Identifying if an Author’s Purpose Is to Persuade, Inform or Entertain (PIE).

Being able to identify the purpose of a piece of writing is an important skill, both in academic work and life in general.

In our one-time class, we take a look at which slice of PIE any author is handing us. 
Are they out to Persuade us - to convince us of something?
Do they want to Inform us- to teach and explain?
Or are hoping to Entertain us- to tell an engaging story or hold our attention through enjoyment?

We take a look at the characteristics of each purpose in writing- the language and style that helps us to identify which slice of the PIE we have.

We’ll look at examples of each and learners will use what we know of those characteristics to identify what they think the author’s is in each case. Students will also discuss what characteristics they would expect to see for the writing to have a different intent. (eg, if looking at an informative piece- what sort of things would the author have written if it was a persuasive piece, etc).

We’ll also explore tricky areas where it may not be quite so clear at first and look at the question of whether the author can have more than one purpose. 
 
Learners look at and discuss why being able to identify the reasons an author has written something is a valuable life skill. 

Finally, students will be given a choice from 3 topics and will write their own paragraph. We’ll share back and see if others can identify whether they have written to Persuade, Inform or Entertain. 

Students may write read their paragraph aloud or share it in the chatbox if they prefer not to read it out. If they prefer, I can read it aloud.