Author's Purpose — Answer Key
Part A: Multiple Choice
Circle the best answer for each question.
1. Read: "The rain forest is home to millions of species. Scientists estimate that thousands of plants and animals have yet to be discovered." What is the author's primary purpose?
A) To persuade readers to visit the rain forest
B) To entertain readers with a rain forest adventure
C) To inform readers about rain forest biodiversity
D) To convince readers to donate money to science
The passage presents factual scientific information about biodiversity — the purpose is to inform.
2. Which sentence best shows an author's purpose to persuade?
A) The library opens at nine o'clock each morning.
B) She laughed so hard that milk came out her nose.
C) You MUST recycle. Our planet is dying.
D) Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system.
The imperative 'MUST' and emotional statement 'Our planet is dying' are persuasive language patterns.
3. An author writes: "She crept down the dark hallway, heart pounding. A shadow moved behind the door." What technique achieves the purpose of entertaining?
A) Presenting statistics and research data
B) Building suspense with vivid sensory details
C) Listing facts in chronological order
D) Using formal academic vocabulary
Vivid sensory details (crept, dark, heart pounding) build suspense — a technique used to entertain.
4. Read: "Every student deserves access to a school library. Studies show reading improves test scores by 20%. Tell your principal books matter!" This passage persuades AND —
A) entertains with a humorous story
B) informs by including a factual statistic
C) entertains with vivid character descriptions
D) persuades using rhyming language
The passage primarily persuades but also informs by including the 20% statistic from studies.
Part B: Fill in the Blank
Write the correct answer on each line.
1. When an author uses both facts and strong opinions, the text may have a dual purpose, such as to inform AND persuade.
Some texts serve a dual purpose — combining information with persuasion (e.g., opinion essays with research).
2. "Buy our new sunscreen — your family deserves the best!" The word "deserves" appeals to the reader's emotions.
Emotional appeals target the reader's feelings (in this case, love for family) to persuade them.
3. An author who includes a call to action like "Sign the petition today!" wants to persuade the reader.
A call to action asks the reader to do something — it is a hallmark of persuasive writing.
4. "Max giggled as the puppy licked his nose" — the author uses humor to entertain the reader.
Playful, funny imagery uses humor to engage and entertain the reader.
5. Identifying the author's purpose helps readers think critically about why a text was written.
Understanding author's purpose helps readers analyze texts critically rather than passively.