AUTHORS PURPOSE A NIGHT TO REMEMBER WHY WAS

AUTHOR’S PURPOSE A NIGHT TO REMEMBER

WHY WAS THIS WRITTEN?

BASIC AUTHOR’S PURPOSE • TO INFORM • TO PERSUADE • TO ENTERTAIN

BASIC AUTHOR’S PURPOSE CLUES �Explains or gives you �TO INFORM �TO PERSUADE �TO ENTERTAIN information about a topic �Presents author’s own opinions, feelings, beliefs �Makes you feel emotions (e. g. , happy, sad, scared)

AUTHOR’S MESSAGE THE “BIG IDEA”; WHAT THE AUTHOR IS TRYING TO TELL THE READER

FACT VS. OPINION • FACT = STATES SOMETHING THAT HAPPENS, HAS HAPPENED, OR IS CERTAIN TO BE TRUE • EX: A lunar eclipse happens when the moon aligns exactly with the earth and sun. • OPINION = STATES SOMETHING THAT IS BELIEVED TO HAVE OCCURRED, IS BELIEVED TO EXIST, OR IS BELIEVED TO BE TRUE • EX: The teacher gave a pop quiz because she got mad at the class.

AUTHOR’S BIAS = A PREJUDICE, A PRECONCEIVED JUDGMENT, OR AN OPINION FORMED WITHOUT SUFFICIENT KNOWLEDGE AUTHOR’S BIAS THE FAVORING OF ONE SIDE, POSITION, OR BELIEF; BEING PARTIAL

AUTHOR’S BIAS 1. OMISSION / SELECTION 2. PLACEMENT 3. STATISTICS 4. WORD CHOICE 5. TONE

AUTHOR’S BIAS: OMISSION/SELECTION �OMISSION = the cutting of certain facts and/or details from a story �SELECTION = the choosing of certain facts and/or details for a story �Changes how readers think about the story �Selective details to support author’s purpose �Need to read several different sources for holistic understanding

AUTHOR’S BIAS: PLACEMENT �PLACEMENT = the decision of which information to present first, second, third, etc. �More important stories chosen to be seen first (think headline news!) �Less important stories chosen to be at the end �Within a story, most important/convincing facts placed first �Contradictory statements placed after

AUTHOR’S BIAS: STATISTICS �BIASED STATISTICS: the manipulation of statistics to change the way we think about them � EX#1: “The fundraiser for the school raised only 1100. � EX#2: “The fundraiser for the school raised over 1100. � EX#1: “A crowd of more than 900 attended the protest. ” � EX#2: “Fewer than 1, 000 showed up to protest. ” �Decision of which numbers to present �Adjectives to describe numbers �Holistic vs. limited statistics

AUTHOR’S BIAS: WORD CHOICE �WORD CHOICE = the author’s purposeful usage of words to write about and describe happenings • Positive vs. negative words • Connotation vs. denotation • Word choice creates tone �FACT = Frank spends very little money. • EX#1: Frank is thrifty. (positive) • EX#2: Frank is a cheapskate. (negative)

AUTHOR’S BIAS: TONE �TONE = the author’s attitude toward a subject, a character, or the reader �Examples: silly, sarcastic, angry, annoyed, proud, bored, etc. �WORDS CONVEY TONE!!!!!!! �DETAILS CONVEY TONE!!!!! �Tone developed from word choice!