Author’s Purpose
or
Author’s Viewpoint or POINT of VIEW
Or
Perspective
for Nonfiction
Objectives:
To use academic vocabulary to
discuss reading skills
To analyze and evaluate purposes
authors have for writing
To use text clues to identify the
author’s point of view in a passage
Discussion:
Why do authors’ write?
What are authors’ attempting
to do for the reader?
Why do you read?
Author’s purpose:
Author’s purpose is his or her main
reason for writing. An author must
establish a purpose that matches the
subject and audience. Authors use
tools, such as theme, to
communicate their purpose.
:
Word Meaning Example Sentence
ESTABLISH To prove or create James established that his
prediction was correct.
CONVINCE To cause someone to agree The candidate convinced
the crowd that she was the
best choice to be the
governor.
INTERPRET To explain or provide the
meaning of
Our teacher taught us how
to interpret the poem.
AUTHOR’S PURPOSE The main reason for writing a
piece
The author’s purpose could
be to inform, persuade,
entertain or reflect.
4 purposes for writing: Author’s Purpose Clues Types of Writing
To persuade Favors one side of an issue, author
tries to CONVINCE the reader of his
or her point of view
Editorials, opinion essays,
advertisements
To inform Author includes facts, statistics, and
details
Newspaper articles,
encyclopedias articles,
manuels
To entertain Author uses humor, suspense or
exciting language
Poems, plays, short stories,
novels, narrative nonfiction
To reflect Author provides personal comments
about the meaning of an experience
or an event
Autobiographies, diaries,
memoirs, essays
Notice:
3 MAJOR reasons:
To persuade
To inform
To entertain
Not as often: To reflect
Questions to help identify
author’s purpose: 1. Based on the title, why do you think the author wrote this selection?
2. Which words do you think best describe the main reason the author wrote
this selection: to provide readers with information? To describe a person,
event or issue? To express their own thoughts and feelings? To
persuade, readers to think about an issue in a certain way and to take
action? Or to entertain the reader?
3. Why did the author write the article from a particular perspective?
4. Was the author’s purpose specifically stated?
5. Do you think that the author achieved his/her intended purposes? Did the
article effectively give information? Entertain readers? Express the
author’s thoughts and feelings? Persuade readers to think about an issue
and/or take action?
6. What examples from the text support your conclusions about the author’s
purpose?
Read and answer: “One Out Away!”
Few people who saw today’s softball game will
ever forget it. Monica Bradshaw came within one
pitch of a no-hitter. In each inning, she eliminated
each of the opposing hitters, striking out every single
batter. Then, with two outs in the ninths inning and
Bradshaw’s team up 1-0, she walked Luisa Miller.
That brought Karen Wilson to the plate. Bradshaw
had struck Wilson out twice previously.
After two pitches, she had two strikes on
Wilson-but on the last pitch of the game, Wilson put a
good swing on a Bradshaw fastball. Everyone at the
game watched the ball sail over the left-field fence for
a game-winning home run. Monica Bradshaw was
one pitch away from a 1-0 victory and a no-hitter.
Instead, Karen Wilson gave her team a victory of 2-1.
What is the topic of
this article?
What happened in the
article that makes the
writer think this is
worthy of the reader’s
attention?
What is the author’s
main purpose for
writing this selection?
What clues convince
you that this is the
purpose?
Does the author have a
second purpose?
Explain.
Author’s Point of View in
Nonfiction The author’s opinion about a
topic.
How the author feels (bias)
about a topic.
How the author sounds (tone)
about a topic.
Word Defined Sentence
Opinion
An opinion is a feeling, judgment, belief, or
conclusion that cannot be proven true by
objective evidence.
ELA is the best subject.
Bias
Bias is a judgement in favor of or against one
thing, person, or group compared with
another, usually in a way considered to be
unfair.
Recognize bias and decided whether a
source of information can be trusted.
ELA is the best subject
because that is what I
teach.
Tone Tone is the author’s attitude toward the
writing and the readers. A work of writing can
have more than one tone. An example of
tone could be both serious and humorous.
Tone is set by the choice of vocabulary and
other details.
ELA is extremely important
and necessary for every
day living.
