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 EXERCISES:Read each paragraph. Then select the answer that best describes the
author’s purpose in writing.
The word is terracide. It is not committed with guns and knives, but with relentless
bulldozers, roaring dump trucks, and giant shovels like mythological beasts. Dynamite cuts
and rips apart mountains to reach the minerals inside, leaving nothing but empty, naked
hills. The land is left wasted and allowed to slide down upon houses and into streams,
making the land unlivable and the stream water undrinkable. This is terracide, or if you
prefer, strip mining.
1. The author’s purpose is to
a. inform you about the purposes of strip mining.
b. describe a strip mining operation.
c. persuade you that strip mining is bad for the environment.
d. define terracide.
The human sex chromosomes are of the XX-XY pattern. The Y chromosome is
much smaller than the X chromosome. Two types of sperm cells are formed during
gametogenesis; half of these have the X chromosome and the others have the Y
chromosome. Every egg cell has an X chromosome; therefore, fertilization determines the
sex. If a Y sperm cell fertilizes the egg, a male develops.
2. The author’s purpose is to
a. explain how the sex of humans is determined.
b. describe chromosomes.
c. tell the steps in fertilization.
d. contrast X and Y chromosomes
To make a delicious New England pit, proceed as follows: take some water and
flour; then construct a bullet-proof dough. Make this into a disk-shaped object. Dry it for a
couple of days in a mild temperature. Pour on stewed dried apples and slabs of citron; leave
it in a safe place until it petrifies. Serve cold at breakfast and invite your mother-in-law.
3. The author’s purpose is to
a. tell the steps in making a pie.
b. make fun of (satirize) New England cooking.
c. persuade the reader to buy New England pie.
d. describe New England pie.
I will try to give the reader of this article some idea of the real nature of Gothic
architecture, not just of Venice, but of universal Gothic. One of the most interesting parts of
our study will be to find out how far Venetian architecture went in achieving the perfect
type of Gothic, and how far it fell short of it.
Explanation:
