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Name ______Period ______
Identifying the Author's Viewpoint and Purpose
If you read the sentence—
Don't believe everything a politician says.
you would see that the author has a negative bias towards politicians. If you read the sentence—
Ice hockey is more exciting to watch than any other sport, you would see that the author has a high opinion of ice hockey.
Author's Viewpoint
Read the next example and decide how the author regards Ritchie Valens.
Example 1
Ritchie Valens was a rock musician who had a short but brilliant career. Sadly he died when he was only seventeen years old. But for two short years he gave the world music that is still popular today,
Ritchie Valens was born Richard Valenzuela. His family was Mexican American. His parents were migrant workers who picked fruit in Southern California. Migrant workers travel from farm to farm during the growing season.
But Ritchie had a special talent that would take him away from this life. He played electric guitar and sang songs he composed. His songs and style so impressed the world that he became a star, virtually overnight, at the age of only 16. One of his biggest hits was "Donna," a song he wrote for his girlfriend. On the other side of the record was "La Bamba," a rock version of a Mexican folk song which became another hit.
Ritchie toured the United States. He and his friends, other young rock musicians, received enormous acclaim, high ratings for their television appearances, and large sums of money for all their work. Then tragedy struck. After a concert in Clear Lake, Iowa, Ritchie and his fellow musicians boarded a small plane to fly to Fargo, North Dakota. It was a snowy, stormy night—February 4, 1959. The plane crashed, killing everyone on board.
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Some believe that Ritchie Valens would have been a great star if he had lived. His music has continued to be popular over the years. One of his songs, "La Bamba," makes listeners think of Ritchie himself. The song has a driving beat that showed off his guitar playing and was great for dancing. He sang it in Spanish, because it was a Mexican song and part of his heritage. But even though he was Mexican American, he could not speak the language.
But there have been many musicians who wrote great hits in their teens and then were never heard of again. Two years of great work may be followed by ten years of mediocrity, or by ten years of greatness. No one will ever know if Ritchie would have continued to be popular.
In 1988, a movie about Ritchie Valens's life was made. It was called La Bamba and was a big hit. Ritchie's music is still popular today. Its Latin rhythms remind American teens that Latin music is part of their heritage also. The movie is an emotional reminder of Ritchie's short climb to stardom and how important it was for him to succeed.
Which statement below best reflects the author's view of Ritchie Valens?
A He feels sure that Ritchie Valens would have been a great star had he lived.
B He feels Ritchie Valens died while still young and is uncertain whether he would have become a great star had he lived.
C He feels Ritchie Valens became popular at too young an age and should have taken more care.
D He argues that "La Bamba" was as great a song as any ever written.
Choice _ is correct. The author talks about Ritchie Valens' talent, and the tragedy of his dying so young, and the author wonders if, had he lived, he would have become a great star. The other choices do not reflect the author's point of view.
Read the next selection and decide on the author's point of view of flowering plants.
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Example 2
Of course flowering potted plants are a delight. I have no argument with that statement. They provide color and are longer lasting than cut flowers. But, on the other hand, they demand knowledge and hard work and extra care.
A plant will bloom only if it has the correct light, humidity, and nutrients, and these are difficult to provide. A plant may bloom well in a home, but never so well as in a greenhouse. The correct selection of soil and plant food, identification of the right place to get light, and care that watering be neither excessive nor inadequate—all these demand attention to detail which is well repaid by the delight a flowering plant can bring.
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What can you tell about the author's attitude towards flowering potted plants?
A She thinks they are a waste of time.
B She thinks they are lovely, but not worth the effort.
C She thinks they are hard to grow, but worth the effort.
D She thinks that many people should work together to assure that plants get good care.
Choice _ is correct. The important clue is the sentence, "The correct selection of soil and plant food, identification of the right place to get light, and care that watering be neither excessive nor inadequate—all these demand attention to detail which is well repaid by the delight a flowering plant can bring." This tells us that the author thinks flowering plants are hard to grow, but worth the effort.
Notice that most passages contain words, phrases, or even sentences that allow you to infer the author's opinion. In the next example, the word clues are less obvious, but a careful reading of the passage will still enable you to infer how the author felt about Eight-Deer.
Example 3
The state of Oaxaca in southern Mexico has a long history. Some of it is set down in codices—picture books without words which describe the lives of the people and rulers of that area. The story of Eight-Deer, an important leader of the Mixtec people from 1030 until his death, is recorded in seven of these beautifully colored codices. (His strange name is actually the Mixtec name of the day on which he was born.)
Each of these seven codices tells of Eight-Deer's rule, from the time he became chieftain in 1030 when he was 19 until his death at the age of 52. Eight-Deer fought many battles against neighboring peoples. After each victory (he won every battle until his defeat in 1063) he killed the opposing leaders, married their wives, and adopted their children. In this way, he acquired a huge family of wives and endless numbers of children.
Eight-Deer sometimes defeated a king by challenging him to a personal battle. The winner became king of both countries, and the loser was killed. Eight-Deer's struggle with the rulers of the town called Xipe-Bundle took place over many years and is described in many codices. The battle was finally settled in a combat between the two rulers. The leader of Xipe-Bundle was defeated and killed, but Eight-Deer provided a glorious funeral for the defeated ruler.
Finally, after ruling for 33 years, Eight-Deer lost a battle. He was captured and sacrificed, as he had sacrificed so many before him.
