Author’s PurposeFreshman EnglishSecond Semester

Author’s Purpose

•An author writes to share ideas about a given topic.•Three different kinds of purposes when addressing an audience:•To inform•To argue/persuade•To tell a story

Informative Writing• Facts, statistics, true

information.• Explains or gives the

audience information on a specific topic.• Also known as

expository writing.• Examples: Textbooks,

cookbooks, informational brochures, etc.

Argumentative Writing• To persuade or to argue

a point, that the audience will accept.• Usually this is the

authors own feelings, bias, or beliefs.• Also known as

persuasive writing• Examples: Commercials,

advertisements, newspapers, etc

Narrative Writing• Written to entertain,

interest, or appeal to the reader.

• Mostly fictional writing, but can be factual.

• This writing usually elicits some sort of emotional response from the audience. (sad, happy, scared, etc)

• Examples: Poems, stories, plays, comics, etc

Ask yourself these questions…

•Did they author try to make me laugh, cry, hide under my bed?•Did the author try to get me to buy

something, change something, or think a certain way?•Did the author try to teach me

something, give me facts, or statistics?

Why do we need to know this?

• Helps to prepare your mind for the type of information you are reading. (You will already know the point)• Helps when summarizing the main ideas of

the text.• Helps to discriminate the main points and

the small details of the text.

How Do Authors Achieve Purpose?

Diction

•Diction = the choice and use of words and phrases in speech or writing.• Denotative – literal/dictionary meaning• Connotative – figurative/associated

meaning. • Slaughtered• Denotative: “The killing of animals especially for food.”• Connotative: The Falcon’s basketball team slaughtered WWS.

Tone

• The authors attitude towards the topic.• The attitude is expressed through

word choice, or diction.• There are two different types of tone,

subjective and objective.

Objective Tone• Objective tone is

“impartial”.• Does not show

feelings, and is neither for or against a topic.• Unbiased or neutral• Does not use

pronouns such as “I and You”• Examples: Textbooks

Subjective Tone• Subjective tone is

personal and biased.• The author is writing to

evoke an emotion within the audience.• Author uses words that

describe feelings, experiences, or thoughts• This writing is often

informal.• Example: Stories or

Poems