Author’s Purpose Why do authors write? An author’s purpose is his or her reason for creating a particular work.

There are four main author’s purposes To Inform and/or Teach a Life Lesson To Persuade To Express an Opinion To Entertain

Can a piece of writing have more than one author’s purpose? Yes, a piece of writing can have more than one author’s purpose. For example, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’s author’s purposes are to entertain and to inform.

To Inform Authors can inform the reader of a life lesson. For example, “Don’t ever give up!” and “Give to those in need.” Inform the reader about statistics/facts. For example, the world is made up of 71% water.

To Express an Opinion An author writes to share his/her opinion on a certain topic. For example, an author may write to express his/her opinion on: gun control, social classes, bullying, or our President.

To Persuade The author writes to make the reader believe something or to have the reader do something. For example, an author may write to persuade the reader to: stop smoking, to join an organization, to exercise, to believe that guns should be banned, to believe Justin Bieber is a disaster. Note: The difference between persuasive writing and expressing an opinion is that persuasive writing encourages the reader to do something (a call to action).

To Entertain Many novels/books entertain. Most likely they will have other purposes as well. Novels entertain readers by providing an escape, being enjoyable, or connecting to our lives. Other pieces of literature (poems, short stories, news article, etc . . .) can also entertain. Ask yourself, “Is this piece of literature amusing/entertaining?”