Identifying the Author's Purpose
In this lesson you will learn how to identify the purpose of a specific piece of informational text.
Lesson Objectives
Identify an author's purpose.
Skills Needed
Draw conclusions based on textual evidence.
Key Words
- author's purpose
- persuade
- inform
It Depends...
Why do writers write?
If you take a moment to look around you, what can you see that has been written down? Look beyond the rows of books on shelves or piled on the floor. If you search carefully, you're likely to find text in all sorts of places you've never noticed. Each instance of writing is there for a different reason, or purpose, and you know that without even thinking about it.
In this lesson, we're going to explore the different purposes that authors have when they sit down (or stand up) to write. Look at each of the written messages below. For each one, think about the author's purpose, or the reason the author probably had for creating the message.
What is the purpose of this billboard?
What is the purpose of this sign?
What is the purpose of this book?
Can a piece of writing have more than one purpose?
Every piece of writing has an author's purpose. That purpose is the reason the text was written, and it drives many, if not all, of the decisions the author makes while creating the piece. As you read different kinds of materials, you'll discover that knowing the author's purpose helps you understand what you're reading and how to read it. It will also help you decide whether to believe or be influenced by what the author has to say.
The Big Three
What do most authors hope to accomplish?
Though the specifics of their reasons vary, most writers have one of three purposes in mind. You should be familiar with these three because they are very similar to your goals when you talk to your friends and family. As you read about each of these purposes for writing, think about situations that might inspire you to write with that purpose.
Inform
When the goal is to inform, a writer attempts to "teach" readers about topics that he or she knows and understands. If you read something that includes lots of facts and examples, it probably was written to inform you.
Which of these two texts was written to inform readers?
Entertain
When authors write to entertain, they hope to cause some kind of emotional reaction in readers. They may want their audience to sympathize with a particular character, and feel what that character feels, or they may just want to make you make you laugh out loud, or groan and roll your eyes, or just keep reading. Novels and plays, like feature films, are meant to "capture" the audience long enough to make sure you'll stay around to see how things turn out.
Which of these two texts was written to entertain readers?
Persuade
When the goal is to persuade, or convince, the writer takes on the role of politician who wants to get you to agree with his or her opinion. Clues include opinions and strong statements. Examples include commercials, infomercials, editorials, and print advertisements. Persuasive writing often focuses on provoking readers to take action or change how they think. It might propose a solution to a problem to try to get you to agree. It might also expose a situation or issue and urge readers to respond.
Which of these two texts was written to persuade readers?
Besides the Cover
How can you figure out an author's purpose?
Suppose you don't have a book cover to help you figure out an author's purpose. What if someone emails you a link to an article online--or hands you a pamphlet, and doesn't say who created it?
Fortunately, you can determine a great deal about an author's purpose just by reading his or her words. You do need to know where to look, though, and what to look for. Click through the tab set below to learn some key strategies for identifying the purpose behind a piece of writing.
Besides the Cover
Step #2
Step #1
Step #4
Step #3
Do authors ever state a purpose explicitly?
Try It Out
Can you use the clues in text to determine the author's purpose?
Ready for some practice identifying author's purpose? Let's look at a few sample passages. As you read each passage, apply the strategies described on the previous page.
Welcome Spring with Holi!
If you're ever offered a chance to visit India during their annual Holi festival, you should take it! During Holi, the people in and around India celebrate the start of spring. You'll be surrounded by traditional singing and energetic dancing from dawn till dusk. It's not your average street festival, though, so be prepared for some chaos. On this special day, friends pelt each other with balloons and buckets full of colored powder. By noon everyone seems to be covered with thick, rich paint in all colors of the rainbow. The more color you wear, the better. Then, at the end of the day, you head to a nearby ocean to rinse off and head home for a delicious feast. From a newsletter for space enthusiasts...
In spring 2013, billionaire Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.com, announced that his sea expedition had discovered two of the space rocket Apollo's engines at sea. The engines had been deep underwater for more than 40 years and were located three miles below the surface of the ocean. The team used remote-controlled vehicles to maneuver the engines and strong cables to pull them up to the surface. Exactly which rockets held these engines is uncertain, since there were no serial numbers placed on the engines. Bezos plans to clean up the engines and put them on display at NASA's museum.
