Why Did They Write It? Author's Purpose

About This Resource

A free Grade 7 ESL reading worksheet on author's purpose: recognizing when a writer wants to persuade, inform, entertain or instruct, spotting the clue words and features of each purpose, sorting real-world text titles, analyzing a persuasive article about school gardens, and writing about one topic for three different purposes. Includes a timed lesson plan, a six-activity worksheet, an editable Word version and answer key.

Overview

Students learn that every text is written for a reason, and that knowing the reason helps them read more critically. They study the four main purposes (to persuade, to inform, to entertain and to instruct) and the clues that reveal each one, such as opinion words and commands in persuasive texts, facts and numbers in informative texts, characters and humor in entertaining texts, and numbered steps in instructions. They identify the purpose of short extracts, sort text titles, read and analyze a persuasive article, and finish by writing about the same topic for three different purposes.

Resource Details

Subject: ESL
Topic: Author's Purpose
Category: Reading
File Type: PDF
File Size: 278.6 KB
Published: 04 Nov 2026
Downloads: 0

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Grade 7 (ages 12–13) 45 minutes Reading comprehension critical reading using evidence classifying writing for a purpose

Student Task

Show three texts about dogs: an advertisement for a dog shelter, a fact sheet and a funny poem. Ask, "Why did each writer write this?"
Teach the four purposes and their clue words, then do activities 1 and 2 together.
Students complete activities 3 to 6. Answers are in the answer key.

Classroom Use

Text hunt: bring in leaflets, recipes, comics, news articles and advertisements. Groups sort them by purpose and list the clues they used.
Purpose switch: groups take a news article and rewrite one paragraph to entertain or to persuade, then read it aloud.
Hidden purpose: show an advertisement that looks like a news article and discuss why the writer chose that style.

Differentiation

Support: give a purpose chart with clue words and an example of each type of text. Challenge: find a text with two purposes and explain which is the main purpose and why.

Answer Key & Assessment

Activities 1 to 5 check identifying purpose and using clues (answer key included). Activity 6 checks writing for different purposes.

Learning Objectives

Identify whether an author's main purpose is to persuade, inform, entertain or instruct.
Use clue words and text features as evidence for the author's purpose.
Write short texts on one topic for different purposes.

Teacher Tips

Many texts have more than one purpose, such as a funny advertisement that entertains in order to persuade. Ask students to name the main purpose and to explain how the other purposes support it.

What's Included

8-page printable PDF lesson pack: teacher lesson plan with timings, materials and differentiation
Key vocabulary list (6 words with meanings and examples)
Student worksheet (6 activities)
Editable Word version of the worksheet
Complete answer key (also as a separate PDF)

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