture over the apple until the apple slice is completely covered. Store the apple slice away from light and moisture for one week. 

• inform

• instruct

• persudade

• forgiving

Multiple Choice

People are concerned that irradiated food will lead to an increase in cancer. But what about the benefits of reduced toxins, food decontamination, and a longer shelf life? Have x-rays cause people to become radioactive? Irradiation eliminates poisonous toxins and microorganisms. Scientists have found more of a chemical reaction in frozen and canned food than in food that has been irradiated. Sixty-seven percent of consumers would be willing to pay more for chicken that has significantly fewer toxins, according to a recent survey.

What is the author’s purpose in writing this selection?

• 
  To convince people that x-rays are unsafe. 

• To convince people supermarkets raise their prices.

• To convince people that x-rays are safe. 

• To convince people that irradiated food is safe.

Multiple Choice

The money spent on political campaign is paltry when compared to expenditures for commercial advertising. If we limited campaign spending, the incumbents would have an unfair advantage. Limiting campaign spending is like limiting free speech, which is embodied in the First Amendment of the Constitution. Maybe we should reform political campaigns, but not limit spending on them. What we really need to ensure is that all candidates who wish to can afford to campaign effectively. 
The author is saying that.....

• Campaigns cost too much. 

• There should be an amendment to the Constitution. 

• 
  Campaign spending should not be limited. 

• We should limit campaign spending. 

Multiple Choice

National service can teach the values of hard work, self-sacrifice, and learning to live with different people. It can put youth back to work. It can teach them job skills and instill the values of discipline, responsibility, and civic obligation. It can also provide long-term investment in the education and skills of our citizens. National service can also bring us together as a nation. WE need to move back to a central core of beliefs. 

When the author writes, “it can also provide long-term investment in the education and life skills of our citizens,” she is trying to convince the reader that...

• 
  The benefits of national service can last a lifetime. 

• National service is a long-term program. 

• Education is important to the citizens of this country. 

• 
  Education is more important than national service. 

Multiple Choice

The island of Surtsey, off the coast of Iceland, was the first new island to appear in the North Atlantic in two hundred years. Scientist studied how plant life began on the island and how long the island may last. They determine whether the island would be destroyed by the same volcano that created it. Their research gave the public a wealth of information about this unusual island.
The author feels that the scientists’ study of Surtsey.....

• Made it famous.

• Was unnatural. 

• Made them wealthy.

• Was a waste of their time. 

Multiple Choice

The national Parks System costs $1.2 billion annually to operate. Of that amount, $900,000 is spent on costs associated with visitors. The system has 368 locations, including major parks, such as the Grand Canyon, and small, specialized parks that feature one thing. We need to reexamine the type and quality of parks paid for by federal dollars. An independent commission could review the parks and determine whether or not they all should be kept open and what level of fees should be charged to park users. Currently, the people who use parks pay less than ten percent of the costs of operating them.
What is the author suggesting?

• 
  A commission should start closing the smaller parks. 

• There is a need to reexamine the current parks to be sure we want to keep them and see if we need them all. 

• The government should pay a larger portion of the costs of running the national parks. 

• The National Park System will be fine if we just eliminate some of the smaller specialized parks.

Multiple Choice

The national Parks System costs $1.2 billion annually to operate. Of that amount, $900,000 is spent on costs associated with visitors. The system has 368 locations, including major parks, such as the Grand Canyon, and small, specialized parks that feature one thing. We need to reexamine the type and quality of parks paid for by federal dollars. An independent commission could review the parks and determine whether or not they all should be kept open and what level of fees should be charged to park users. Currently, the people who use parks pay less than ten percent of the costs of operating them.
The author would agree with which of the following

• 
  The National Park System should continue as it is. 

• It is good to reevaluate things as time goes on.

• Government systems waste time and money

• 
  The park system should be shut down.