Recognizing Author's Purpose

In good writing authors determine what they want to say (the main idea) and then organize it and write in the most effective way as to communicate exactly the message they intend to communicate. Behind this planned and organized presentation lies the author's purpose. Most writers expect to modify our attitudes, actions, thought, or knowledge in some way with their writing. In a very real sense most of the thing we read are manipulative - everything from advertising to scholarly articles in research journals. The degree of manipulation employed is determined by the author's purpose. Whether or not you read something efficiently depends a lot on knowing the author's purpose. Possible purposes for writing : to inform, to describe, to tell a story, to convince, to state a problem, to analyze something, to classify, to offer solution, to suggest alternative, to defend and idea or action, to entertain, to discuss, to compare, to evaluate or to criticize etc.

Let's look at one sample:

Animals feel secure when at home and afraid when in unfamiliar environments and this feeling influences their communication and their willingness and ability to fight. What results is a balance between aggression and fear. Animals frequently fight, but rarely do they fight to the death.

Purpose : To inform or to entertain. Answer: To inform.