LAA 242, 245 Authors Purpose

1
LAA 242, 245 Authors Purpose

• As you read, it is important to keep in mind that
  the words on the page did not just magically
  appear there. A person who had real feelings
  wrote those words, and that person wrote for a
  reason. That is the real premise behind the
  authors purpose and point of view.
• The authors purpose is why he or she wrote the
  text.
• The authors point of view is the authors
  feelings about that piece of text.

2
Stop and Think

• Think about the last time you wrote something. It
  might have been an essay for your social studies
  class, a research paper for science, or a
  descriptive passage for English. Maybe it was a
  poem you wrote on your own or lyrics to a song.
• All those pieces of writing were written for a
  reason. Think about how you developed your
  writing knowing the purpose.

3
Authors Purpose

• Most of us do not take the author into
  consideration when we are reading something. When
  an author writes, he or she does so with a
  specific purpose in mind. Authors have choices,
  and they choose their topics and their words very
  carefully in order to convey a particular
  purpose. Sometimes authors will come right out
  and state their purpose. More often, though, the
  purpose will be implied, and so you will need to
  use your reading skills to figure out the
  purpose.
• There are many different reasons why authors
  write
• To inform, tell, explain
• To persuade, convince
• To express an opinion
• To entertain
• To express a mood or a feeling

4
Looking Closely at Questions

• The authors purpose question can be found on the
  FCAT. It can come in the form of multiple choice,
  short-response, or extended-response question.
  When you see a question like this, you should ask
  yourself one question WHY did the author write
  this piece of literature? What was he or she
  trying to convey to the audience? Look at the
  language the author chose it should give you
  clues as to the purpose of the passage. If the
  question is in multiple-choice format, you might
  try this strategy
• Ask Why Ask yourself WHY the author wrote this
  piece of writing. What was he or she trying to
  convey to the audience?
• Cover up To A Verb Endings If the answer
  comes in the form of

5
Strategy

• If the question is in multiple-choice format, you
  might try this strategy
• Ask Why Ask yourself WHY the author wrote this
  piece of writing. What was he or she trying to
  convey to the audience?
• Cover up To A Verb Endings If the answer
  comes in the form of to a verb (to
  entertain, to warn, to inform,), then try
  covering up the endings of the multiple-choice
  answers. If you cover up the endings of the
  answers, the correct choice may become clearer to
  you, or you may be able to eliminate answers that
  are obviously incorrect. If the answers are not
  in the to a verb format, skip to the next
  step.
• 3) Read the Entire Answer Read the entire answer
  for each choice. Make sure the one you have
  chosen (if you previously decided upon an answer)
  is the best answer and is supported by the text.

6
Lets Try

• Poem by Emily Dickinson
• How happy is the little stone
• That rambles in the road alone,
• And doesnt care about careers,
• And exigencies never fears
• Whose coat of elemental brown
• A passing universe put on
• And independent as the sun,
• Fulfilling absolute decree
• In casual simplicity.

7
What do you think?

• How happy is the little stone
• That rambles in the road alone,
• And doesnt care about careers,
• And exigencies never fears
• Whose coat of elemental brown
• A passing universe put on
• And independent as the sun,
• Fulfilling absolute decree
• In casual simplicity.

• What was the authors main
• purpose in writing this poem?
• to describe the outward appearance of a stone
• to express her feelings on the simplicity of a
  stones life
• to persuade the reader that the stones life is
  better that hers
• to entertain the reader with humorous anecdotes
  about stories

8
Steps

• Step One What do YOU think the authors purpose
  is? Why did she write the poem?
• Step Two The answers come in the form of to
  verb, so cover up the answers so you only see
  the following
• a) to describe
• b) to express
• c) to persuade
• d) to entertain
• Does one of those fit with your idea or does one
  answer stand out
• and seem correct?
• Step Three Read the complete answers for each
  choice and make sure the one you chose still
  seems correct, fits with your original idea, and
  is supported by the text.

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Answer

• The correct answer is B To express her feelings
  about the simplicity of a stones life. You
  should have been able to eliminate Choice C right
  off the bat the author is not trying to persuade
  someone of anything. There is not any persuasive
  language to support this choice. As you read each
  answer completely, you should have also been able
  to eliminate Choice Dthere really is not
  anything humorous (or funny) in the poem. She
  does describe the outward appearance of the stone
  (A), but she does not focus on that. The best
  answer is Choice Bshe is expressing how simple
  (and seemingly wonderful) the stones life is.

10
Authors Point of View

• Just as every author has a purpose to writing,
  every author has a point of view (or opinion)
  toward the topic about which he or she is
  writing. Just like the authors purpose, the
  authors point of view may be stated or implied
  in the text.
• On the FCAT, you will have to figure out what the
  authors point of view really is about the topic.
  Remember to look carefully at the words that the
  author has chosen to give you clues about what
  the point of view is. Point of view questions,
  like purpose questions, can also be
  multiple-choice, short response, or extended
  response. Authors point of view questions many
  be phrased in ways other than, What is the
  authors point of view about? For example,
• What is the authors opinion about?
• What does the author think of (or about)?
• How does the author feel about?

11
Methods of Appeal and Persuasive Devices

• You may have noticed that besides knowing how to
  identify the authors purpose and point of view,
  this particular benchmark is also concerned with
  the impact of methods of appeal and/or persuasive
  devices. What does this mean?
• Basically, methods of appeal and persuasive
  devices are just ways that the author tries to
  get the reader to understand, identify with, or
  even go along with his or her purpose or point of
  view. These are particularly important in
  persuasive writing when the author wants to
  reader to side with his point of view. What does
  the author use in his writing to convince his
  audience? Some examples of possible methods of
  appeal include
• 1) Specific examples
• 2) Facts and statistics
• 3) Opinions from influential people and/or
  experts
• 4) Emotional pleas or influences
• 5) Descriptive language and/or details
• 6) Use of humor
• 7) Logical reasoning