Stop Lighting Up My Life (a letter to the editor of a local newspaper)
In several parts of the world, national reserves have been set up in remote locations in order to protect not an endangered species or acres of rainforest, but darkness. Most of us take darkness for granted, but the truth is that much of the earth's surface is exposed to artificial light throughout the night. In fact, light pollution has become a very serious problem--one that worries both environmentalists and astronomers. Between security lights, neon signs, and street lights, it is impossible to see constellations if you live anywhere near a large city. Nocturnal animals, who did not evolve with the instincts needed to cope with large amounts of light, are particularly sensitive to the invasion of their habitats by electric lights. It is clear that our nation needs a policy--if not a set of enforceable laws--to make people start turning off their lights!
Try It Out
Try It Out
Try It Out
On Purpose
What about all that SPAM in your email inbox?
Living in the Information Age that is the 21st century, you're going to encounter written messages almost constantly--especially if you use a computer with Internet access. Read the beginning of this article that appeared in the electronic newsletter sent out by a national health food store chain to all its customers. Look for clues that suggest the author's purpose.
Now see if you can answer these questions about the author's purpose.
- What does the title tell you?
- What words or details hint at the author's purpose? What do they tell you?
- Where was this article published?
The Last Word
Why does a health food store care about a presidential ceremony that most Americans think is silly?
Now apply your new skills to the entire newsletter article. First finish reading the article. Then answer the questions beside it.
A Presidential Pardon--NOT Just for the Birds For generations now, one or two turkeys each year have found some mercy during the holidays—at the hands of the President of the United States. While most turkeys can look forward to forming the centerpiece for someone’s Thanksgiving dinner table, next to the cranberry sauce and sweet potatoes, one or two chosen few are “pardoned” each year by the U.S. President. Americans tend to see this ceremony as a silly and mildly entertaining event, but in reality, it brings up a vital issue. Our demand for meaty meals is taking a huge toll on our planet and our health. Future Presidents might serve their legacies well by using the tradition to encourage Americans to eat more plants and fewer animals. The annual Thanksgiving pardon provides a perfect opportunity for the President to connect the high cost of meat production to the hunger crisis faced by a majority of the world’s people. Scientists have known (and reported) for years what a tremendous amount of food, water, land, and energy is required to satisfy our appetite for meat, compared to the resources required to grow grains and vegetables. To produce just one quarter-pound beef patty, a farmer must use 6.7 pounds of grain, 52.8 gallons of water, and 74.5 square feet of land. As much as one third of all crops grown around the world are fed to animals—not humans—and sixty percent of the world’s drinkable water is used for farming each year. Meanwhile, 800 million people worldwide suffer from starvation, and 780 million lack access to clean water. These resources could save countless lives if they weren’t being gobbled up by hungry cows, pigs, and turkeys. In fact, some economists estimate that if all of the crops used to feed animals were given to people instead, the issue and reality of world hunger would be completed eliminated. As he spares that one turkey each year, the President could also start and then continue a conversation about what
what all this meat eating does to the planet. To make room for meat production that meets the demands of a growing world population, farmers will need more and more land. Finding new places to raise cattle has already led to the destruction of tropical rainforests, and will, if it continues, cause the extinction of thousands of species of animals and insects. Just one Brazilian cattle company was responsible for cutting down over 500,000 acres of ancient rainforests to supply the world with low-cost meat. This deforestation continues at a rate of thousands of acres per day all over the world, and is considered one of the leading causes of global warming. The negative effects of excessive meat eating aren’t just damaging to the planet as a whole. The President could turn a silly piece of political theater into a powerful statement if he used the occasion to tell Americans about the health risks of a carnivorous diet. The Food and Drug Administration recommends that people eat 2 to 3 small servings of red meat per week, but most Americans eat far more than that. Eating lots of meat, especially red meat, is associated with obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, and even certain types of cancer. In one study, scientists found that over a 10-year period, those who ate high amounts of animal flesh died sooner than those who ate more fruits and vegetables. Ever since John F. Kennedy pardoned the first Thanksgiving Turkey in 1963 (though not as part of an official ceremony), U.S. presidents have been missing out on a great opportunity to educate the public about the very high price of meat consumption. Perhaps a president elected by a healthier, or more environmentally and socially responsible, generation will take advantage of that single turkey pardon each year to deliver a forceful message about our nation’s eating habits, and encourage families all over the United States to pardon a turkey (and steer, and pig) of their own.
A Presidential Pardon--NOT Just for the Birds
A Presidential Pardon--NOT Just for the Birds
A Presidential Pardon--NOT Just for the Birds
Assess Yourself
How well do you understand how to identify an author's purpose?