Word Defined
Factual
Factual means the writing is based on facts or proven information
Trusted
Trusted writing means that it has been checked and double checked to
see if the writing is valid and truthful
Validity Validity refers to the credibility or believability of the research. Are the
findings genuine? Is hand strength a valid measure of intelligence?
Almost certainly the answer is "No, it is not." Is score on the SAT a
valid predictor of GPA during the first year of college? The answer
depends on the amount of research support for such a relationship.
Reliability Reliability refers to the repeatability of findings. If the study were to be
done a second time, would it yield the same results? If so, the data are
reliable. If more than one person is observing behavior or some event,
all observers should agree on what is being recorded in order to claim
that the data are reliable.
Questions to help with author’s point
of view in nonfiction
1. What opinion or belief statements are evident in the article?
2. Why do you think the author has this particular opinion or viewpoint?
3. What background information about the author does the reader have that
may help understand the writer’s perspective? Would another author have
a different perspective depending on his/her background experiences?
4. What pictures does the author paint for a reader?
5. What evidence did the author included to support his or her opinions?
6. What facts were missing?
7. What words and phrases did the author use to present the information?
8. Why did the author write this selection? Identifying the author’s purpose
helps you recognize possible perspectives, especially in persuasive
writing.
Directions
Read the passage.
Look at the choices.
Choose the best answer.
Write your answer on the
whiteboard.
What is the author’s viewpoint about
gym class?
I wonder who made gym class
mandatory? He was a great guy! It is
a welcome break from sitting in chairs.
In a recent poll, gym class was the
favorite subject of elementary students.
I wish there was gym class more often!
positive negative
Try Again!
Remember, the author’s viewpoint tells how s/he feels about a subject.
Look at his/her word choices for help.
That’s Correct!
You sure are smart about author’s viewpoint!
What is the author’s viewpoint about
gym class?
Gym class is such a waste of time!
What is gym class good for anyway?
Students are better off learning to read
and do math. Some students have
expressed what a pain it is to remember
to wear sneakers once a week.
positive negative
That’s Correct!
You sure are smart about author’s viewpoint!
What is the author’s viewpoint about
bees?
Many people don’t like bees. However,
without these helpful insects, we would
not have many of our favorite flowers or
fruits. When bees drink nectar from
flowers, they carry away pollen. Bees
leave the pollen on the next plant they visit.
This helps create necessary new plants.
positive negative
That’s Correct!
You sure are smart about author’s viewpoint!
What is the author’s viewpoint about
bees?
Many people don’t like bees. They are
afraid of being stung. Lots of people
are even allergic to bee stings. Then,
they get a rash or take medicine if they
get stung. Bees are always
bothersome on a terrific summer day!
positive negative
That’s Correct!
You sure are smart about author’s viewpoint!
What is the author’s viewpoint about
full day kindergarten?
The average school day for kindergarteners
is getting longer, and it's paying off in
improved reading skills. This
improvement will continue from
elementary school to HS. These children
will be able to get better jobs when they
are adults.
Favors full day Not in favor of full day
That’s Correct!
You sure are smart about author’s viewpoint!
What is the author’s viewpoint about
full day kindergarten?
The trend toward full day kindergarten
programs in public schools is taking its toll
on today’s young children. Recent studies
showing improved reading skills may be
misleading. The improvement in reading is
unlikely to carry on as these children
progress through elementary school. Favors full day
Not in favor of full day
That’s Correct!
You sure are smart about author’s viewpoint!
What is the author’s viewpoint on
people’s relationship with dolphins?
Many cities have aquariums that have adopted orphaned dolphins found in the ocean. Many of these dolphins were wounded and would not have survived alone. Because of the kindness of humans these animals are alive today.
People help dolphins.
People hurt dolphins.
That’s Correct!
You sure are smart about author’s viewpoint!
What is the author’s viewpoint on
people’s relationship with dolphins?
Dolphins have suffered from the
carelessness of humans. Many
dolphins are killed each year in
fishing nets. Oil has been spilled into
ocean water, polluting the dolphins'
environment. People help
dolphins. People hurt
dolphins.
That’s Correct!
You sure are smart about author’s viewpoint!
Congratulations!
You have learned that the author’s word
choices show how he/she feels about a topic!