Name: ______________________________
Author’s Purpose Activity

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

1.  A story about a family trying to stick together and survive through the Great Depression in the Midwest in the 1930s  

Author’s Purpose: _______________________________________________________

Explain Your Answer:
Write a sentence or two.

2.  A section in a history book describing the conditions and causes of the Great Depression in the Midwest in the 1930s

Author’s Purpose: _______________________________________________________

Explain Your Answer:
Write a sentence or two.

3.  An instructional booklet describing how to operate a smart phone

Author’s Purpose: _______________________________________________________

Explain Your Answer:
Write a sentence or two.

4.  An article where the author argues that an iPhone is better than an Android phone

Author’s Purpose: _______________________________________________________

Explain Your Answer:
Write a sentence or two.

5.  A poem about why the iPhone is the greatest consumer electronic device ever made

Author’s Purpose: _______________________________________________________

Explain Your Answer:
Write a sentence or two.
	
6.  The story of a young athlete who takes steroids and his life and future fall apart

Author’s Purpose: _______________________________________________________

Explain Your Answer:
Write a sentence or two.

7.  A medical report describing the effects of steroids on the human body

Author’s Purpose: _______________________________________________________

Explain Your Answer:
Write a sentence or two.

8.  A speech written by a professional athlete listing the negative effects of steroids and urging young athletes to not use steroids

Author’s Purpose: _______________________________________________________

Explain Your Answer:
Write a sentence or two.

9.  A booklet containing the school rules and the consequences for violating those rules

Author’s Purpose: _______________________________________________________

Explain Your Answer:
Write a sentence or two.

10.  A story written about a young boy who moves to a new school and is bullied, but he gains self-confidence by joining a sports team and learns to stand up for himself.  

Author’s Purpose: _______________________________________________________

Explain Your Answer:
Write a sentence or two.