Directions: Read the descriptions of each item and determine the author's main purpose (to entertain, persuade, or inform).
Review the information for the test.
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:
Entertain
Explain Your Answer:
Stories are written to entertain. This is a story.
2. A section in a history book describing the conditions of the Greta Depression in the
Midwest in the 1930s.
Author's Purpose:
Inform
Explain Your Answer:
This text provides information about the Great Depression. Therefore, it was written to inform.
3. An instructional booklet describing how to operate a smart phone.
Author's Purpose:
Author's Purpose:
Inform
Explain Your Answer:
This text is an instructional manual. Therefore, it was written to inform.
4. An article where the author argues that an iPhone is better than an Android phone.
Author's Purpose:
Author's Purpose:
Persuasive
Explain Your Answer:
The author is attempting to influence the reader. Therefore, it was written to influence or persuade.
5. A poem about why the iPhone is the greatest consumer electronic device ever made.
Author's Purpose:
Entertain
Explain Your Answer:
The main purpose for writing poems and stories is to entertain, even if a lesson can be learned or a reader could be influence.
6. A medical report describing the effects of steroids on the human body.
Author's Purpose:
Inform
Explain Your Answer:
Stories are written to entertain. This is a story.
7. A speech written by a professional athlete listing the negative effects of steroids and urging young athletes to not use steroids.
Author's Purpose:
Persuade
Explain Your Answer:
The author is attempting to influence or persuade the reader to not use steroids.
8. A booklet containing the school rules and the consequences for violating those rules.
Author's Purpose:
Information
Explain Your Answer:
This text provides information on what may happen if a student gets caught violating rules.
9. 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:
Entertain
Explain Your Answer:
The main purpose of a narrative is to entertain the reader.