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: How Purpose Influences a Text

What you will learn: By the end of this lesson, you will be able to analyze how an author's purpose directly influences their choices of text structure and language.

Before You Read 🧠

Key Vocabulary

Understanding these concepts is key to analyzing any text you read.

Author's Purpose

The main reason for writing (e.g., to inform, persuade, entertain).

Text Structure

The way an author organizes their ideas (e.g., by time, by listing reasons).

Language Choices

The specific words, tone, and style an author selects.

To Influence

To have an effect on how something develops or is structured.

Case Study: Two Texts, One Topic

Let's analyze two short texts about a proposed hydroelectric dam. 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

• Purpose: To Inform.
• Structure: Simple Description/Explanation (presents facts logically).
• Language: Neutral/Objective tone (uses factual words like `specifications`, `megawatts`, `projected`).

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 this project is truly worth the devastating cost.

Analysis of Text 2

• Purpose: To Persuade.
• Structure: Listing/Enumeration of arguments (lists reasons the dam is bad).
• Language: Passionate/Critical tone (uses biased words like `catastrophe`, `threat`, `devastating`).

Practice What You Learned 🎯

Quiz: Connect Purpose to Technique

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.

→ Answer: C. A story to entertain will have a plot (chronological order) and use creative, fun language.

2. An author's purpose is to PERSUADE the government to build more public trash bins. 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."

→ Answer: B. This sentence uses persuasive and emotional language ("embarrassing," "unhygienic") to argue for action.

Key Vocabulary Reference

• Author's Purpose
  The author's main reason for writing (e.g., to inform, persuade, entertain).
• Text Structure
  The way an author organizes their ideas (e.g., by time, by listing reasons).
• Language Choices
  The specific words, tone, and style an author selects to achieve their purpose.
• To Influence
  To have an effect on how something develops, behaves, or is structured.

Your Reading Mission ⭐

The Ultimate Analysis!

Find two short English articles online about the exact same news event from two different sources (e.g., from an international news site and from a local 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 a language choice (a specific word or phrase) that reveals their purpose or tone.