1. Strategy
What?
• To entertain, so you enjoy what you read.
• To persuade, to make you believe somehting.
• To inform, or to tell you something.
An author always has a reason for
writing. This is the author’s purpose.
The author may write…

2. Strategy
HOW?
• Figure out what the passage or story is mostly about.
• Think about how the passage is written. Does it tell
about something funny or exciting events? Is it
trying to get you to do something? Does the author
want you to learn something?
• Decide if the author’s purpose is to persuade, inform
or entertain.
To determine author’s purpose…

3. Strategy
HOW?
• The passage tells about characters in a story.
• The phrase “He lived in Sara’s dollhouse” tells me this
is story has some things that are make-believe. The
story is going to be fun.
• The author’s purpose is to entertain with a make-
believe story.
Read these sentences. What is the author’s
purpose?
Sara told Dad that she was too big to play with dolls. That was
bad news for Iggy. He lived in Sara’s dollhouse, and it was
headed for the attic.