Non Fiction
What Non Fiction Is TRUE and AUTHENTIC, but possibly BIASED. About real things, people, events, and places. Biographies Autobiographies Memoirs Newspaper Articles Periodical (Magazine) Articles Textbooks Length doesn’t matter!!!
Author’s Purpose Determines which mix of logical or emotional appeals are appropriate Persuade – Get you to believe or do something Author wants you to take his/her view Editorials, Advertising, Campaign speeches, etc. Examples: Write a letter to the principle about a policy, eat more vegetables, abortion is murder, death penalty is needed, etc. Entertain Tell you an exciting story Fiction stories, Poetry, Novels, Drama Examples: Students name some stories… Explain/Inform - To tell you about a topic Historical events, Sporting events, News articles, Textbooks, Charts, Graphs etc. Examples: Biography of the NFL player Peyton Manning, Civil War paper
Other author purposes not commonly thought about… Instruct – How to text Recipes, Directions, etc. Discuss – Presents all sides of an issue Newspaper editorial, leaflet, etc. Report – Similar to Inform, but in a different structure Travel guides, business reports, etc. Recount – Stories about the past What did you do over spring break, summer, etc. Historical Events in story form
Persuasion Appeals How can I persuade my audience?? Ethos Pathos Logos Ethical –uses moral character and experience to establish moral credibility – it’s about who is delivering the message. Pathos Emotional – means persuading by appealing to the emotions Logos Logical – means persuading by the use of reasoning. Stats, facts, experts, evidence, etc.
Billboard Examples
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How to decide Author’s Purpose…. Make an inference based on what is written and what you know about each purpose. Ask yourself “what is the author trying to do?” Tell you about something? Teach you about something? (Inform) Tell you how to do something? (Instruct) Try to get you to do/believe something? (Persuade) Make me laugh? Just tell me a story? Amuse me? (Entertain) How to decide Author’s Purpose….
Let’s Practice
It was a glorious morning in Alabama It was a glorious morning in Alabama. The sun was shining through the trees. Alan couldn't wait to find his fishing pole and call his friend Sam to go fishing. They had a great time on these early morning fishing trips. They took their dogs with them and the dogs would swim in the lake while they fished. It was so funny to watch those dogs paddle around the lake. 1
The Underground Railroad was a secret organization which helped slaves escape to freedom. Many slaves were able to escape because of the conductors and station masters. The northern states were free states and slaves were free once they arrived in the north. Secret codes and signals were used to identify the conductors and station masters. 2
The Slim-O-Matic will cause you to lose pounds and inches from your body in one month. This amazing machine helps you to exercise correctly and provides an easy video to show you the proper way to exercise. Send $75.99 and begin exercising today. 3
1 – Entertain 2 – Inform 3 – Persuade Answers