Authors Purpose — 3–5 Reading & Writing | Scholars & Parents

What Is This?

Every piece of writing has a purpose — a reason the author chose to write it. Author's purpose is the main reason behind a piece of writing: what the author is trying to achieve. Understanding why an author wrote something helps you read more critically, understand their choices, and evaluate how effectively they achieved their goal.

The three main purposes are captured in the acronym PIE:

P — Persuade (convince the reader to think or do something)
I — Inform (give the reader facts, knowledge, or information)
E — Entertain (engage, amuse, or move the reader emotionally)

Why Does It Matter?

When you know an author's purpose, you read differently. An informational text deserves careful reading for facts. A persuasive text demands critical reading — asking what evidence is given, what is left out, and what the author wants you to do. An entertaining text invites you to enjoy the experience.

Author's purpose also shapes every other choice the author makes: the words they use, the structure they choose, whether they use facts or feelings, whether they include their own opinion or try to appear neutral.

The Three Main Purposes

1. To Inform

The author's goal is to give the reader accurate information, facts, or explanations. The author is not trying to change the reader's opinion — they are trying to increase their knowledge.

Common text types: encyclopaedia entries, textbooks, news reports, science articles, instruction manuals, biographies, how-to guides

Clues to look for:

Factual statements that can be verified
Neutral, objective tone — no strong emotional language
Specific data: numbers, dates, measurements
Technical or precise vocabulary
Third person narration ("it," "they," "the study found")

Example: "The blue whale is the largest animal ever known to have lived on Earth. An adult can reach up to 30 metres in length and weigh as much as 200 tonnes. Blue whales communicate using low-frequency sounds that can travel thousands of kilometres through the ocean."

This passage is purely informational — the author provides facts without expressing a personal view or trying to entertain.

2. To Persuade

The author's goal is to convince the reader to agree with a viewpoint, adopt a belief, or take an action. Persuasive writing uses both facts AND opinions, and the facts are selected to support the author's position.

Common text types: opinion columns, editorials, advertisements, speeches, letters to the editor, campaign materials, reviews

Clues to look for:

Strong, emotive language ("crucial," "devastating," "essential," "outrageous")
Opinions presented as if they are facts
One-sided presentation — only evidence supporting the argument is given
Calls to action ("You must," "We need to," "Act now")
Appeals to emotion, authority, or shared values
Second person ("you") to directly address the reader

Example: "Our parks are being neglected while the council wastes money on vanity projects. Every child deserves green space to play in. Sign the petition today and tell your councillors that enough is enough."

Emotive language ("neglected," "wastes," "vanity"), an appeal to shared values ("every child deserves"), and a call to action ("sign the petition") all signal persuasion.

3. To Entertain

The author's goal is to engage the reader's imagination, provide enjoyment, evoke emotion, or create an experience. Entertainment can include humour, suspense, beauty, drama, or wonder.

Common text types: novels, short stories, poetry, plays, personal narratives, humorous essays

Clues to look for:

Narrative elements: characters, plot, setting, conflict
Figurative language: simile, metaphor, personification
Strong descriptive language that creates atmosphere
Dialogue and character development
Emotional engagement — the reader is meant to feel something

Example: "The door creaked open and a cold draught swept through the room. Maya froze. She had been certain she was alone in the house — but now she wasn't so sure."

This is written to entertain — specifically to create suspense and draw the reader into a story.

Beyond PIE: More Specific Purposes

Within these three categories, authors often have more specific purposes:

To describe — to paint a detailed picture of a place, person, or event (often within inform or entertain)
To explain — to clarify how or why something works (within inform)
To warn — to alert the reader to a danger or risk (often within persuade or inform)
To inspire — to motivate or uplift the reader (often within persuade or entertain)
To satirise — to mock or criticise something through humour or exaggeration (within entertain and/or persuade)

Recognising the specific purpose shows more sophisticated reading than simply labelling all texts as inform, persuade, or entertain.

How to Identify Author's Purpose

Step 1 — Identify the text type. Is this a story, an article, an advertisement, a speech?

Step 2 — Look at the language. Is it neutral and factual? Emotive and one-sided? Narrative and descriptive?

Step 3 — Ask: What does the author want me to do or feel?

Know something new? → Inform
Agree or act? → Persuade
Feel, imagine, or enjoy? → Entertain

Step 4 — Check for mixed purposes. Many texts have more than one purpose. An entertaining story might also be trying to make a point (persuade). A news article might be highly factual (inform) but also engage the reader with compelling narrative (entertain).

The Same Topic, Three Purposes

The same subject can be written about with different purposes:

Topic: Deforestation

Inform: "Approximately 10 million hectares of forest are destroyed each year. This is equivalent to losing 27 football pitches every minute."

Persuade: "Every minute, the equivalent of 27 football pitches of forest is destroyed — and every one of those trees is gone forever. We cannot allow this destruction to continue. Write to your MP today."

Entertain: "The old cedar had stood for four hundred years, through storm and drought, through the arrival of the first loggers and the departure of the last wolves. Now, in the final second of its life, it heard the distant whine of a chainsaw."*

All three passages are about deforestation, but the purpose — and everything about the writing — is different.

Common Mistakes

Mistake 1: Thinking informational writing has no opinion

Even textbooks make choices about what to include and how to frame it. Informational texts aim for neutrality, but true objectivity is rare. Always look for subtle framing.

Mistake 2: Missing persuasion in factual-sounding writing

Persuasive texts often cite facts and figures. The facts can be accurate while the overall purpose is still to persuade. Ask: Has the author chosen only facts that support one side?

Mistake 3: Thinking entertainment has no purpose beyond fun

Many entertaining texts also carry a message, explore a theme, or critique society. The best fiction entertains AND makes the reader think.

Mistake 4: Assuming one text has only one purpose

Most real-world texts have a primary purpose and secondary purposes. A speech might primarily persuade but also entertain with humour and inform with statistics.

Key Takeaways

Author's purpose is the main reason an author writes a piece of text
The three main purposes: Persuade (PIE), Inform, Entertain
Inform: neutral tone, facts, data, objective language
Persuade: emotive language, one-sided evidence, calls to action, opinions
Entertain: narrative, characters, figurative language, emotional engagement
To identify purpose: check text type, read the language, ask what the author wants you to do or feel
The same topic can be written for different purposes — this completely changes the language and structure
Most texts have a primary purpose and may have secondary purposes too

Practice and Resources

Ready to practise? Try our Grade 3-5 Author's Purpose Worksheet with passage identification, same-topic-different-purpose exercises, and analysis tasks. Test yourself with the Grade 3-5 Reading and Writing Practice Test.