Assess Yourself
How well do you understand how to identify an author's purpose?
Assess Yourself
How well do you understand how to identify an author's purpose?
Assess Yourself
How well do you understand how to identify an author's purpose?
Grow Your Vocabulary
In the last part of this lesson, you will read two longer pieces of informational text and apply what you know about identifying an author's purpose. These two speeches include words and phrases that may be unfamiliar to you. Use this page to learn these words well enough to remember what they mean when you start reading the articles.
- indiscriminate endorsement
Two Men, Two Purposes
What did W.E.B. DuBois and Booker T. Washington want from their generation?
Two of history's most famous African Americans, W.E.B. DuBois and Booker T. Washington, spent their adult lives battling discrimination, fighting for equal civil rights, and helping a generation of newly freed slaves find a better place in the world. However, partly due to their different backgrounds, the two men approached the solution to racial inequality from distinctly different points of view. *Watch video in textbook Washington, a former slave, encouraged African Americans to pursue an education in trades, crafts, and farming skills, and to focus on buying property and becoming financially stable. Washington believed that as a result of this approach, equality would be inevitable, if slow to arrive. DuBois, on the other hand, was never a slave, and he was highly educated in arts, letters, and philosophy--not a technical trade or farming--by the time he was 20 years old. DuBois believed that social change was only possible if African Americans fought for equality through political action.
Both Washington and DuBois were passionate speakers and writers. They communicated their ideas to audiences and readers in the hopes that the listeners would agree with their perspectives and, in turn, respond accordingly.
Washington's Words
How does Washington's purpose come through in this speech?
In late 1895, Booker T. Washington spoke at the opening of the Atlanta Exposition, an event that was created to celebrate and publicize agricultural products that were grown or created in Georgia and the surrounding states. Washington was asked to speak about race relations, and his message became known as the Atlanta Compromise. As you read through Washington's speech, try to figure out what compromise Washington is suggesting. Then answer the questions beside the speech, which will help you identify language that shows the speech's purpose.
Read Booker T. Washington's speech on page 11 of the lesson.
Homework
DuBois's Words
What is DuBois's advice to African Americans, regarding the fight for racial equality?
W.E.B. DuBois was never a slave, and by the age of 16, he was already in college. DuBois strongly believed in political action as a means of achieving social and political equality. Although he respected Booker T. Washington, DuBois strongly disagreed with Washington's approach and urged people to follow his own philosophy instead.
As you read this excerpt from The Souls of Black Folk, published in 1903, almost ten years after Washington's speech in Atlanta, identify what DuBois hopes his readers will do and think in response to his writing. Then answer the questions beside the passage.
Read W.E.B. DuBois's speech on page 12 of the lesson.
Homework
Take the quiz on "Identifying the Author's Purpose"
While this book contains hundreds of details about the land of Oz, Oz is not a real place. The Royal Book of Oz belongs to the same series as The Wizard of Oz, which has entertained people for generations and inspired numerous successful movies, plays, and other novels.
For years, astronomers have been fascinated by the rings surrounding Saturn. The huge rings, made largely of ice, stretch out hundreds of thousands of miles around the planet. When NASA sent spacecraft to Saturn to explore these rings, the information discovered thrilled and delighted researchers. They found that the rings were made up of material ranging in size from just a few micrometers to tens of meters. They also pinpointed two small moons orbiting the planet in the gaps of the main rings.
This little book was written to help someone learn how to use something. (From its cover, we can't tell what.) If you're like most readers, when you open a user's manual, you expect to find information, because you know that companies provide a user's manual to inform their customers about the use and care of a product they sell
Next, look closely at the details provided in the article or essay. Text written primarily to inform will focus on facts that can easily be verified, or shown to be true, and will not include the author's personal opinions about the topic. Persuasive text, on the other hand, usually includes at least one sentence stating the author's personal opinion. In text written to persuade, any facts have been carefully selected to support the author's opinion. Text written to entertain will consist mostly of details that were selected to amuse readers, to help them imagine a scene, or to evoke emotion.
Which details are more likely to appear in an article written to entertain readers?
Though this pamphlet looks plain--and perhaps not terribly interesting to you, its purpose is not merely to inform customers about the kinds of services available at a bank. The brochures you see in a bank's lobby are written to persuade people to use their services--not just any bank's services.
