1. Author’s Purpose Toolbox
Tactics that authors use to make their purpose clear to their audience.

2. What is Author’s Purpose?
An author’s purpose is the reason an author decides to write about a specific topic. This refers to the author’s motivation for writing (What does he/she want to accomplish?).

3. There are 3 basic purposes that authors have…
Persuade
Inform
Entertain
The author wants to convince his/her audience to take a certain “side” on an issue or an argument. Often, the author wants the audience members to agree with him/her.
The author wants to give the audience unbiased information about a topic.
The author wants the audience to feel happy, amused, or intrigued.

4. If you think an author has more than one purpose…
Frequently, authors will have multiple purposes when writing a text. If you think this is the case, try to figure out what the author’s main purpose is and which purposes are just supporting that main purpose.
For example: In an episode of Spongebob, Spongebob teases Sandy about her spacesuit, so Sandy challenges Spongebob to spend time in her home. Spongebob struggles to win the argument by staying in Sandy’s bubble, even though he begins to dry out. On the surface, it seems like the author’s purpose is to entertain – Spongebob does some ridiculous things in order to get some water, like licking condensation off of the lemonade pitcher – but the main purpose is to persuade the audience to try and see things from other people’s perspectives.

5. Main idea
The main idea of a piece of writing is the most important thought of the text. Basically, it is a one-sentence summary of what the text has to say.
For our purposes, the main idea of a text is what the author wants to persuade or inform the audience about.

6. Tools used to reveal an author’s purpose

7. Rhetorical question rhetorical question Definition How it works
Authors will sometimes ask their audience a question. They’re not expecting the audience members to shout out answers or write them letters; they simply want to make the audience stop and
think for a minute about what was just said. Often,
these questions are directly connected to the
author’s main idea and/or purpose.
When someone asks a question that isn’t meant to be answered.
rhetorical question
What to look for
Example
A question mark
“Can this be true? This is the twentieth century,
not the Middle Ages. Who would allow such
crimes to be committed? How could the world remain silent?” (Elie Wiesel’s Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech)

8. repetition repetition Definition How it works What to look for Example
When an author repeats a word or a phrase 3 or more times, it catches the reader’s attention. This is meant to make the reader pay attention to the words that come after the repeated word or
phrase, because they are typically an important
part of the author’s message.
When someone repeats a word or a phrase in a piece of writing or a speech
repetition
What to look for
Example
A word that is used multiple times in
sentences that are close together
A phrase that is used multiple times in sentences that are close together (even if one or two of the words are a little bit different)
“Never shall I forget that night, the first night in
camp, that turned my life into on long night seven
times sealed […] Never shall I forget the small faces of children whose bodies I saw transformed into smoke under a silent sky […] Never shall I forget those moments that murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to ashes.” (Night 34)

9. anecdote anecdote Definition How it works What to look for Example
Authors often use anecdotes to provide real-life examples of the points they are trying to make. By including anecdotes from his/her own life, an author can also make him/herself seem more
believable or reliable.
a short and amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person
anecdote
What to look for
Example
Words or phrases that refer to the author’s
own life
“For example…”
“But I must quickly add that I too am just as
guilty in the question of the single story. A few years
ago, I visited Mexico from the U.S. […] I remember walking around on my first day in Guadalajara, watching the people going to work, rolling up tortillas in the marketplace, smoking, laughing. I remember first feeling slight surprise.” (“The Danger of a Single Story”)

10. diction diction Definition How it works What to look for Example
Authors intentionally choose words to make the reader feel a certain emotion. Some words make us laugh or make us feel inspired or make us upset. By carefully choosing his/her words,
an author can make his/her purpose clear.
The way someone chooses and uses words in writing or speech
diction
What to look for
Example
Key words that catch your eye
Strong or forceful words
Specific, individual words that make you feel an emotion
“I even kissed a few weary, poisoned cheeks.
I listened to their last, gasping cries. Their
vanishing words. I watched their love visions and freed
them from their fear.” (The Book Thief)

11. Figurative Language figurative language Definition How it works
Authors use figurative language to help their audience to better picture something or someone being described. Figurative language can also help to make someone’s writing seem more
dramatic, interesting, or humorous.
When someone uses a word or a phrase that isn’t meant to be interpreted literally.
figurative language
What to look for
Example
Two very different things that are compared
in some way
Exaggerations
Something inanimate that’s described as if it’s alive
(see the next slide)

12. Common Examples of Figurative language
Simile
Metaphor
Hyperbole
“By the time I was finished, the sky was yellow, like burning newspaper. If I looked closely, I could see the words, reporting headlines, commenting on the progress of the war and so forth.” (The Book Thief)
“Sometimes I imagined how everything looked above those clouds, knowing without question that the sun was blond, and the endless atmosphere was a giant blue eye” (The Book Thief)
“A mountain range of rubble was written, designed, erected around her.“ (The Book Thief)

13. tone tone Definition How it works What to look for Example Sarcasm
The tone that an author uses can directly affect the way that the audience feels about both the author and the topic he/she is discussing.
The attitude an author has towards a particular subject. This is revealed through the words that he/she chooses.
tone
What to look for
Example
Sarcasm
Words that reveal the author’s emotions
1) “Can someone tell me what the hell is
going on here?”
2) “’The yellow star? So what? It’s not lethal…’ (Poor father! Of what then did you die?)” (Night 11)