Reading: Recognizing Author's Tone, Purpose & Attitude: B2 Lesson 3: Understanding How Purpose Influences Text Structure and Language Choices

Reading: Recognizing Author's Tone, Purpose & Attitude

B2 Lesson 3: Understanding How Purpose Influences Text Structure and Language Choices

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The Author's Master Plan

We have learned to identify purpose, structure, and tone as separate elements. In this final lesson, we will synthesize these skills to understand how they are all connected.

An author's purpose¹ is the "master plan." It is the primary goal that influences⁴ all their other decisions, from the text structure² they choose to their specific language choices³.

Comparing Two Texts on the Same Topic

Let's analyze two short texts about a proposed hydroelectric dam on the river near Kampot. Notice how their different purposes create completely different texts.

Text 1: An Informational Report

Proposed Hydroelectric Dam on the Prek Tuek Chhu

The Ministry of Mines and Energy has released a report detailing a proposal for a new hydroelectric dam on the Prek Tuek Chhu river, 25km north of Kampot. The project specifications indicate a concrete dam with a height of 80 meters, designed to generate an estimated 150 megawatts of electricity. Construction is projected to take approximately four years. The report outlines the project's primary goal is to provide a stable source of electricity for the province and reduce dependency on imported energy.

Analysis of Text 1:

• Author's Purpose: To Inform.
• Resulting Structure: Simple Description/Explanation. It presents facts in a logical order.
• Resulting Language: Neutral/Objective tone. It uses factual, technical words (`specifications`, `megawatts`, `projected`) and avoids emotion.

Text 2: A Persuasive Opinion Piece

A Dam of Devastation: We Must Stop This Project

We must act now to prevent an environmental catastrophe. The proposed dam on the Prek Tuek Chhu is not progress; it is a threat to the very soul of Kampot. First, it will irreversibly damage the river's delicate ecosystem, destroying the habitat for fish that our communities depend on. Furthermore, the construction will displace hundreds of families from their ancestral land. Finally, we must ask if sacrificing our region's natural beauty for a project that will primarily benefit foreign investors is truly worth the devastating cost.

Analysis of Text 2:

• Author's Purpose: To Persuade.
• Resulting Structure: Listing/Enumeration of arguments. It lists reasons why the dam is bad (destroys ecosystem, displaces families, etc.).
• Resulting Language: Passionate/Critical tone. It uses emotionally loaded, biased words (`catastrophe`, `threat`, `irreversibly damage`, `devastating`) to create a strong negative feeling.

Your Turn! Connect Purpose to Technique.

Practice Quiz

Read the author's purpose and choose the most likely set of techniques they would use.

1. An author's purpose is to entertain children with a funny, magical story about a talking gecko.

Which set of choices best fits this purpose?

• A. Structure: Compare/Contrast. Language: Neutral, technical vocabulary.
• B. Structure: Listing of arguments. Language: Persuasive, with a serious tone.
• C. Structure: Chronological Order (a plot). Language: Creative, descriptive, and humorous.

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Answer: C. A story's purpose is to entertain, so it will have a plot (chronological order) and use creative and humorous language.

2. An author's purpose is to persuade the local government that they should build more public trash bins in the town center.

Which sentence would most likely appear in this text?

• A. "The current trash collection system was established in 2018."
• B. "The lack of public bins is creating an embarrassing and unhygienic situation that damages our town's image."
• C. "One day, a plastic bottle felt very lonely because it had no bin to live in."

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Answer: B. This sentence uses persuasive and emotionally loaded language ("embarrassing," "unhygienic," "damages") to argue for a specific action, which matches the author's purpose.

Vocabulary Glossary

1. Author's Purpose (noun phrase)
   ភាសាខ្មែរ: គោលបំណងរបស់អ្នកនិពន្ធ
   The author's main reason for writing (e.g., to inform, persuade, entertain). ↩ back to text
2. Text Structure (noun)
   ភាសាខ្មែរ: រចនាសម្ព័ន្ធអត្ថបទ
   The way an author organizes their ideas (e.g., by time, by listing reasons). ↩ back to text
3. Language Choices (noun phrase)
   ភាសាខ្មែរ: ការជ្រើសរើសភាសា
   The specific words, tone, and style an author selects to achieve their purpose. ↩ back to text
4. Influence (verb)
   ភាសាខ្មែរ: មានឥទ្ធិពល
   To have an effect on how something develops, behaves, or is structured. ↩ back to text

Homework Task

The Ultimate Analysis!

Find two short English articles online about the exact same news event from two different sources (e.g., from BBC and from a local newspaper blog).

For EACH article, answer these three questions in your notebook:

1. What is the author's primary purpose? Is it just to inform, or are they trying to persuade you of a certain viewpoint?
2. What text structure do they mainly use to organize the information?
3. Give one example of language choice (a specific word or phrase) that reveals their purpose or tone.