How to Recognise Purpose

Learn how to recognise purpose                      

 

To work out the purpose of a text, you look at its:

• form and source

• content (sentence structure, style and vocabulary)

• format (the way a text is presented and structured).

Form and source

When you read a text the first thing you notice is its form. For example, is it a book, a leaflet, a web page?

The source of a text (where it comes from) also gives you clues about purpose. For example, the purpose of a government leaflet is to inform whereas a leaflet from your local supermarket will be trying to persuade you to buy products.

Identify the THEME

How to Identify the THEME

A theme is a central or underlying idea in literature, which may be stated directly or indirectly. All novels, stories, poems, and other literary works have at least one theme running through them. The writer may express insight about humanity or a worldview through a theme.

Don’t confuse plot with theme: While the plot is what happens, the theme is the underlying idea or message within a story.

The plot is concrete occurrences within the narrative, but the theme can be more subtle and even at times, implied. The theme can be harder to discern whereas the plot is more obvious. In Romeo & Juliet, we see themes of love and hate that appear throughout the plot.

Author’s PURPOSE

Find an Author’s PURPOSE

An author's purpose is the reason an author decides to write about a specific topic; it’s the why behind why the author selected those words in the first place. The author must decide whether his purpose for writing is to inform, persuade, entertain, or explain his ideas to the reader.

The majority of author's purpose questions will come in multiple choice format. So you won't have to come up with the reason for an author's behaviour. You'll just need to select the best choice.