Informational Texts Purpose to convey knowledge about a

Informational Texts Purpose: to convey knowledge about a topic from someone creditable about that information to someone less knowledgeable about the topic.

Informational Texts • Facts, statistics, true information • Explains or gives the audience information on a specific topic • Also known as expository or informative writing • Examples: Textbooks, cookbooks, informational brochures, etc.

Characteristics of an Info. 1. Clear Purpose • What is the author Text trying to inform or explain? • Evidence supports purpose with facts, statistics, examples, etc. • Three different kinds of purposes when addressing an audience: – To inform – To argue/persuade – To entertain • What type of evidence does the author use? Is this evidence creditable?

Characteristics of an Info. Text 2. Creditable Author • Do you trust the author? • Have they had life experience about the topic? • Are they educated?

Characteristics of an Info. 3. Intended Audience Text • Who is the author talking to or writing for? • What can you assume about the audience? • Is the audience educated? How old is the audience?

Characteristics of an Info. 4. Specific Word Text Choice (aka Diction) • Denotation – literal or dictionary meaning • Denotative: “Animals are killed for food. ” • Connotation – figurative or associated meaning – Connotative: “The Falcon’s basketball team slaughtered WWS. ”

Characteristics of an Info. Text 4. Specific Word Choice ( • What words really jump out and are important? • Does the author need to define certain words for the audience? • How does this diction contribute to the tone or emotional feeling of the text?

Characteristics of an Info. 5. Tone Text • Tone: the author’s attitude towards the topic • Expressed through diction • Two categories of tone: subjective or objective.