Author's Purpose

1. Author's Purpose RC 2.4 Americas Initial Instruction

2. The standard says… It means • Identify and trace the development of an author’s • argument • point of view • or perspective • in a text. • Figure out the writer’s • topic and evidence • viewpoint or attitude on the subject

3. It is tested with stems like this • The primary intent of the passage is… • The author’s attitude is best described as… • What argument does the author make in the passage… • According to the passage, … • So, let’s figure out what questions we should be asking as we read.

4. Author's Intent is the place to start • Author’s intent is the author’s point in writing the essay, article, story or passage. • This is also referred to as author’s purpose. • There are generally 4 main reasons a writer writes. • to inform by giving information • to persuade the audience to do something • to entertain an audience with stories and descriptions • to express feelings about a topic Author’s Intent = Author’s Purpose

5. To figure out author's intent, we need to figure out • What is the author’s topic? • What does he/she want us to know or feel about that topic? • Let’s read an article and answer these questions.

6. Maya Today Most of the more than six million modern Maya live in rural areas of Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize– areas where their ancestors lived. Their culture is a mixture of pre-Columbian Indian, European, and modern elements – not purely one or another. The Maya today are not very well off economically. In the 1970s, the Guatemalan government began a systematic campaign to destroy the culture, killing thousands of highland Indians and forcing tens of thousands of others to flee across the border into Mexico. Entire villages have been razed to the ground and new ones built where natives are forced to abandon their language, native dress, and local village organizations. Will the Maya survive this latest onslaught or not? This remains to be seen.

7. Maya Today Most of the more than six million modern Maya live in rural areas of Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize– areas where their ancestors lived. Their culture is a mixture of pre-Columbian Indian, European, and modern elements – not purely one or another. The Maya today are not very well off economically. In the 1970s, the Guatemalan government began a systematic campaign to destroy the culture, killing thousands of highland Indians and forcing tens of thousands of others to flee across the border into Mexico. Entire villages have been razed to the ground and new ones built where natives are forced to abandon their language, native dress, and local village organizations. Will the Maya survive this latest onslaught or not? This remains to be seen. What is the topic of the article? We checked the title. We checked the topic sentence. Maya Today or modern Maya How do we know?

8. So how would we answer this question? • The primary intent of the article “Maya Today” is • to persuade people to protest against the Guatemalan government • to tell a story about the Mayan people of today • to express the author’s feelings about the modern Maya • to inform people about the condition of the Maya in today’s world Primary means main, so while there are elements of each of those intents or purposes, the main reason the article was written was to inform people about the modern Maya.

9. Now that we know what the article was about, let's see if we can figure out how the author felt about it? We're looking for the AUTHOR'S ATTITUDE. We should look for words in the article that have feelings associated with them. We’ll be looking at the connotation of the words.

10. Maya Today Most of the more than six million modern Maya live in rural areas of Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize– areas where their ancestors lived. Their culture is a mixture of pre-Columbian Indian, European, and modern elements – not purely one or another. The Maya today are not very well off economically. In the 1970s, the Guatemalan government began a systematic campaign to destroy the culture, killing thousands of highland Indians and forcing tens of thousands of others to flee across the border into Mexico. Entire villages have been razed to the ground and new ones built where natives are forced to abandon their language, native dress, and local village organizations. Will the Maya survive this latest onslaught or not? This remains to be seen. What words show emotion in this passage? Are their negative words used? Positive ones? Are they mostly neutral?

11. Maya Today Most of the more than six million modern Maya live in rural areas of Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize– areas where their ancestors lived. Their culture is a mixture of pre-Columbian Indian, European, and modern elements – not purely one or another. The Maya today are not very well off economically. In the 1970s, the Guatemalan government began a systematic campaign to destroy the culture, killing thousands of highland Indians and forcing tens of thousands of others to flee across the border into Mexico. Entire villages have been razed to the ground and new ones built where natives are forced to abandon their language, native dress, and local village organizations. Will the Maya survive this latest onslaught or not? This remains to be seen. Negative connotation words that show the author’s attitude toward topic. Neutral words that show no emotion, just factual info—the author is objective in using these words.

12. So how would we answer this question? 2. In “Maya Today” the author’s attitude toward the Guatemalan government is best described as • respectful • disappointed • objective • critical The negative words the author used clearly show he/she is not objective to or respectful of the government. So is she disappointed or critical. While she probably is disappointed in the government’s actions, she is pointing out their actions to criticize them, or be critical of them. So, the best answer is D.

13. Author's intent Author's attitudeWhat information was actually provided? Let’s look back in the article for facts and examples.

14. Maya Today Paragraph 1 Most of the more than six million modern Maya live in rural areas of Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize– areas where their ancestors lived. Their culture is a mixture of pre-Columbian Indian, European, and modern elements – not purely one or another. What is the main idea of paragraph 1? How does the author support the main idea?

15. Maya Today Paragraph 1 Most of the more than six million modern Maya live in rural areas of Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize– areas where their ancestors lived. Their culture is a mixture of pre-Columbian Indian, European, and modern elements – not purely one or another. What is the main idea of paragraph 1? The main idea is to clarify who the modern Maya are. How does the author support the main idea? The idea is supported by description of where the Maya live in relation to their ancestors and of what their culture now looks like.

16. Maya Today Paragraph 2 The Maya today are not very well off economically. In the 1970s, the Guatemalan government began a systematic campaign to destroy the culture, killing thousands of highland Indians and forcing tens of thousands of others to flee across the border into Mexico. Entire villages have been razed to the ground and new ones built where natives are forced to abandon their language, native dress, and local village organizations. What is the main idea of paragraph 2? What support does the author use in his/her explanation?

17. Maya Today Paragraph 2 The Maya today are not very well off economically. In the 1970s, the Guatemalan government began a systematic campaign to destroy the culture, killing thousands of highland Indians and forcing tens of thousands of others to flee across the border into Mexico.Entire villages have been razed to the ground and new ones built where natives are forced to abandon their language, native dress, and local village organizations. What is the main idea of paragraph 2? The main idea of paragraph 2 is to explain what has been happening to the modern Maya. What support does the author use in his/her explanation? The author uses examples of how the Guatemalan government has killed Mayan people or forced them off the land.

18. Maya Today Paragraph 3 Will the Maya survive this latest onslaught or not? This remains to be seen. What is the main idea of paragraph 3? How does the author wrap up the article?

19. Maya Today Paragraph 3 Will the Maya survive this latest onslaught or not? This remains to be seen. What is the main idea of paragraph 3? This is a conclusion to the passage. How does the author wrap up the article? The author uses a rhetorical question to show the uncertainty of the future of the Maya.

20. And, how would we answer this question? • According to “Maya Today,” how many Maya are being forced out of their homeland? a. six million b. all the Maya in Mexico c. thousands d. hundreds of thousands This is a factual question that you can find by looking back into the passage. All the numbers are in there, so you have to find the one that matches those leaving their homeland in Guatemala. The answer is D.

21. So let's review the strategies for assessing author's purpose… ( highlight these points in your notes) • Figure out the topic of the selection. • Look at the title and topic sentence. • Figure out the reason the author wrote it. • to inform, to persuade, to entertain, to express • Figure out the author’s attitude about the topic. • Look for words in the passage that signal positive or negative connotations, or feelings. • Figure out what you were supposed to learn or do. • Look in the passage for the facts and examples tell you what the author wanted you to know.

22. Let's try some guided practice. See the article entitled “The Spanish Conquest and the Decline of the Maya”