How to Find the Author’s Purpose

Authors write for many different reasons. Those reasons are called the author's purpose. Depending on the purpose, authors may choose all different sorts of writing formats, genres and vernacular.

A simple trick to summarise the three main categories of author's purpose is to use the acronym PIE, which stands for persuade, inform and entertain.

Although there are many reasons to write, to persuade, to inform and to entertain represent the three main forms of author's purpose. Most other reasons can be grouped into those three broader categories. 

1. Start with why.

“Why did the author write this piece?” is the core question asked to identify author’s purpose. To help expand your understanding of “why,” look at various types of nonfiction (an advertisement, opinion article, news article, etc.) and quickly identify a purpose for each.

2. Talk about structure.

Authors use different structures—sequence, problem and solution, compare and contrast—for different purposes. For example, one author may use sequence to explain an event, while another author uses compare and contrast to put that event into perspective.

3. Get to the heart.

Often when authors write, they’re trying to get readers to feel a certain way. Perhaps the author of an article about whale conservation wants readers to feel sad about the plight of whales. Or the author of a letter may want to make the recipient feel better about a situation. After you read a text, stop and ask: How do you feel? And how did the author get you to feel this way?

4. Observe how purpose changes within a text.

Author’s purpose is often studied through the text as a whole, but authors have different reasons for writing within texts as well. For example, an author may include a funny anecdote to draw in the reader. Then, they may launch into a list of facts that make the reader feel frustrated about the situation. And finally, they may conclude with an appeal.