Name: ______________________________
Author’s Purpose Activity 2

Directions:  Read the descriptions of each item and determine the author’s purpose (to entertain, persuade, or inform).  Then, in a sentence or two, explain your answer.

1.  A pamphlet urging people not to eat animals or use products made from animals or animal suffering because the author thinks that is cruel and unnecessary 

Author’s Purpose: _______________________________________________________

Explain Your Answer:
Write a sentence or two.

2.  A book of over 1,000 knock-knock jokes

Author’s Purpose: _______________________________________________________

Explain Your Answer:
Write a sentence or two.

3.  A cook book containing recipes for making cakes, cookies, and other desserts

Author’s Purpose: _______________________________________________________

Explain Your Answer:
Write a sentence or two.

4.  The story of a young woman who, after the death of her grandfather, quit her job in the business world and returned home to help her aging grandmother

Author’s Purpose: _______________________________________________________

Explain Your Answer:
Write a sentence or two.

5.  A politician’s speech about how homes should be provided to families who cannot afford them

Author’s Purpose: _______________________________________________________

Explain Your Answer:
Write a sentence or two.
	
6.  A poem about a “packrat,” a person who refuses to throw things away, even things that most people would consider garbage

Author’s Purpose: _______________________________________________________

Explain Your Answer:
Write a sentence or two.

7.  An article comparing and contrasting American and Swedish health care systems

Author’s Purpose: _______________________________________________________

Explain Your Answer:
Write a sentence or two.

8.  The Shakespearean tragedy Romeo and Juliet, where two young lovers are forbidden from seeing one another due to a centuries old blood feud between their two families  

Author’s Purpose: _______________________________________________________

Explain Your Answer:
Write a sentence or two.

9.  A young girl’s note to her parents giving reasons why they should buy a puppy

Author’s Purpose: _______________________________________________________

Explain Your Answer:
Write a sentence or two.

10.  A website describing a local dog leash ordinance, detailing its history and the penalties for walking around with one’s dog unleashed 

Author’s Purpose: _______________________________________________________

Explain Your Answer:
Write a sentence or two.