ELA Bootcamp (Author's Purpose)

Define Author’s Purpose?

• The reason an author reads a text. Reasons include: To Inform, Persuade, Entertain, Express Feelings/ Thoughts

• The reason authors are purposeful about word choice within a text.

• The reason an author writes a text.  Reasons include: To Inform, Persuade, Entertain, Express Feelings/ Thoughts

• The reason authors purposefully edit their work to ensure of no errors prior to publication.

How do you identify the author’s purpose within a text?

• 1. Look at the title

  2. Look at the details

  3. Look at the Table of Contents

• 1.Look at the title

  2.Look at the details

  3.Ask, “Why did the author write this?”

• 1. Look at the title

  2. Read the preface

  3. Read the Table of Contents

• 1. Look at the details

  2. Read at the prologue

  3. Look at the Author's name

Identify the Author's Purpose: Today was the most humiliating day of my life! I was in a play in school, and I totally forgot my lines! There I was, in front of the whole school, and I just stood there! But wait—it gets worse. Not only did I forget my lines—I was so nervous that I started giggling. The audience started laughing at me. I just wished the stage floor would open up and swallow me whole!

• to persuade cast members to study their lines

• to describe how to put on a student play

• to inform readers about how to perform in a play

• to entertain readers with a personal story

Identify the Author's Purpose:

Five Reasons You Should Vote for Stephanie Hill Our school deserves a class president with experience, vision, and tons of school spirit. That's why you should vote to re-elect our current class president, Stephanie Hill!

Need more specific reasons why? Here are five to remember as you cast your vote next Friday. . . .

• to inform people about Stephanie Hill's policies

• to persuade voters that Stephanie Hill is the best candidate

• to entertain people with stories about Stephanie Hill's career

• to explain how to vote in a school election

Rhetoric is the art of using language effectively and persuasively, particularly important in argumentative writing. In most arguments, the author’s purpose is to convince the reader or audience to agree with a position or to take a certain action.

This Rhetorical Device is Language that communicates meaning beyond the literal meaning of the words. Examples - The internet is a gateway to a world of possibilities. (metaphor)

Taking a teenager’s phone away is a cruel form of torture. (hyperbole)

Identify the Author's Purpose: Diego Rivera is one of Mexico's most famous artists. He is best known for his enormous murals, or paintings on the walls of public buildings. Rivera learned the art of mural painting while studying in Europe.

• to express feelings about Rivera's work

• to entertain readers with stories of Rivera

• to persuade readers to see Rivera's murals

• to inform readers about Rivera

Why do you think the writer included the quotation by Rowena Lewis? "Seeing an anaconda up close for the first time changed my life," says animal expert Rowena Lewis. Anacondas are some of the biggest snakes in the world. On average, they are at least 20 feet long and weigh 300 pounds. Members of the boa constrictor family, these reptiles make their homes in the wet jungles of the Amazon in South America.

• to get readers interested in anacondas

• to tell a story about anacondas

• to persuade readers to become animal experts

• to describe the life of an animal expert

What is the author's main purpose for writing this passage?

"Seeing an anaconda up close for the first time changed my life," says animal expert Rowena Lewis. Anacondas are some of the biggest snakes in the world. On average, they are at least 20 feet long and weigh 300 pounds. Members of the boa constrictor family, these reptiles make their homes in the wet jungles of the Amazon in South America.

• to inform you about Rowena Lewis's life

• to entertain you with snake stories

• to inform you about anacondas

• to persuade you to study anacondas