The document provides information about determining an author's purpose in writing a piece. It explains that an author may intend to persuade, inform, or entertain their audience. Examples are given for each purpose along with questions to help identify the intent for different topics.

1. Name: ___________________________________________________Date: __________________ Per: ______
Author’s Purpose Notes Page
Definition:
Author's Purpose:To determine the author’s intent for creating a piece of writing.
o Authors write with the intent to:
1. Persuade
2. Inform P E
3. Entertain
I
Persuade:
Persuasive writing expresses an opinion and attempts to convince the reader that the opinion is correct or tries to
get you to do something.
Example: An advertisement in a magazine to get readers to buy a new video game
Question to ask yourself;
Is the writer giving his/her opinion or trying to convince me about something?
Inform:
Informative writing provides the reader with information about a specific topic.
An author may give you facts or true information about a subject.
Example:A biography about the life of Gary Paulsen
Question to ask yourself;
Is the writer giving me information/facts about a given topic?
Entertain:
Many authors write to entertain, creating descriptive writing such as poetry, or narrative writing such as
fictional stories.
Example: A story about a family of vampires fighting with a pack of werewolves
Question to ask yourself;
Is the writer telling me a story (either through poetry or narrative)?

2. Examples:
Topic: India/Hinduism
Example #1 - PERSUADE:
Every person understands religion slightly differently, and my interpretation of Hindu gods is this. There
are many gods who represent different areas of life. For example, there is a well-known goddess called Lakshmi,
who is the Goddess of wealth. If you have her image in your home and pray to it for wealth, you most likely will
become wealthy. It worked for me; I bought a sticker of the beautiful Lakshmi, a goddess which I knew nothing
about, and my wealth instantly boosted. This is because gods listen to your needs when you pray to them. I think
everyone should pray to a Hindu god every day.
I bought a sticker of Buddha, which is again believed by Hindus to be the incarnation of one aspect of
God. When I got into my meditative position and fixed my gaze at this sticker with a candle lit next to it, I very
quickly got into a deep meditation, which showed me that Buddha can be an excellent meditation teacher, and
again proved to me that Hindu gods are indeed powerful and valid. You should consider praying to Buddha, too.
Hindu gods have amazing powers and everyone should have one in their home!
Example #2 - INFORM:
Hinduism is the world’s third most popular religion. The religion of Hinduism originated in Northern
India, near the Indus River approximately 4,000 years ago. It was the religion of an ancient people known as the
Aryans ("noble people") whose philosophy, religion, and customs are recorded in their sacred texts known as the
Vedas. These texts were initially handed down by word of mouth from teacher to student. It was not until much
later that they were actually written down. Archeological evidence from the Indus Valley civilization of
northwestern India helps to establish Hinduism as the world's oldest living religion. Today, Hinduism is practiced
by more than 80% of India's population and there are almost one billion people practicing Hinduism all over the
world.
Example #3 - ENTERTAIN:
3,500 years ago, a little girl named Puja lived on the banks of the Ganges River in a small town in
northern India. Her parents were farmers, and they were waiting patiently for the monsoon rains to come. With
each passing day, the ground became dryer and dryer. Food was running out, and Puja’s family couldn’t wait
much longer for the rain to come or their family would starve or be forced to move. Puja did all she could to help
her family. She prayed day and night to Annapurna, the Hindu goddess of the harvest, that the rains would soon
come so her family wouldn’t have to move. Much to her delight, the next morning, Puja awoke to the glorious
sounds of the heavy rains beating down like a drum on the roof of her home, and she knew everything would be
alright.

3. Practice
Directions: With a partner or individually, read the passages below and determine the author’s purpose for
writing the piece. Then, explain your reasoning on the lines provided using evidence from the text.
#1)
Pollution comes in many forms including air, water, and soil. Air pollution is particularly prevalent in big
cities, and it is estimated that breathing in large amounts of polluted air can reduce your life expectancy by two to
three years (Coalition for Clean Air). Water pollution is another big problem in America. A survey by the United
States Environmental Protection Agency found that 40% of rivers and 45% of lakes in the United States are
considered to be too polluted for fishing, swimming, or aquatic life. Soil pollution is a third type of pollution.
Every year, each American produces over 3,285 pounds of hazardous waste that end up in landfills, and over
80% of those items can be recycled, but many are not. Pollution is a major problem in the United States and
causes harm to people, animals, and the environment we live in.
The author’s purpose for writing this passage is to ____________________________________.
I know this because __________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
#2)
Global pollution is increasing every year. The air, water, and land are all in danger of becoming
dangerously polluted. As a result, the things we eat, drink, and breathe can become contaminated. If pollution
levels continue to increase, we may destroy both our planet and ourselves. Eliminating pollution completely is
impossible, so it is important that we try to keep pollution to a minimum. There are many things that we can do to
reduce it. What are you going to do about it? How are you going to help?
The author’s purpose for writing this passage is to ____________________________________.
I know this because __________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
#3)
Today was the day of class president elections at Seneca Middle School. John Smith felt anxious as he
looked out into the auditorium filled to capacity with his classmates and teachers. John was awake the entire
previous night preparing his speech. Despite his lack of sleep, his body was filled with energy. He was excited
to unveil his plan for the school. John noticed that every day, many bottles were casually tossed into the garbage
in the cafeteria. John believed that by starting a bottle recycling program at school, he and his classmates would
be doing their part to help preserve the environment. Additionally, the school would receive $0.05 per recycled
bottle. The money could be used to fund activities at Seneca. John stepped up to the podium and began his
speech.
The author’s purpose for writing this passage is to ____________________________________.
I know this because __________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________

5. Name: ________________________________________________ Date: ___________________ Per: _______
Author’s Purpose:
Extension Activity
Directions: Write a persuasive, informative, or entertaining paragraph about one of the topics listed below (or a
topic of your choice). Your paragraph must be at least five sentences long, but if you are up for the challenge—
write a longer paragraph!
Possible topics to write about:
-television -healthy eating
-sports -homework
-video games -school
Topic: _____________________________________ Author’s Purpose: _______________________________
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