What is a text's "purpose"?

We read texts all the time, but we don't always think about why the author wrote it.

The truth is: all texts are written for a reason. The author wants you to have a particular experience when you read their writing. Maybe they want to help you understand a new concept, or maybe they want to convince you of something. This goal is the purpose of the text.

You can think of purpose as the answer to the question: "Why?" Why did the author write it? What did they want to accomplish? What’s the point?

Most texts have one of three basic purposes: to inform, to persuade, or to entertain.

Some texts are written to give you information. They might be trying to teach you about a certain topic or explain how something works. When you read an informative text, you'll usually see that it's full of facts and details.

Examples:

Persuasive texts want to convince you to believe something or do something. They can also include facts and details, but those facts and details are there to support the argument. When you read a persuasive text, you might see the author using strong language to make their point. They might use words like "must" or "should," or they might appeal to your emotions to make you care about what they're saying.

Examples:

Some texts are meant to be read for enjoyment. We can think of literature as falling into this category, as well as jokes and funny stories. When you read an entertaining text, you might see the author using descriptive language to make the story more interesting. They might use humor, suspense, or interesting characters to keep you engaged.

Examples:

One big clue to the author's purpose is the tone of the text. "Tone" refers to the attitude the author has, and the feelings that come across in the language of the text. We'll talk more about tone in other lessons, but for now, here's what you need to know about how the tone of the passage relates to its purpose:

These texts usually have a neutral or objective tone. The writing will probably be straightforward and factual. The author wants you to understand the information they're trying to give you, so they won't usually use flowery or emotional language.

When an author is trying to persuade you, the tone will be more positive or negative than the tone of an informational text. The author wants you to feel strongly about their point of view, so they might use strong language to make their case. They might also appeal to your emotions to get you on their side.

Some entertaining texts will have a funny or lighthearted tone, but not all of them! For example, stories and poems can be sad, scary, tense, uplifting, or serious in tone.

The point is, the author's purpose in these texts is NOT to inform or to convince: they simply want to write something that will captivate the reader!