What is the author’s purpose in writing this article?
Identifying an author’s purpose helps readers understand the content of a text and how it might be applied to their own learning. Knowing what an author’s purpose is can also help students think critically about a text and decide which strategies are most effective in building their comprehension of the material.
How to identify an author’s purpose
When teaching the topic of authors’ purposes, organize your students into small discussion groups. Give each group a copy of a few sample texts and let them read through them independently. Have them work to identify the different purposes of each text, making notes on their discoveries along the way.
The newsela website gives us a good example of what to look for in an author’s purpose. The title of the piece, “Humans bringing Earth its 6th mass extinction, but can stop it,” provides some interesting clues about what the author may have been trying to achieve with this piece of writing.
What are some of the most common types of writers’ purposes?
There are three primary reasons why a writer would write in their style: persuade, inform, and entertain. A writer’s goal in these areas is often to engage a reader in a meaningful discussion or encourage them to take action.
Whether you choose to teach author’s purposes in a discrete lesson or simply have your students notice the most interesting type of writing in their reading, this information is worth exploring. By taking the time to learn about what each of these authors is capable of, you can better equip your students to recognize a good writer when they see one, and to identify the best type of writing to improve their own independent thinking skills.
