THEA Reading Objective #3 Author’s Intent

4 types of questions (skills) 1.Author’s purpose 2.Author’s Tone

1. Author’s Purpose Definition: The reason the author wrote the passage. Tip: Author’s purpose is usually found in the beginning and/ or end of the passage

Possible Purposes To inform  Encyclopedias, phonebooks, statistics, news reports, history textbooks To persuade  Political brochures, advertising, TV commercials, Editorial section of newspaper To instruct  How to manuals, instruction books, math textbooks To entertain  Comic strips, fictional novels

2. Author’s Tone Definition: this is the attitude that an author has towards the topic he/she is writing about. Some possible tones: serious, comical, sarcastic, mournful, dramatic, factual (see pg ) Use the author’s choice of words to figure out the author’s tone.

I always seem to be missing out on things. This time, I’m missing an afternoon at the beach. My boyfriend and some others are driving out to the shore, but I have to stay home and study for finals. Some people have all the luck. A. sorrowful B. mocking C. self-pitying ___ What is the author’s tone?

George and Martha Washington never had children of their own, but Martha had two children from a previous marriage. Also, after her son Jacky died at the age of twenty-seven, George and Martha adopted two of his children. A. critical B. objective C. loving 1.purpose? What is the author’s tone?

The people in the apartment across the hallway are good communicators. When they have a party, they communicate it to us by turning the music up so loud that we can’t hear our own TV. And when they have an argument, they let us know about that too, by yelling at the top of their lungs. A. straightforward B. sarcastic C. cruel

I’ve sent out dozens of résumés and gone on exactly ten interviews, and I still haven’t gotten a job offer. But now I have two more job interviews set up, and I have a feeling in my bones that one of these is going to be a winner. A. optimistic B. amused C. regretful

How could our own children have forgotten our anniversary? I don’t even care if they don’t give us a present, but they could at least have called and wished us a happy anniversary. They always seem to remember to call us when they need money or a babysitter. A. complaining B. revengeful C. tolerant

I can’t thank Rob and Elsie sincerely enough for introducing me to Sheila. They promised me she was exactly my type, and how accurate they were—I’ve been yearning for a vain, shallow woman with the IQ of a turnip. Sheila and I hit it off immediately. When I picked her up in my Ford Escort, she wrinkled her adorable nose with exasperation and said, “I thought Elsie said you had a decent car.” I took her to eat at Luigi’s and was thrilled by the way she sneered and said, “You are a cheapskate, aren’t you?” When I suggested we see a foreign film and she announced that she never sees anything with subtitles because she hates to read, I wanted to marry her on the spot. I’ll certainly have to think of some way to repay my dear friends for fixing me up with such a marvelous girl. 1.What is the author’s tone? 2.What is the author’s purpose?