Author’s Purpose

1. Author’s Purpose Authors write for many reasons… Cohen1/11/11

2. To entertain… Entertain means to amuse or excite someone through writing. • fictional stories • comics • poems • jokes • riddles Cohen 1/11/11

3. To inform… Inform means to give someone information about something. • news reports, research papers • encyclopedias, maps • school newsletters, instructions • timelines, schedules • charts, graphs Cohen 1/11/11

4. To influence/persuade… Persuade means to try to convince someone to think the same way you do. • ads / junk mail • newspaper editorials • political speeches • posters Cohen 1/11/11

5. To express an opinion or emotion… Express your opinion means to tell the reader what you are thinking. • journals • diaries • letters • letters to the editor Cohen 1/11/11

6. Practice • Number your paper 1-10. • I will describe a piece of writing. • You will write the author’s purpose: to inform, persuade, entertain, or express.

7. 1. The story of a teenage boy learning to understand and live with his father, who is an alcoholic Vietnam war veteran.

8. 2. A list of the 25 richest athletes in the world.

9. 3. An article arguing why Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player ever.

10. 4. An “X-men” comic book.

11. 5. A 1920 diary from your great-grandmother written during her college days.

12. 6. A “National Geographic” article about the eating and breeding habits of the endangered bald eagle.

13. 7. A website saying that a new shopping mall should not be built because it threatens an endangered bald eagle’s home. The website urges readers to sign a petition.

14. 8. A poem about bald eagles.

15. 9. A magazine ad telling you to buy Nike Hyperdunk shoes because you’ll jump higher.

16. 10. A sign saying, “Rest Stop Five Miles Ahead.”

17. 1. Entertain (story) 2. Inform (list) 3. Persuade (arguing) 4. Entertain (comic) 5. Express (diary) 6. Inform (non-fiction) 7. Persuade (should not be built) 8. Entertain (poem) 9. Persuade (buy this) 10. Inform (road sign)