Think about where the article or essay is published, as well as its overall structure and format. Is it a front-page newspaper story, or is it an article on the editorial or opinion page? Was it published in a news magazine like Time or Newsweek, or a lifestyle and entertainment publication like People or The Rolling Stone? Is it an advertisement written to look and sound like a news article? Where the writing first appears often suggest its purpose.
Not all sideshow acts involved fakes. Chang and Eng, the world’s most famous conjoined twins, were quite real. Born in 1811 in Thailand (called Siam at the time), the two were connected at the chest by a thick band of skin and cartilage. Although they traveled the world showing their unusual appearance to people who paid to see them, they also found ways to live somewhat normal lives.
Though the book's subtitle suggests otherwise, the primary purpose of Founders is to entertain readers--not to inform them about something that is actually about to happen. We know this because the book's cover also identifies it as a novel, and the main reason authors write novels or short stories is to entertain readers.
Yes, occasionally they do. Most authors prefer to be more subtle, though, and expect you to infer their purpose for writing.
First, look at the title. Often it holds quite a few clues.
An article with the title "How to Study More Effectively" is going to show you HOW TO do something. Its purpose is to inform, or teach. Which other title seems to promise information--rather than entertainment or persuasion?
If you have the user's guide, you probably don't need to be persuaded to buy the camera--you already own it. User's guides and owner's manuals are written to inform a buyer about the safe and effective use of a product. If you read this book, you'll read it to get information about how your camera works.
Finally, analyze your personal response to the writing. Do you feel like you were supposed to learn something from the article? Or did it urge you to go out and do something? Did it seem as though the author was arguing with you--or trying to make you agree with him or her? Did you find yourself smiling, laughing, tearing up, or getting angry as you read? How you respond to an article can provide clues about what the author intended.
Which author's purpose is suggested by each of these responses?
Even if you don't know what the title of this book means, you can see that it's probably not a novel or play or book of jokes. Its simple, straightforward title suggests that it's not meant to entertain anyone, but to inform readers about a branch of law.
What was most likely the purpose of the Booker T. Washington speech shown in the image above?
Identifying the Author's Purpose
Ashley Campion
Created on March 30, 2026
Start designing with a free template
Discover more than 1500 professional designs like these:
View
Magazine dossier
View
Momentum: Onboarding Escape Game
View
Momentum: Manager Guide
View
Wizardry Letter
View
Search Bar Card
View
Piñata
View
Microlearning: When to Use Chat, Meetings or Email
Explore all templates
Transcript
Identifying the Author's Purpose
In this lesson you will learn how to identify the purpose of a specific piece of informational text.
Lesson Objectives
Identify an author's purpose.
Skills Needed
Draw conclusions based on textual evidence.
Key Words
It Depends...
Why do writers write?
If you take a moment to look around you, what can you see that has been written down? Look beyond the rows of books on shelves or piled on the floor. If you search carefully, you're likely to find text in all sorts of places you've never noticed. Each instance of writing is there for a different reason, or purpose, and you know that without even thinking about it. In this lesson, we're going to explore the different purposes that authors have when they sit down (or stand up) to write. Look at each of the written messages below. For each one, think about the author's purpose, or the reason the author probably had for creating the message.
What is the purpose of this billboard?
What is the purpose of this sign?
What is the purpose of this book?
Can a piece of writing have more than one purpose?
Every piece of writing has an author's purpose. That purpose is the reason the text was written, and it drives many, if not all, of the decisions the author makes while creating the piece. As you read different kinds of materials, you'll discover that knowing the author's purpose helps you understand what you're reading and how to read it. It will also help you decide whether to believe or be influenced by what the author has to say.
The Big Three
What do most authors hope to accomplish?
Though the specifics of their reasons vary, most writers have one of three purposes in mind. You should be familiar with these three because they are very similar to your goals when you talk to your friends and family. As you read about each of these purposes for writing, think about situations that might inspire you to write with that purpose.
Inform
When the goal is to inform, a writer attempts to "teach" readers about topics that he or she knows and understands. If you read something that includes lots of facts and examples, it probably was written to inform you.
Which of these two texts was written to inform readers?
Entertain
When authors write to entertain, they hope to cause some kind of emotional reaction in readers. They may want their audience to sympathize with a particular character, and feel what that character feels, or they may just want to make you make you laugh out loud, or groan and roll your eyes, or just keep reading. Novels and plays, like feature films, are meant to "capture" the audience long enough to make sure you'll stay around to see how things turn out.
