Craig Cliff- Author’s Purpose

What do we mean by ‘Author’s Purpose’? When we discuss author’s purpose, we are talking about the REASONS that the author has written the text, and the reasons they have constructed it in a particular way.

Why Write About Purpose? Discussion of author’s purpose is one of the things that will help you to achieve a MERIT or EXCELLENCE grade. You should aim to do this whether the question specifically asks you to or not.

Overall Purpose WHY has the author written the text? Consider; what do they want us to learn, think or understand from it? This is often closely related to theme.

Cliff’s Overall Purpose Answer the following questions for both stories we have studied. What does Cliff want us to understand about the idea of ‘innocence’ and the ‘loss of innocence’? Does Cliff want us to change the way we think or act? How and Why?

Specific Purpose You can also consider the author’s purpose in relation to specific aspects of the text. Theme Style and language Character- relationships, development Symbolism Structural Setting

When should you discuss purpose? At a bare minimum, you must mention purpose in your conclusion. Ideally, some mention of purpose should be made in each paragraph. Remember you can discuss overall purpose, or purpose relating to a specific aspect.

Sentence Fragments Cliff intends... Cliff’s purpose... Cliff aims to... Through the use of....Cliff encourages his reader to.... Cliff intentionally.....in order to make the reader think.... .....is deliberately developed by Cliff to....