Beyond PIE: Naming a Precise Purpose

Move past persuade, inform, and entertain to name an author's exact purpose.

In earlier grades you learned that authors write to persuade, inform, or entertain. Those categories are a start, but middle-school analysis needs more precise verbs. Authors write to explain how something works, to describe a place, to argue for a change, to warn about a danger, to celebrate a person, to reflect on an experience, to criticize a decision, or to inspire action. Precise purposes also include the topic and audience. Compare. Vague: 'The author's purpose is to inform.

' Precise: 'The author's purpose is to warn hikers about the dangers of flash floods in desert canyons. ' Here's an original passage: 'Every summer, a canyon that looks bone-dry can fill with rushing water in minutes, even when the sky above is clear. Rain miles away can send a wall of water through. ' The vivid, urgent details and the focus on danger show the purpose is to warn, not simply to inform. A precise purpose statement uses a strong verb, names the topic, and, when possible, names the audience.

• 1Use precise verbs: explain, warn, argue, celebrate, reflect, criticize
• 2Include the topic and, when possible, the audience
• 3Let details and tone guide your choice of verb