Which of these two texts was written to entertain readers?
Persuade
When the goal is to persuade, or convince, the writer takes on the role of politician who wants to get you to agree with his or her opinion. Clues include opinions and strong statements. Examples include commercials, infomercials, editorials, and print advertisements. Persuasive writing often focuses on provoking readers to take action or change how they think. It might propose a solution to a problem to try to get you to agree. It might also expose a situation or issue and urge readers to respond.
Which of these two texts was written to persuade readers?
Besides the Cover
How can you figure out an author's purpose?
Suppose you don't have a book cover to help you figure out an author's purpose. What if someone emails you a link to an article online--or hands you a pamphlet, and doesn't say who created it? Fortunately, you can determine a great deal about an author's purpose just by reading his or her words. You do need to know where to look, though, and what to look for. Click through the tab set below to learn some key strategies for identifying the purpose behind a piece of writing.
Besides the Cover
Step #2
Step #1
Step #4
Step #3
Do authors ever state a purpose explicitly?
Try It Out
Can you use the clues in text to determine the author's purpose?
Ready for some practice identifying author's purpose? Let's look at a few sample passages. As you read each passage, apply the strategies described on the previous page.
Welcome Spring with Holi! If you're ever offered a chance to visit India during their annual Holi festival, you should take it! During Holi, the people in and around India celebrate the start of spring. You'll be surrounded by traditional singing and energetic dancing from dawn till dusk. It's not your average street festival, though, so be prepared for some chaos. On this special day, friends pelt each other with balloons and buckets full of colored powder. By noon everyone seems to be covered with thick, rich paint in all colors of the rainbow. The more color you wear, the better. Then, at the end of the day, you head to a nearby ocean to rinse off and head home for a delicious feast. From a newsletter for space enthusiasts... In spring 2013, billionaire Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.com, announced that his sea expedition had discovered two of the space rocket Apollo's engines at sea. The engines had been deep underwater for more than 40 years and were located three miles below the surface of the ocean. The team used remote-controlled vehicles to maneuver the engines and strong cables to pull them up to the surface. Exactly which rockets held these engines is uncertain, since there were no serial numbers placed on the engines. Bezos plans to clean up the engines and put them on display at NASA's museum.
Stop Lighting Up My Life (a letter to the editor of a local newspaper) In several parts of the world, national reserves have been set up in remote locations in order to protect not an endangered species or acres of rainforest, but darkness. Most of us take darkness for granted, but the truth is that much of the earth's surface is exposed to artificial light throughout the night. In fact, light pollution has become a very serious problem--one that worries both environmentalists and astronomers. Between security lights, neon signs, and street lights, it is impossible to see constellations if you live anywhere near a large city. Nocturnal animals, who did not evolve with the instincts needed to cope with large amounts of light, are particularly sensitive to the invasion of their habitats by electric lights. It is clear that our nation needs a policy--if not a set of enforceable laws--to make people start turning off their lights!
Try It Out
Try It Out
Try It Out
On Purpose
What about all that SPAM in your email inbox?
Living in the Information Age that is the 21st century, you're going to encounter written messages almost constantly--especially if you use a computer with Internet access. Read the beginning of this article that appeared in the electronic newsletter sent out by a national health food store chain to all its customers. Look for clues that suggest the author's purpose.
Now see if you can answer these questions about the author's purpose.
The Last Word
Why does a health food store care about a presidential ceremony that most Americans think is silly?
Now apply your new skills to the entire newsletter article. First finish reading the article. Then answer the questions beside it.
