ESL Reading Identifying Authors Purpose Persuade Inform Entertain

What It Is

Identifying an author's purpose is crucial in understanding the main idea of a text. It helps readers determine why the author wrote the text. There are three main purposes: Persuade, Inform, and Entertain. ESL learners often struggle with this topic because they may not be familiar with the different purposes and how to identify them.

Key Rules

• Persuade texts aim to convince readers to do or believe something. Example: "The new policy will save us money." (Correct) vs. "The new policy will save us money's." (Incorrect)
• Inform texts provide information or facts. Example: "The capital of France is Paris." (Correct) vs. "The capital of France is Paris's." (Incorrect)
• Entertain texts aim to amuse or engage readers. Example: "The comedy show was funny." (Correct) vs. "The comedy show was funnier." (Incorrect)
• Use adverbs to describe how something is done. Example: "She quickly finished her homework." (Correct) vs. "She quick finished her homework." (Incorrect)
• Use adjectives to describe people, places, or things. Example: "The big house is on the hill." (Correct) vs. "The bigger house is on the hill." (Incorrect)
• Use transition words to connect ideas. Example: "First, I went to the store. Then, I came home." (Correct) vs. "First, I went to the store. Then, I came home's." (Incorrect)
• Use commas to separate items in a list. Example: "I like apples, bananas, and oranges." (Correct) vs. "I like apples bananas and oranges." (Incorrect)
• Use quotation marks to set off direct speech. Example: "She said, 'I'm going to the store.'" (Correct) vs. "She said I'm going to the store." (Incorrect)
• Use apostrophes to show possession. Example: "The cat's toy is on the floor." (Correct) vs. "The cat toy is on the floor." (Incorrect)
• Use pronouns to replace nouns. Example: "He is going to the store." (Correct) vs. "He's going to the store." (Incorrect)
• Use verb tenses to show time. Example: "I went to the store yesterday." (Correct) vs. "I go to the store yesterday." (Incorrect)
• Use modal verbs to show possibility or necessity. Example: "You must go to the store." (Correct) vs. "You musts go to the store." (Incorrect)
• Use passive voice to focus on the action. Example: "The ball was thrown by John." (Correct) vs. "John threw the ball." (Incorrect)
• Use active voice to focus on the doer. Example: "John threw the ball." (Correct) vs. "The ball was thrown by John." (Incorrect)

Common ESL Errors

• Error: "The new policy will save us money's." Why it happens: Interference from L1 grammar rules.
  Correction: "The new policy will save us money." (Use the correct form of the verb "save".)
• Error: "The comedy show was funnier." Why it happens: Overgeneralization of adverbs.
  Correction: "The comedy show was funny." (Use the correct form of the adjective "funny".)
• Error: "First, I went to the store. Then, I came home's." Why it happens: Lack of understanding of transition words.
  Correction: "First, I went to the store. Then, I came home." (Use the correct transition word "then".)

Practice Exercises

1. Fill in the blank: "The new policy will save us money." Answer: save (Use the correct form of the verb "save".) Reason: The correct form of the verb "save" is used to indicate a future action.
2. Fill in the blank: "The comedy show was funny." Answer: funny (Use the correct form of the adjective "funny".) Reason: The correct form of the adjective "funny" is used to describe the comedy show.
3. Fill in the blank: "First, I went to the store. Then, I came home." Answer: then (Use the correct transition word "then".) Reason: The correct transition word "then" is used to connect the two ideas.

Last-Minute Revision

⚠️ Irregular verbs: "go" (went, gone), "take" (took, taken) ⚠️ Preposition pairs: "in" and "on" (e.g., "I'm in the store." vs. "I'm on the bus.") ⚠️ Articles: "a" and "an" (e.g., "I have a book." vs. "I have an apple.") ⚠️ Pronunciation nuances: "th" sounds (e.g., "this" vs. "that")