Author's Purpose — Answer Key
Part A: Multiple Choice
Circle the best answer for each question.
1. Read: "Our school cafeteria should serve fresh fruit every day. Processed snacks are linked to lower energy levels, and students deserve healthier options." What is the author's perspective?
A) The author is neutral and has no opinion about school food
B) The author believes healthy food in schools is important
C) The author wants to entertain readers with a cafeteria story
D) The author is writing a factual report about nutrition science
The author uses words like "should," "deserve," and links processed snacks to lower energy, all of which reveal a strong belief that healthy food in schools is important.
2. Which passage shows the MOST bias?
A) The city council voted 5-3 to approve the new park.
B) Cats make the best pets — no other animal even comes close!
C) There are over 300 breeds of dogs recognized worldwide.
D) The weather forecast calls for rain on Tuesday.
"Cats make the best pets — no other animal even comes close!" shows the most bias because it presents a personal opinion as absolute fact and dismisses all other animals without evidence.
3. An author writes two articles about screen time: one for a parenting magazine urging limits, and one for a tech blog celebrating new apps. What does this show?
A) The author does not understand the topic well enough
B) Authors can only write from one perspective at a time
C) The author adjusts perspective and purpose based on audience and publication
D) Both articles must have the same purpose since the topic is the same
Writing different angles on the same topic for different audiences shows the author adjusts perspective and purpose depending on who will read the piece and where it is published.
4. Read: "The Amazon rainforest produces about 20% of the world's oxygen. We cannot afford to lose it. Contact your representative today." The author shifts from informing to —
A) entertaining with a dramatic story
B) persuading with a call to action
C) informing with additional statistics
D) entertaining with vivid descriptions
The passage starts with a fact about the Amazon's oxygen production (informing), then shifts to "Contact your representative today," which is a direct call to action that persuades the reader to get involved.
Part B: Fill in the Blank
Write the correct answer on each line.
1. An author's perspective is their personal viewpoint or attitude toward the subject they are writing about.
Perspective means the author's personal viewpoint or attitude toward a subject, and it shapes the words they choose and the details they include or leave out.
2. When an author presents only one side of an issue, the writing may contain bias.
Bias occurs when an author presents only one side of an issue, leaving out opposing viewpoints and making the writing unfairly one-sided.
3. A balanced news article that presents both sides of a debate has a neutral tone.
A balanced news article gives equal attention to both sides of a debate without favoring one, which creates a neutral tone that lets readers form their own opinions.
4. "Everyone knows this is the right answer" uses the phrase "everyone knows" as a persuasive technique called bandwagon.
The bandwagon technique implies that "everyone" already agrees, pressuring the reader to go along with the crowd rather than thinking independently.
5. Recognizing an author's perspective helps readers evaluate whether the information is balanced or one-sided.
Understanding an author's perspective lets readers judge whether the information is balanced — presenting multiple viewpoints fairly — or one-sided and possibly biased.