A Presidential Pardon--NOT Just for the Birds For generations now, one or two turkeys each year have found some mercy during the holidays—at the hands of the President of the United States. While most turkeys can look forward to forming the centerpiece for someone’s Thanksgiving dinner table, next to the cranberry sauce and sweet potatoes, one or two chosen few are “pardoned” each year by the U.S. President. Americans tend to see this ceremony as a silly and mildly entertaining event, but in reality, it brings up a vital issue. Our demand for meaty meals is taking a huge toll on our planet and our health. Future Presidents might serve their legacies well by using the tradition to encourage Americans to eat more plants and fewer animals. The annual Thanksgiving pardon provides a perfect opportunity for the President to connect the high cost of meat production to the hunger crisis faced by a majority of the world’s people. Scientists have known (and reported) for years what a tremendous amount of food, water, land, and energy is required to satisfy our appetite for meat, compared to the resources required to grow grains and vegetables. To produce just one quarter-pound beef patty, a farmer must use 6.7 pounds of grain, 52.8 gallons of water, and 74.5 square feet of land. As much as one third of all crops grown around the world are fed to animals—not humans—and sixty percent of the world’s drinkable water is used for farming each year. Meanwhile, 800 million people worldwide suffer from starvation, and 780 million lack access to clean water. These resources could save countless lives if they weren’t being gobbled up by hungry cows, pigs, and turkeys. In fact, some economists estimate that if all of the crops used to feed animals were given to people instead, the issue and reality of world hunger would be completed eliminated. As he spares that one turkey each year, the President could also start and then continue a conversation about what
what all this meat eating does to the planet. To make room for meat production that meets the demands of a growing world population, farmers will need more and more land. Finding new places to raise cattle has already led to the destruction of tropical rainforests, and will, if it continues, cause the extinction of thousands of species of animals and insects. Just one Brazilian cattle company was responsible for cutting down over 500,000 acres of ancient rainforests to supply the world with low-cost meat. This deforestation continues at a rate of thousands of acres per day all over the world, and is considered one of the leading causes of global warming. The negative effects of excessive meat eating aren’t just damaging to the planet as a whole. The President could turn a silly piece of political theater into a powerful statement if he used the occasion to tell Americans about the health risks of a carnivorous diet. The Food and Drug Administration recommends that people eat 2 to 3 small servings of red meat per week, but most Americans eat far more than that. Eating lots of meat, especially red meat, is associated with obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, and even certain types of cancer. In one study, scientists found that over a 10-year period, those who ate high amounts of animal flesh died sooner than those who ate more fruits and vegetables. Ever since John F. Kennedy pardoned the first Thanksgiving Turkey in 1963 (though not as part of an official ceremony), U.S. presidents have been missing out on a great opportunity to educate the public about the very high price of meat consumption. Perhaps a president elected by a healthier, or more environmentally and socially responsible, generation will take advantage of that single turkey pardon each year to deliver a forceful message about our nation’s eating habits, and encourage families all over the United States to pardon a turkey (and steer, and pig) of their own.
A Presidential Pardon--NOT Just for the Birds
A Presidential Pardon--NOT Just for the Birds
A Presidential Pardon--NOT Just for the Birds
Assess Yourself
How well do you understand how to identify an author's purpose?
Assess Yourself
How well do you understand how to identify an author's purpose?
Assess Yourself
How well do you understand how to identify an author's purpose?
Assess Yourself
How well do you understand how to identify an author's purpose?
Grow Your Vocabulary
In the last part of this lesson, you will read two longer pieces of informational text and apply what you know about identifying an author's purpose. These two speeches include words and phrases that may be unfamiliar to you. Use this page to learn these words well enough to remember what they mean when you start reading the articles.
Two Men, Two Purposes
What did W.E.B. DuBois and Booker T. Washington want from their generation?
Two of history's most famous African Americans, W.E.B. DuBois and Booker T. Washington, spent their adult lives battling discrimination, fighting for equal civil rights, and helping a generation of newly freed slaves find a better place in the world. However, partly due to their different backgrounds, the two men approached the solution to racial inequality from distinctly different points of view. *Watch video in textbook Washington, a former slave, encouraged African Americans to pursue an education in trades, crafts, and farming skills, and to focus on buying property and becoming financially stable. Washington believed that as a result of this approach, equality would be inevitable, if slow to arrive. DuBois, on the other hand, was never a slave, and he was highly educated in arts, letters, and philosophy--not a technical trade or farming--by the time he was 20 years old. DuBois believed that social change was only possible if African Americans fought for equality through political action. Both Washington and DuBois were passionate speakers and writers. They communicated their ideas to audiences and readers in the hopes that the listeners would agree with their perspectives and, in turn, respond accordingly.
Washington's Words
How does Washington's purpose come through in this speech?
In late 1895, Booker T. Washington spoke at the opening of the Atlanta Exposition, an event that was created to celebrate and publicize agricultural products that were grown or created in Georgia and the surrounding states. Washington was asked to speak about race relations, and his message became known as the Atlanta Compromise. As you read through Washington's speech, try to figure out what compromise Washington is suggesting. Then answer the questions beside the speech, which will help you identify language that shows the speech's purpose.
