A STUDENT reads a magazine.
STUDENT: Hey, there! I’m just in the middle of finishing this article and it got my mind thinking about, duh, writing! You see, every author has a purpose. What’s an author’s purpose in writing something? It’s the author’s reason for writing. Maybe they’re trying to explain why something happened. Maybe they want to entertain you with a fun story.
Maybe they even want you to look at something in a new way. The purposes are endless.
STUDENT: You can also look for the author’s point of view in the text. Even in an informational article, the author usually has a point of view, an opinion or a conclusion that the author has drawn. Let’s look at an example.
The STUDENT reads from the magazine.
STUDENT: People from all around the world visit Iceland every year. They enjoy taking a dip in its hot springs and exploring its fascinating, otherworldly landscape.
The STUDENT speaks directly to the camera again.
STUDENT: You start to get an idea of the author’s purpose from these few sentences. The author is trying to inform the readers about the positive things about Iceland and perhaps persuade the readers to visit Iceland. Even though the author doesn’t say it, you can usually tell her point of view. She uses positive words, like enjoy and fascinating, which reveals that she has a positive point of view about Iceland. Here, check out another one.
The STUDENT reads from the magazine again.
STUDENT: Most kids spend their days going to school and playing with friends. A few kids, though, find time to do truly exceptional things. Take Kelvin, a boy from Sierra Leone. His town had a problem with the lights always going out, so when he was 10, he invented a generator that charges batteries and keeps the lights on.
The STUDENT speaks directly to the camera.
STUDENT: Wow, that’s pretty cool. What’s the author’s purpose here? It sounds like he’s going to tell us about kids who did surprising and exceptional things. In this paragraph, he emphasizes the great things Kelvin did by comparing him to a typical kid. You can also tell his point of view. He’s impressed by Kelvin and he thinks you should be too. I know I sure am.
STUDENT: So next time, when you’re reading an informational text, keep an eye out for the author’s purpose and point of view. Knowing the purpose helps you understand what you’re reading and why it was written. Recognizing the author’s point of view can help you draw your own conclusion about what you’re reading.
Fade to black and a copyright notice appears on screen, which reads:
Copyright 2020 Pearson Online and Blended Learning K–12 USA. All rights reserved.
THE END.
Copyright 2020 Pearson Online & Blended Learning K–12 USA. All rights reserved summarizes this in three short sentences.
This video explains that every author has a purpose for writing and that purpose could be to explain, entertain, or provide a new perspective. The video also mentions that authors often have a point of view or opinion in their writing, even in informational articles. It gives examples of sentences from a magazine and analyzes the author's purpose and point of view in each one. The video concludes by highlighting the importance of recognizing the author's purpose and point of view to better understand the text and draw your own conclusions.
Shorter
This video explains that authors have a purpose and point of view in their writing. It gives examples of sentences from a magazine and analyzes the author's purpose and point of view in each one. It emphasizes the importance of recognizing these elements to understand the text and draw your own conclusions.
In this passage, the student discusses the concept of an author's purpose and point of view in writing. The author's purpose refers to the reason why the author writes something, whether it is to explain, entertain, persuade, or inform the readers. The student gives examples of how an author's purpose can be identified by analyzing the language and tone used in the text.
Additionally, the student mentions that even in informational articles, authors usually have a point of view or opinion that they convey through their writing. By examining the author's choice of words and the perspective they present, the reader can understand the author's point of view and draw their own conclusions about the text.
The passage concludes by highlighting the importance of recognizing the author's purpose and point of view in order to better understand and interpret what is being read. By being aware of these elements, readers can engage more deeply with the text and form their own opinions and conclusions.
In summary, the student emphasizes the significance of identifying the author's purpose and point of view while reading. This understanding helps readers comprehend the text's intention and allows them to develop their own interpretations.