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Author`s Purpose

English Language Arts, Grade 3

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1 + - - + 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 The author’s purpose is the reason that he or she has for writing the text. An author writes something for one of three purposes: to inform, to entertain, or to persuade. Inform When an author writes to inform, the purpose is for the reader to learn something from the text. Nonfiction is almost always informative writing. This includes newspaper and magazine articles. Here’s an example: Yale University had a cockroach problem in its library. The roaches were eating the old books' covers and binding glue. These books could never be replaced. So the library was closed for four days during the winter. The heat was shut off. The cockroaches froze to death. Entertain When an author writes to entertain, the purpose is for the reader to enjoy the text. Poetry, humor, and all genres of fiction are examples of entertainment writing. Here’s an example: My little brother is really into action movies. His favorite actor is Arnold Schwarzenegger. Last night I was looking at the choices on MovieNet. My little brother came into the room. He grabbed the remote. He said that he wanted to find a movie starring “Arnold Snorts-in-Anger!” That made me laugh so hard I couldn’t even get mad at him. Persuade When an author writes to persuade, the purpose is to convince the reader to agree with the author’s point of view. Advertisements, editorials, and speeches are all persuasive writing. Here’s an example: It is a bad idea to have a curfew for teens under 17 in our town. A curfew says that adults don’t trust kids to do the right thing. Studies show that teens rise to our expectations. So we are setting the bar very low when we say that they can’t even decide when to be home. We would never put a curfew on adults. So why do it to teens? Author’s Purpose Visit www.newpathlearning.com for Online Learning Resources. © Copyright NewPath Learning. All Rights Reserved. 92-4028

Circle the word that describes the author’s purpose for writing each paragraph. Author’s Purpose Visit www.newpathlearning.com for Online Learning Resources. © Copyright NewPath Learning. All Rights Reserved. 92-4028 1. Our bake sale will be held on May 5 during school hours. We need volunteers to bake cookies, cakes, pies, and snack bars. We also need volunteers to set up and tear down the display. Please tear off the response section at the bottom of this sheet to participate. Thanks for your help! inform entertain persuade 2. You have to taste them to believe it! Stevalite Sweets are actually good for you. They come in delicious flavors like caramel, blue raspberry, lemon, cherry, and pineapple. They’re made with stevia, an all-natural, zero-calorie sweetener. So they won’t give you cavities. You’ll fall in love with Stevalite Sweets! inform entertain persuade 3. Julia knew that large rocks lay at that edge of the field. They were mostly covered by snow. Their snowmobile was heading right for them! Donald had no idea they existed. Julia tried screaming to him. The wind whipped her words away. She held onto Donald’s waist with one arm and pounded his shoulder with the other. inform entertain persuade 4. This math question has two parts: I and II. Part I is a multiple choice question. You must choose a single answer that best describes the graph. Part II is a word problem based on the graph. You must enter your answer, including the label, in the box provided. inform entertain persuade 20 40 60 80 100 Sports Teams Team members 0 FootballSoccer Track Basketball Lacrosse

Author`s Purpose

English Language Arts, Grade 3

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