Read Booker T. Washington's speech on page 11 of the lesson.
Homework
DuBois's Words
What is DuBois's advice to African Americans, regarding the fight for racial equality?
W.E.B. DuBois was never a slave, and by the age of 16, he was already in college. DuBois strongly believed in political action as a means of achieving social and political equality. Although he respected Booker T. Washington, DuBois strongly disagreed with Washington's approach and urged people to follow his own philosophy instead. As you read this excerpt from The Souls of Black Folk, published in 1903, almost ten years after Washington's speech in Atlanta, identify what DuBois hopes his readers will do and think in response to his writing. Then answer the questions beside the passage.
Read W.E.B. DuBois's speech on page 12 of the lesson.
Homework
Take the quiz on "Identifying the Author's Purpose"
While this book contains hundreds of details about the land of Oz, Oz is not a real place. The Royal Book of Oz belongs to the same series as The Wizard of Oz, which has entertained people for generations and inspired numerous successful movies, plays, and other novels.
For years, astronomers have been fascinated by the rings surrounding Saturn. The huge rings, made largely of ice, stretch out hundreds of thousands of miles around the planet. When NASA sent spacecraft to Saturn to explore these rings, the information discovered thrilled and delighted researchers. They found that the rings were made up of material ranging in size from just a few micrometers to tens of meters. They also pinpointed two small moons orbiting the planet in the gaps of the main rings.
This little book was written to help someone learn how to use something. (From its cover, we can't tell what.) If you're like most readers, when you open a user's manual, you expect to find information, because you know that companies provide a user's manual to inform their customers about the use and care of a product they sell
Next, look closely at the details provided in the article or essay. Text written primarily to inform will focus on facts that can easily be verified, or shown to be true, and will not include the author's personal opinions about the topic. Persuasive text, on the other hand, usually includes at least one sentence stating the author's personal opinion. In text written to persuade, any facts have been carefully selected to support the author's opinion. Text written to entertain will consist mostly of details that were selected to amuse readers, to help them imagine a scene, or to evoke emotion. Which details are more likely to appear in an article written to entertain readers?
Though this pamphlet looks plain--and perhaps not terribly interesting to you, its purpose is not merely to inform customers about the kinds of services available at a bank. The brochures you see in a bank's lobby are written to persuade people to use their services--not just any bank's services.
Think about where the article or essay is published, as well as its overall structure and format. Is it a front-page newspaper story, or is it an article on the editorial or opinion page? Was it published in a news magazine like Time or Newsweek, or a lifestyle and entertainment publication like People or The Rolling Stone? Is it an advertisement written to look and sound like a news article? Where the writing first appears often suggest its purpose.
Not all sideshow acts involved fakes. Chang and Eng, the world’s most famous conjoined twins, were quite real. Born in 1811 in Thailand (called Siam at the time), the two were connected at the chest by a thick band of skin and cartilage. Although they traveled the world showing their unusual appearance to people who paid to see them, they also found ways to live somewhat normal lives.
Though the book's subtitle suggests otherwise, the primary purpose of Founders is to entertain readers--not to inform them about something that is actually about to happen. We know this because the book's cover also identifies it as a novel, and the main reason authors write novels or short stories is to entertain readers.
Yes, occasionally they do. Most authors prefer to be more subtle, though, and expect you to infer their purpose for writing.
First, look at the title. Often it holds quite a few clues. An article with the title "How to Study More Effectively" is going to show you HOW TO do something. Its purpose is to inform, or teach. Which other title seems to promise information--rather than entertainment or persuasion?
If you have the user's guide, you probably don't need to be persuaded to buy the camera--you already own it. User's guides and owner's manuals are written to inform a buyer about the safe and effective use of a product. If you read this book, you'll read it to get information about how your camera works.
Finally, analyze your personal response to the writing. Do you feel like you were supposed to learn something from the article? Or did it urge you to go out and do something? Did it seem as though the author was arguing with you--or trying to make you agree with him or her? Did you find yourself smiling, laughing, tearing up, or getting angry as you read? How you respond to an article can provide clues about what the author intended. Which author's purpose is suggested by each of these responses?
Even if you don't know what the title of this book means, you can see that it's probably not a novel or play or book of jokes. Its simple, straightforward title suggests that it's not meant to entertain anyone, but to inform readers about a branch of law.
What was most likely the purpose of the Booker T. Washington speech shown in the image above?