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Learn how to evaluate an author’s intent by reading critically to discern point of view, purpose, intended audience, and tone.
| 0:00 | Owl: Welcome to Evaluating an Author’s Intent, an instructional video on reading comprehension brought to you by the Excelsior University Online Writing Lab. |
| 0:12 | Analyzing a text requires you to think critically about why, how, and to whom the author is speaking. |
| 0:20 | In this video, we’ll cover how to evaluate an author’s intent by paying attention to four aspects of authorial intent: point of view, purpose, intended audience, and tone. |
| 0:36 | After watching this video, be sure to visit the Online Reading Comprehension Lab of the Excelsior University Online Writing Lab for additional videos and resources on how to analyze a text, such as How to Identify Writing Patterns and Evaluating an Argument. |
| 0:54 | Point of view is the author’s position on an issue. |
| 0:59 | You can discern an author’s point of view by looking for key words, such as support, benefit, oppose, harm, and against. |
| 1:11 | With these key words in mind, let’s try to identify the point of view of the following statement: |
| 1:17 | Stricter gun control laws would benefit the public by keeping guns off the streets and out of the hands of dangerous or unstable individuals. |
| 1:26 | The key word “benefit” provides a clue to the author’s point of view on the topic of gun control. |
| 1:32 | In this case, the author is in favor of stricter gun control laws. |
| 1:37 | Purpose is the author’s reason for writing. |
| 1:41 | There are many reasons for writing. |
| 1:44 | For instance, an author may write to inform, to explain or instruct, to entertain, or to persuade. |
| 1:55 | You can identify the author’s purpose by asking yourself the following discovery questions: |
| 2:00 | Why did the author write this? |
| 2:03 | What is he or she trying to achieve? |
| 2:07 | Let’s look at some statements to identify the purpose. |
| 2:11 | “In the event of a crash landing, each passenger should ensure that their seat belt is securely fastened and tuck their arms, legs, and head into their body.” |
| 2:21 | This statement is instructive because it’s intended to explain what to do in the event of a crash landing. |
| 2:29 | “Columbus Day is a controversial holiday because of its tacit endorsement of colonization, slavery, and the genocide of indigenous peoples.” |
| 2:39 | This statement is persuasive because it’s trying to convince the reader to agree with the author’s point of view about Columbus Day. |
| 2:46 | Advertisements and commercials are also persuasive since their goal is to persuade you to buy something. |
| 2:54 | “The Dow Jones Industrial dropped five hundred points today after the President announced the latest unemployment statistics.” |
| 3:01 | This statement is informative because it is trying to update the reader on what happened with the stock market today. |
| 3:09 | “The zombie horde shambled up the hill in pursuit of its prey, an injured pony whose frightened whinnies incited a virtual zombie stampede!” |
| 3:19 | This statement is trying to entertain the reader by describing a fictitious zombie encounter. |
| 3:27 | The intended audience is the group of people that the author has in mind as his or her primary readers. |
| 3:34 | You can identify the author’s intended audience by asking yourself the following discovery questions: |
| 3:41 | For whom is the author writing? |
| 3:44 | Where was it published and who is most likely to find it there? |
| 3:49 | What is the topic and who is generally interested in it? |
| 3:53 | What level of language does the author use? Is it simple, sophisticated, or specialized? |
| 3:59 | What assumptions does the author make about the audience’s values and beliefs? |
| 4:05 | and What is the author’s purpose for writing? |
| 4:09 | For instance, if the author writes: |
| 4:11 | “The presidential candidate is a rabid proponent of the big government, tax-the-rich, entitlement policies that have bankrupted the European Union.” |
| 4:20 | You can surmise that the author is writing for a conservative audience because he or she assumes the intended audience is familiar with and comfortable using phrases such as “big government,” “tax-the-rich,” and “entitlements” as derogatory terms. |
| 4:35 | The description of the politician as “rabid” is also a clue that the intended audience will not agree with the politician’s policies. |
| 4:43 | Tone refers to the author’s attitude towards the subject or audience. |
| 4:48 | For example, let’s say you come across a newspaper headline that reads: President Grinch to Steal Halloween, Too. |
| 4:56 | The author’s tone is sarcastic. |
| 4:58 | You can probably guess from the tone that the author is definitely not in favor of the President. |
| 5:04 | The author’s sarcastic tone is also a good sign that he or she may be biased about the topic. |
| 5:10 | Being aware of any biases will help you to keep a critical distance as you read so that you can evaluate the truth value of what’s being said. |
| 5:19 | Tone comes in lots of different flavors. |
| 5:21 | Some words commonly used to describe tone are: |
| 5:25 | Angry, apologetic, approving, cheerful, contemptuous, critical, cynical, disapproving, doubtful, emotional, enthusiastic, friendly, formal, humorous, informal, ironic, mocking, negative, neutral, nostalgic, objective, optimistic, passionate, patriotic, pessimistic, playful, positive, righteous, sarcastic, sentimental, sensational, serious, shocked, skeptical, sympathetic, and worried. |
| 6:19 | By evaluating an author’s intent, you’ll be more aware of what an author is trying to communicate and better able to formulate a critical response. |
| 6:28 | Remember to visit the Online Reading Comprehension Lab of the Excelsior University Online Writing Lab for additional videos and resources on how to analyze a text. |
| 6:39 | Thanks for listening to this instructional video on Evaluating an Author’s Intent! |
| 6:44 | Visit the Excelsior University Online Writing Lab for more support with reading and writing skills |
