First Edition
What is the
Author’s
Purpose?
Author’s Purpose
1
TO PERSUADE
TO INFORM
TO ENTERTAIN
Section 1
AUTHOR’S
PURPOSE IS
AS EASY AS
PIE!
I NTERACTIVE 1.1 Examples of Author’s Purpose
Persuade
Inform
Entertain
http://pinterest.com/pin/72690981455313823/
2
What is the
Author’s Purpose?
When you write you
The author’s purpose is the reason they wrote the infor-
purpose as well.
mation. There are three reasons author’s give us infor-
should have a
mation. They give us information to inform us, entertain us, and persuade us.
3
Entertain
2
The author
writes the
story to tell
us a story
and make us
happy.
Writing Samples
Creepy Pizza
by Neal Levin
I’d like a pizza topped with cheese
then sprinkled with some gnats and fleas,
some centipedes and slimy slugs,
and other creepy, crawly bugs.
I want to add some fingernails
and oyster ooze and crunchy snails
and chicken bones and spoiled meat
and smelly socks from dirty feet.
Anteater
by Shel Silverstein
"A genuine anteater,"
The pet man told me dad.
Turned out, it was an aunt eater,
And now my uncle's mad!
http://www.famous-poems.biz/Shel_Silverstein/Anteater-famous-animal-poem-by-ShelSilverstein.html
I want it topped with lots of mold
and gooey boogers (not too old),
a lot of snot, a little spit,
and guts with grimy, grainy grit.
I want the most disgusting crust
with spider webs and day-old dust
and dirt and mud and blood and gore
delivered to my sister’s door.
http://www.gigglepoetry.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anteater
5
I NTERACTIVE 2.1 Justin Bieber
can entertain us!
Examples
I NTERACTIVE 2.3 Who doesn’t
love Charlotte’s Web?
Why Entertain?
I NTERACTIVE 2.2 Hannah Montana and other TV shows entertain us!
Picture from Wikipedia
Justin Bieber
Picture from Wikipedia
TV Shows Too?
Jokes entertain us as
well! Thank of your favorite joke!
Picture from Wikipedia
6
Persuade
3
The author
tries to get
you to do
something,
or believe in
what you say.
Writing Sample
Shannon C., a student from Texas, has a great idea for making her school a better place. Read her persuasive essay to see what reasons and details
she chose to convince her audience.
Don't Touch That Towel!
By Shannon C.
I think our school would benefit by investing in automatic motion-sensing hand dryers. I have several reasons for this. Children can get sick from
the germ-infested paper towel dispensers we now have. There is also terrible waste when students continuously pull the lever, dispensing towels
they don't really need.
First of all, this automatic hand dryer is very sanitary. Instead of pulling on a lever that has been touched by a large number of students, users can
just stick their hands under the blow-dryer. No germs can get on them because there is nothing to touch.
In addition, if we buy this automatic hand dryer, we can save the school budget and trees. The money we save by not wasting paper towels can be
used for educational things,such as field trips. We could even go to a tree farm and see how many trees we saved. Cutting fewer trees will make a
big difference in the environment.
If the electricity happens to go out, the hand dryer, like all electric appliances, will go out too. That is ONE bad thing, but we know the lights don't go
out that often. We will store extra paper towels in the custodian's room for emergencies.
So I think there is much to be said for this automatic motion-sensing hand dryer. Administrators will be glad to know that absenteeism will be lowered. Money can be saved. Finally, if the trees could talk, they would probably shout for joy, knowing that a whole school is saving a forest. Let's install automatic hand dryers at our school as soon as possible.
http://www.eduplace.com/kids/hme/6_8/showcase/5-6/persuasive.html
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Examples
M OVIE 3.1 Barack O’Bama
I NTERACTIVE 3.1 The Big
Orange Splot
The Big Orange Splot
!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVyDi-iwuNY
http://books.google.com/books/about/The_Big_Or
ange_Splot.html?id=JvJYPwAACAAJ
Should we wear school uniforms? Why
or Why not?
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Inform
4
The author
gives you
information
about a topic.
Writing Sample
Cheetahs
By: Taylor K.
!
My animal is a Cheetah. I picked a Cheetah because it is the fastest land animal. You will find out more about how fast a Cheetah can run in
paragraph 4. I also picked the Cheetah because of it's beautiful patterned fur. In this story you will find out a lot about Cheetahs,you might even
learn something new. You will find out what Cheetahs look like,where Cheetahs live,how Cheetahs travel,how it lives,and what it eats. You will be
learning some interesting and special facts in paragraph 4. This is my story.
!
This part of the story is all about what a Cheetah looks like. A Cheetah has a fur that's a yellowish brownish color. Kind of like a golden
color. Then all over the Cheetahs body there's black spots. The black spots help the cheetahs cub blend in with the tall grass. The black spots
are kind of like human fingerprints. Not the way the spots look,the way how every Cheetahs spots are different. Like all our fingerprints have different patterns and sizes. Cheetahs spots are in different places and they are different sizes of spots.
This is the part of the story that I truly like the most. This is the Information part of the story. I tell you where the Cheetah lives,what it
eats,how it travels,and how it lives. I know that's a lot but you might like it. I will tell you where Cheetahs live,and what Cheetahs eat. The cheetah lives in grasslands. The Cheetah is found in Africa and south of Sahara. When Cheetahs are looking for food they sit on termite mounds and
watch for food they will eat. The Cheetah's most likely food is antelope. Cheetahs are a part of the cat family and cats hunt at night but this wild
cat hunts at day. Cheetahs travel by paws (feet.). Cheetahs mate when they are 2 years old. The couple spends many weeks together then the
male leaves. 3 months later the feline has cubs,up to 3 to 6 cubs in 1 litter.
This is the part you've all been waiting for,the special facts part of the story. This is why I picked the Cheetah,it's the most fastest land animal
traveling up to 50 to 70 M.P.H. Isn't that cool? Also I picked the cheetah because,I'm really fast like the cheetahs. I can't run up to 50 to 70
M.P.H,but I can run up to 5 to 10 M.P.H. Also some things are sad, when cubs don't know how to hunt and their mother is hunting,cubs are killed.
Usually one or two cubs survive to adulthood.
That's why I picked the Cheetah. This is my last story for the year. I'll miss you over summer break. Bye everybody see you next year!
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Examples
I NTERACTIVE 4.1 A menu is a
great informational tool!
I NTERACTIVE 4.2 A recipe is
great for information!
M OVIE 4.1 An informational video on animals.
A Recipe
mational!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eu1UO9HmdCQ
http://www.google.com/search?q=menu&hl=
en&client=safari&rls=en&prmd=imvns&sourc
e=lnms&tbm=isch&ei=e4DPT52BIOHL2QW
urNimDA&sa=X&oi=mode_link&ct=mode&cd
=2&ved=0CGAQ_AUoAQ&biw=971&bih=56
6
http://www.janbrett.com/gingerbread_ba
by_recipe.htm
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Wrap Up
Review: Final Quiz
G ALLERY Wrap Up.1 Author’s Purpose Slide Show
Question 3 of 3
Why did Beverly Cleary write The Mouse and the Motorcycle?
A. To Inform
B. To Persuade
C. To Entertain
http://mrsgilchristsclass.blogspot.com/2011/07/authors-purpose-c
harts.html
Check Answer