EQV-01-04

Reading Comprehension — Author's Purpose

Why did the author write this — to inform, to persuade, to describe, or to criticize? The verb you choose is the answer.

~6 min read•Difficulty 3/5

Every passage is written to do something. Purpose questions ask you to name that action. The cleanest way to answer is to finish this sentence: "The author wrote this in order to ___ ." — and the blank is a verb.

The four big purposes

Purpose	The author wants to...	Tell-tale signs
Inform / explain	teach a neutral fact or process	balanced tone, no opinion, defines terms
Persuade / argue	change your view	a claim, reasons, words like should, must
Describe	paint a picture or impression	sensory detail, imagery, atmosphere
Criticize / evaluate	judge something good or bad	praise or complaint, comparison to a standard

Purpose of the whole vs. purpose of a part

Two different questions hide here:

Global: "The author's primary purpose is to..." $\to$ describes the whole passage.
Function: "The author mentions X in order to..." $\to$ asks why one detail is there.

For a function question, look at the sentences around the detail. A detail is usually there to support, illustrate, contrast, or qualify the idea next to it.

Match the verb to the scope. A whole persuasive essay's purpose is "to argue"; a single example inside it has the narrower purpose "to illustrate the claim".

Eliminate by strength and scope

A choice whose verb is too strong (e.g. "to prove" when the author only "suggests") is wrong.
A choice that names a real detail but calls it the whole purpose is too narrow.

Worked examples

Example 1 (difficulty 3/5)

Read this passage: "Some argue that homework deepens learning. Yet studies repeatedly find little link between nightly assignments and achievement in the early grades, while the cost in family stress is well documented. Schools should think carefully before piling on worksheets that may do more harm than good." The author's primary purpose is to:

◎ Predict the answer first:

Tips

Opinion words (should, must, unfortunately, impressively) almost always signal "persuade" or "criticize", not "inform".
If the passage stays perfectly neutral and defines things, the purpose is usually "to explain".
For "why does the author mention X?", read the sentence right before and after X — that is its job.

Common mistakes

Calling a persuasive passage "informative"

Why: Arguments include facts, so the passage can look neutral at a glance.

Fix: Hunt for a stance: any should/must/judgment means the purpose is to persuade or criticize.

Choosing a verb that is too strong

Why: "Prove" and "demonstrate" feel decisive and confident.

Fix: Match the author’s actual force — "suggest" and "argue" are weaker than "prove".

← Back to Reading Comprehension