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What is the author's opinion of Eight-Deer?
A He was a powerful leader and fighter.
B His wars were not as interesting as the Mixtecs religious rituals.
C He was not fair to the rulers he defeated.
D He was not well-liked by the Mixtecs.
Choice _ is correct. The passage talks about how many battles Eight-Deer won, and how he gave a defeated dead ruler a glorious funeral. The passage does not lead you to make the inferences contained in the other choices.
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Purpose
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Authors have a purpose in mind when they write. They may want to instruct or inform their readers, or to convince them to agree with them, or perhaps to amuse them.
Read the following passage about birds and decide what purpose its author had in mind.
Example 4
The sound of birds singing is certainly a pleasurable one. Actually, the male birds do most of the singing. And although poets may argue that the bird sings to express its joy in life, there are two more clearly defined reasons for their song. Birds mark their territory by singing, clearly warning all other males to stay away. And they sing to tell female birds that they are bachelors looking for a mate.
A bird doesn't emerge from the egg already knowing its song, the same way it knows how to breathe. Every bird learns its songs from what it hears from adult birds of its own species. If songbirds are brought up separated from other adults, they just make funny sounds rather than the recognizable song of their species.
In one strange experiment, scientists had a bird brought up by another species. A male bullfinch was raised by canaries and learned to sing a perfect canary song. The scientists then mated the male bullfinch to a female bullfinch. The bullfinch children derived from this mating also sang like canaries, and so did their children.
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Why did the author write this passage?
A To amuse readers who like to sing
B To challenge readers to try experiments with birds
C To inform readers about birds and their songs
D To persuade readers that birds are not very smart
Choice _ is correct. The author is describing bird songs and talks about how birds don't have a "built-in" song. The author is informing readers about birds and their songs. If you were not sure of this answer, you could try to eliminate the other answers.
Authors often have a particular purpose in writing.
Read the following passage about the Golden Gate Bridge and decide what particular purpose the author had in mind.
Example 5
One of the world's largest bridges connects the city of San Francisco to the land north of it. Named the Golden Gate Bridge, it was started in 1933 and finished in 1937.
Everyone was very excited on the first day after the bridge was completed, but no celebration was planned for that day. Only one person was allowed on the bridge on that whole day. A blind woman and her dog were the first pedestrians.
The day after the bridge was completed was one of the most exciting days in San Francisco's history. 200,000 people crossed the bridge. It was a colorful event, and some people did strange things. One man walked the whole way on stilts. One woman crossed with her tongue sticking out, while another woman crossed wearing a big wooden hat.
Why did the author write this passage?
A To show how many people crossed the Golden Gate Bridge when it was first opened
B To tell the story of a blind woman's journey
C To describe the kind of things people did when they first crossed the Golden Gate Bridge
D To tell about how the bridge was constructed
Choice _ is correct. This passage talks about the completion of the Golden Gate bridge and the odd things that people did when they crossed it after it was opened. Notice that the actual question in Questions 4 and 5 is worded the same way—"Why did the author write this passage?" When you answer a purpose question, you must evaluate an author's overall intent.
STRATEGIES AND TIPS FOR WORKING OUT AN AUTHOR'S VIEWPOINT AND PURPOSE
1. Look for negative or positive words that indicate how the author regards the topic under discussion.
2. When you have no word clues, read the passage carefully and decide on your overall impression. Ask yourself if you feel impressed, or surprised, or shocked. This may help you understand the author's viewpoint.
3. The main reason authors write nonfictional passages is to inform. They may also hope to instruct, persuade, or entertain their readers.
4. Where you read a selection can provide an important clue as to an author's purpose. Newspaper editorials are usually intended to persuade. School texts are intended to instruct.
5. It may help if you know something about the author Humorous writers, for example, probably want to amuse and entertain you.
Selections for Practice
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Selection 1
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Humans often conceive of themselves as the most highly developed life on earth. We think of ourselves as the most important life form, transforming large areas of the earth into farms and cities to meet our needs for food, warmth, and social connections. We also see ourselves as the most intelligent creatures, for we alone can imagine our own death, or understand the force of gravity, or create poetry and music.
In this view of the universe, Homo sapiens is on top. The absolute bottom of the barrel is occupied by one-celled creatures which do not even have a nucleus—prokaryotes, or bacteria.
People on top, bacteria on the bottom, that's how most of us see the organization of life.
But biologists often disagree. They are amazed at the long successful history of bacteria on earth, a success story that is more than 3 billion years old. Scientists have discovered that bacteria can grow under the most extreme environmental difficulties. Heat, cold, extra pressure, volcanic lava—all of which would destroy other forms of life—are just taken in stride by certain bacteria. They can manufacture food from sunlight, air, and water just like the photosynthetic plants, but they can also make food in other ways. No wonder they've been able to survive for so long!
Biologists are very aware that warfare or disease may wipe out all people in a short time. An exchange of nuclear weapons might end our time on earth in a matter of months. But bacteria are able to withstand anything we can even remotely imagine. They will still be here 100 million years from now. Perhaps we should think of them as the dominant form of life on earth.
What do you think the author thinks of bacteria?
A Bacteria are underrated by most people.
B It is difficult to keep bacteria alive.
C Bacteria are uncomplicated.
D Bacteria shouldn't be compared to human life.