UNDERSTANDING AUTHOR'S PURPOSE

 



An author’s purpose is his reason for or intent in writing. An author’s purpose may be to amuse the reader, to persuade the reader, to inform the reader, or to satirize a condition. An author writes with one of four general purposes in mind:

  1. To relate a story or to recount events, an author uses narrative writing.
  2. To tell what something looks like, sounds like, or feels like, the author uses descriptive writing
  3. To convince a reader to believe an idea or to take a course of action, the author uses persuasive writing.
  4. To inform or teach the reader, the author uses expository writing.

An author’s purpose is reflected in the way he writes about a topic. For instance, if his purpose is to amuse, he will use jokes or anecdotes in his writing. Clues to an author’s purpose may be found in titles, prefaces, and the author’s background. 

An author always has an overall reason or purpose for writing a passage.  

Some passages explicitly state their purposes.  Other passages leave it for the reader to infer the purpose.  Understanding the author's purpose helps the reader better understand the main idea of the passage and follow the author's ideas as they progress. Likewise, an author has a purpose for the various decisions made in crafting the sentences in the passage.  In particular, word choice, word placement, and emphasis all work intentionally toward promoting a specific purpose that the author has in mind.  The insightful reader will recognize these intentions of the author and follow the author's logic and conclusions by means of these cues.


Here's an example from one of the hypothetical articles on tornadoes:

     A tornado swept through this town three years ago.  It gutted hundreds of houses and businesses.  At the hardware store one day after the storm, I met Leo Jackson, a retired carpenter, who was buying wood to rebuild his house "sooner than the state will do it."  He told me: "I don't like change, so I'm going to make sure the next one can't do more than knock at my door."  After this past storm swept through his town, I drove by his new house to check on him.  He was sitting on his porch waiting for the interview, and not one window was broken.  

Why would the author quote Leo Jackson in this article?

The author quotes Leo Jackson in order to --

A)    inform the readers about his plans for rebuilding his home.
B)    explain how the storm affected the community.
C)    compare his new attitude to his old one.
D)    praise his commitment
E)    illustrate one resident's determination


The correct answer is E.  The author focuses on one resident in this passage and does not add in personal opinions about him.  Instead, that quote allows readers to see evidence of his determination after the first storm and assess the result of it after the second one.


     The author's purpose will most likely determine the organizational pattern used for the passage as well.  For example, a writer may want to explain a topic, compare one thing to another, define a term in order to educate or persuade, or simply list information.  Depending on the author's purpose, the passage will be organized accordingly.

If the writer wanted readers to see the problems with the structure of Leo Jackson's old house and the advantages of the new house's design, the author might want to use the following organizational pattern:

A)    cause and effect. The author considers why the new design withstood the storm.
B)    compare/contrast. The author compares integrity of the old structure to the new structure.
C)    example. The author lists examples of ways to rebuild a house that can withstand a storm.
D)    definition. The first sentence provides a definition of structural integrity, and then uses the new house to illustrate the meaning.
E)    sequential. The passage is written in time order.

 


To determine the author's purpose, consider how the following elements relate to the thesis:

word choice: note the powerful words -- what connotations or feelings are evoked by the use of certain words?

word placement: what words introduce or conclude the idea discussed?

emphasis: what points are emphasized? are words repeated? which sentences are more heavily weighted?

organization:  what organizational structure is used? how does the structure affect the idea being discussed?

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