AUTHOR’S PURPOSE A Night to remember

WHY WAS THIS WRITTEN?

BASIC AUTHOR’S PURPOSE TO INFORM TO PERSUADE TO ENTERTAIN

BASIC AUTHOR’S PURPOSE CLUES TO INFORM TO PERSUADE TO ENTERTAIN Explains or gives you information about a topic Presents author’s own opinions, feelings, beliefs Makes you feel emotions (e.g., happy, sad, scared)

the “big idea”; what the author is trying to tell the reader AUTHOR’S MESSAGE AUTHOR’s MESSAGE the “big idea”; what the author is trying to tell the reader

FACT VS. OPINION Fact = states something that happens, has happened, or is certain to be true EX: A lunar eclipse happens when the moon aligns exactly with the earth and sun. Opinion = states something that is believed to have occurred, is believed to exist, or is believed to be true EX: The teacher gave a pop quiz because she got mad at the class.

the favoring of one side, position, or belief; being partial AUTHOR’S BIAS BIAS = a prejudice, A preconceived judgment, or an opinion formed without sufficient knowledge AUTHOR’s BIAS the favoring of one side, position, or belief; being partial

Omission / selection Placement Statistics Word choice TONE AUTHOR’S BIAS Omission / selection Placement Statistics Word choice TONE

AUTHOR’S BIAS: OMISSION/SELECTION OMISSION = the cutting of certain facts and/or details from a story SELECTION = the choosing of certain facts and/or details for a story Changes how readers think about the story Selective details to support author’s purpose Need to read several different sources for holistic understanding

AUTHOR’S BIAS: PLACEMENT PLACEMENT = the decision of which information to present first, second, third, etc. More important stories chosen to be seen first (think headline news!) Less important stories chosen to be at the end Within a story, most important/convincing facts placed first Contradictory statements placed after

AUTHOR’S BIAS: STATISTICS BIASED STATISTICS: the manipulation of statistics to change the way we think about them EX#1: “The fundraiser for the school raised only 1100. EX#2: “The fundraiser for the school raised over 1100. EX#1: “A crowd of more than 900 attended the protest.” EX#2: “Fewer than 1,000 showed up to protest.” Decision of which numbers to present Adjectives to describe numbers Holistic vs. limited statistics

AUTHOR’S BIAS: WORD CHOICE WORD CHOICE = the author’s purposeful usage of words to write about and describe happenings Positive vs. negative words Connotation vs. denotation Word choice creates tone FACT = Frank spends very little money. EX#1: Frank is thrifty. (positive) EX#2: Frank is a cheapskate. (negative)

AUTHOR’S BIAS: TONE TONE = the author’s attitude toward a subject, a character, or the reader Examples: silly, sarcastic, angry, annoyed, proud, bored, etc. WORDS CONVEY TONE!!!!!!! DETAILS CONVEY TONE!!!!! Tone developed from word choice!