Determining Author's Purpose

As we discussed in class today, authors have many purposes when they write with an audience in mind. For any particular passage or piece of writing, you can generally classify an author's purpose into one of the following four categories:

1. Description - if a reading passage contains many details about a person, place, or thing, the author's purpose is to describe.
2. Entertainment - if a reading passage is enjoyable to read, tells a personal story, or uses a story to teach a lesson, the author's purpose is to entertain.
3. Persuasion - if a reading passage contains many opinions or tries to get readers to do something, buy something, or believe something, the author's purpose is to persuade.
4. Explanation/information - if a reading passage provides facts about a particular subject or tells readers how to do something, the author's purpose is to explain or inform.

Throughout a longer work (like the novel or memoir you might be reading for reader's workshop), you might see evidence of all four purposes in various passages.

Your task for your upcoming letter-essay is to find passages within your book and determine if the author's purpose in writing those passages was to describe, entertain, persuade, or explain/inform. Each of your three body paragraphs should have a quote/passage that you introduce and explain with your own interpretation. 

As with previous letter essays, you should also do the following:

*Write a clear introduction that includes the book's title, author, and genre.  Try to include an overarching thesis or argument you’re trying to make about your book that will link the paragraphs that follow.
*Write (at least) three body paragraphs (this time with the focus of author's purpose). Each body paragraph should include a quote that is properly cited with page numbers.
*Write an engaging conclusion that ties up your thinking, makes connections, and includes a rating of the book.
*Double space, 12 point font (ideally Times New Roman, but please just make it readable)

This assignment is due TUESDAY, April 11th. Please reach out if you have any questions.

Online resources to help you find your next great read!

As promised, here are the links for reading resources we checked out today. Remember to talk to your parents before creating any online accounts. 

http://www.goodreads.com -  a social media site for readers! This is a great place to keep track of your reading life by creating "to-read" lists, setting challenges, marking progress, and rating and reviewing books. Even if you don't set up an account, you can go here to check out community reviews of books you might be interested in reading. 

http://www.whatshouldireadnext.com/ - a quick, bare-boned way to get a few suggested titles based on books you've enjoyed before.

https://www.overdrive.com/ - this is an app/resource provided by the excellent Connecticut library system. Anyone with a CT library card can set up an account (select "all LION libraries" when given an option to choose your library); you can then check out up to 10 ebooks at a time, all for free. The ebooks can either be downloaded directly to the Overdrive app or sync with a Kindle/Kindle app.

http://www.amazon.com - even if you're not buying here, it's a great place to "window-shop", read reviews, and see what books might be suggested based on your interests and search history. 

I hope these resources will go a long way in helping you meet your reading goals for the rest of the year!