The author's purpose answers the question . . .Why?

Why is the author writing this particular article, interview, editorial, chart or graph?

Writers ask:

Who am I writing to? What response do I want them to have to my writing? Do I want to give them information to make a decision or complete a task? Do I want to fire them up for action? Do I want to inspire them?

Readers ask:

Who is the author writing to? Me or another group of people? What response do they expect from their readers or from me? Should I laugh, cry, scream in terror or anger, jump up to fight for a cause, giggle, shudder, be convinced or not, swell with pride or warm with compassion? Should I be able to understand facts, or complete a task?

Writers choose their words and details to create tone of voice.

Ask: What is the attitude of the writer? How does he feel about his subject?

Tone = words chosen to convey attitude or feeling toward the subject
(angry, emotional, joyous, scientific, disgusted, elated, sorrowful and on and on and on . . .)

• Authors use persuasive techniques to convince their audience to join their side. They may want you to adopt an opinion or belief, to buy a product, to join a group, to change your life, your job, your car, your friends, your hair color.
• Persuasive writing can be about an important idea, such as Dr. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech, inspiring his audience to join in Civil Rights action for equality for all.
• It can also be superficial, such as advertising persuading you to buy a certain hair product because superstar do, implying you'll be just as cool as they are if you do.
• Watch for these persuasive devices:
  • snob appeal: appealing to social or intellectual pretensions,
  • endorsement: basing an argument on what a famous group or person says,
  • name calling: attacking a person rather than an issue,
  • bandwagon: urging people to do something because everyone is doing it,
  • glittering generalities: using lofty ideas, such as freedom, or equal rights, or groups, such as religion, Civil Liberties, Green Peace, to support your cause.

A FACT is a true statement. FACTS can be proven by data, scientific information, real events, and dates. Facts can be checked. They are true.

An OPINION is a view or belief held by a person. A good opinion may be based on facts, but it is not a fact itself. If a statement is an opinion, it is likely there are people who agree, and people who disagree. A strategy you might use to determine if a statement is opinion or fact, might be to ask if someone might have a different idea. If a different idea is possible, or a disagreement might be stated, you are dealing with an opinion. If there cannot be a disagreement, you are probably dealing with a fact. For example:

Opinion:

• Dogs are loyal, easy to care for, and make the best pets.

Facts:

• Dogs can be selectively bred to change their characteristics.
• Dogs have wider snouts and jaws than wolves.
• In 1959 a Russian scientist, Dmitry Belyaev, began an experiment to find out if selective breeding could be used to make a tame animal out of a wild animal.

You know a lot about evaluation already. When you score your own writing, you are evaluating, or judging it against a set of standards, or criteria.

Readers evaluate when they:

. . . compare, conclude, contrast, criticize, describe, discriminate, explain, justify, interpret, relate, summarize and support.

Evaluation is taking everything you know from the informational text, and from life, and making a judgement:

• Are the reasons logical? Do they make sense?
• Are conclusions presented by the author supported with enough information?
• What is the value of the story? To you? To the general reader?

Remember when you evaluate, you should have a set of standards to compare or judge the writing against. You might use these questions as criteria.

Ask:

1. Is the introduction clear? Do I know what I am going to be reading about?
2. What is the author's purpose? To explain, describe, inform, persuade, entertain?
3. Is the author qualified to write about the topic?
4. Are the facts logical and informative? Do they support the author's purpose?
5. Does the author give me enough information to understand the purpose?
6. Is the audience for the article clear?
7. Does the author assume the reader has any knowledge about the subject?
8. What kinds of words does the author choose? Why does the author choose those words? What words might have been chosen for a different audience?
9. Does the author take a stand on a subject? Do I agree? Why or why not?
10. Do I want to talk with the author about the topic or a related topic?

Generalizations are statements that apply to a whole group of people or things. The word ALL is a clue (All students can learn. All drugs are harmful.), as well as the name of a group of things (students, drugs), such as people, animals, clouds, vegetables, school, cars, musicians, clothing and the list could go on forever.

Watch for false generalizations.

Of course not all drugs are bad for you; aspirin, allergy spray, and chemotheraphy have positive effects if used as prescribed. Of course street drugs damage the user.

Identify true or valid generalizations which must be true for every individual or thing in the group. All people need oxygen is a valid generalization because there is not one human being who can live without oxygen. Valid generalizations must have lots of evidence; they are based on many many observations and experiences.

When you make a generalization from the events, characters, or ideas in an informational passage, ASK:

• Is it true in all cases?
• Is there any case where it is not true?
• Is there evidence such as facts, examples, information from experts, to prove the generalization is true?

Merriam Webster says when you draw a conclusion, you make a thoughtful decision about something, you think about the evidence (supporting details and what you know) and reach a logically necessary end by reasoning, you infer on the basis of evidence in the story.

The two keys are:

1. Evidence. Always always always be able to support your conclusion with evidence from the text. Don't take a side path and make statements that cannot be supported with evidence from the text. Be able to prove it!
2. Logic. A conclusion has to make sense. It has to be reasonable. It has to be something you can explain clearly, and a friend or teacher will say, "Oh, yes, I understand. That makes total sense!"

The skills are the same as those reviewed in Lesson 19, just remember that you'll be extending the ideas beyond the literary selection into broader areas of experience and life.

• What do I already know about this topic?
• How does this information make me a more knowledgable citizen and/or voter?
• How might this information help my school studies?
• Is the author biased in one way or another?
• Am I being persuaded to think in a certain way or to buy something?
• How do the author's word choices affect his or her meaning or my interpretation?
• Have my opinions changed as a result of this reading?
• Does this article explain the solving of a problem? What was the conflict? How was it solved?
• Is the information present in a logical, well organized manner? Could the organization of the writing be improved?

Basically, you are actively making a connection between the ideas in a passage and what has happened to you or someone you know or something you know about, saying, "I recognize that action, thought, lesson, situation, feeling!" You are extending the author's ideas from the article to a bigger picture - human behavior and life.