What Is Author's Purpose
Author's purpose is the reason a writer creates a text. The four primary purposes are to inform (provide factual information), persuade (convince the reader to think or act a certain way), entertain (engage through humor or narrative), and explain (break down how something works). Identifying this purpose helps readers understand not just what the text says, but why it was written that way.
Why It Matters for Struggling Readers
Struggling readers often focus so hard on decoding words that they miss the bigger picture of what the author is trying to accomplish. This disconnect undermines comprehension. Research shows that explicitly teaching author's purpose improves reading comprehension scores by helping students ask critical questions about text: "Is the author trying to sell me something? Teach me? Tell me a story?"
For students with dyslexia or reading disabilities, author's purpose becomes a comprehension anchor. Once a reader can identify the author's intention, the details start making sense. It also connects directly to evaluative thinking, since understanding why a text was written prepares readers to judge its credibility and bias.
How to Teach Author's Purpose
- Start with obvious texts: Use advertisements (to persuade), instruction manuals (to explain), and picture books (to entertain). These make the purpose crystal clear.
- Use the Orton-Gillingham approach for struggling readers: Structure lessons to move from concrete examples to abstract thinking. Begin with one purpose per lesson before mixing them.
- Connect to reading level: A reader at a 2nd-grade level needs simple texts with single, clear purposes. By 4th-5th grade, texts often blend purposes, requiring more sophisticated analysis.
- Include in IEP goals: For students with documented reading difficulties, author's purpose comprehension is a measurable, specific goal. Example: "Student will identify the author's purpose in grade-level texts with 80% accuracy."
- Use phonics and fluency as foundation: A reader cannot identify author's purpose if they are still struggling to decode words. Ensure foundational skills are solid first.
Practical Application at Home and School
When your child reads, pause and ask: "Why do you think the author wrote this?" Start with easier questions like "Is this story funny, scary, or teaching you something?" As confidence grows, ask questions that require more critical thinking: "Who benefits from this message? What is the author trying to make you believe?"
In classroom settings, teachers often use graphic organizers listing text details under each of the four purposes. This visual strategy works especially well for students who benefit from structured, explicit instruction.
Common Questions
- Can a text have more than one purpose? Yes. A biography might inform readers about someone's life while also persuading them that the person was important. Teaching students to recognize multiple purposes comes after they master identifying a primary one.
- How does author's purpose differ from point of view? Author's purpose answers "Why did the author write this?" Point of view answers "Whose perspective are we reading from?" A first-person narrative (point of view) might be written to persuade (purpose).
- What if a struggling reader cannot identify the purpose? Return to direct instruction with simpler texts. If decoding is still difficult, work on phonics and fluency first. Author's purpose is a higher-order comprehension skill that requires solid foundational skills.
Related Concepts
Author's purpose works alongside these related reading skills:
- Point of View - the perspective from which the story is told
- Evaluative Comprehension - judging the reliability and quality of the text, which depends partly on understanding the author's intentions
- Text Structure - the way an author organizes information, which often signals the underlying purpose