Purpose Opinion Writing

Why write? Three main reasons: 1. To inform the audience. 2. To persuade the audience. 3. To entertain the audience.

Informational writing • will have a lot of facts. • will give multiple points of view from expert sources. • will not focus on the writer's opinion. • will give readers a chance to learn about a particular topic.

News writing • has an objective tone and is meant to inform. • incorporates multiple points of view. • is not intended to sway people, but to let them make up their own minds.

Persuasive writing • will attempt to convince readers that the author's opinion is right. • should include facts to back up the opinions. • focuses on one point of view and gives reasons for it.

Entertaining writing • often is fun or emotional (but not always funny). • tends to tell a story, in which case it is a narrative. • isn't necessarily intended to change readers' lives or minds (intended for enjoyment).

Combined purpose Writing usually combines purposes to be more effective, but it is good for writers (and readers) to be aware of the main purpose. A piece can be entertaining and informative, but it helps to know which is the writer’s focus so readers can know how seriously to take the facts, or if a story is informative and persuasive, readers can determine how much the facts are being spun.

Specific purposes Strong writing has a specific purpose. Examples: • to inform readers of the candidates of an upcoming election. • to persuade them to vote for one candidate because of her views on education. • to entertain them through exaggerating the stances the candidates take.

Mixed purposes Most types of writing will have more than one purpose. A feature may mean to inform readers on one person’s life, but also persuade them to care about an issue or entertain them. An opinion story may mean to persuade readers, but also inform them of facts that relate to that opinion.

Determining the purpose • place in the publication • information included • language used

Place Most newspapers have informative writing on the front page and the news section, with opinion writing on an opinion page. Some websites have a similar setup. Cable news will have some shows that focus more on informative news and others that focus more on persuading viewers.

Information News writing will present multiple points of view, and most opinions will be quoted. The writer will not argue which opinion is correct. Opinion writing will focus on information that backs up the writer’s opinion. The writer will use arguments to show why that opinion is stronger than others.

Language News writing will avoid language that shows opinion. Opinion writing does use this language, as well as transitions to show how the facts connect to their opinion.