Which is a clue to the author's purpose in a nonfiction passage?

Which is a clue to the author's purpose in a nonfiction passage?

• A. The weather mentioned.
• B. The setting described.
• C. The character's motivations.
• D. The author’s goals such as to explain, inform, persuade, or describe.

Answer: (D)

Identifying the author’s purpose in nonfiction is about spotting what the writer intends you to do with the information. The clearest clue is the author’s stated or clearly implied goal: to explain, inform, persuade, or describe. When a passage is built around explaining how something works, presenting facts and definitions, or guiding you through steps, that signals an explaining or informing purpose. If the language and organization aim to convince you of a viewpoint or argument, that’s a persuasive purpose. Descriptive aims come through when the author focuses on painting a picture of a topic or event. Weather mentioned or setting described can appear in nonfiction, but they’re not direct indicators of why the author wrote the piece; they’re details that support content or help convey information. A character’s motivations belong to fiction or narrative writing, not nonfiction, so that clue doesn’t fit the author’s purpose in a nonfiction passage. So the best clue is the author’s goals such as to explain, inform, persuade, or describe, because that directly reveals why the piece was written.

Identifying the author’s purpose in nonfiction is about spotting what the writer intends you to do with the information. The clearest clue is the author’s stated or clearly implied goal: to explain, inform, persuade, or describe. When a passage is built around explaining how something works, presenting facts and definitions, or guiding you through steps, that signals an explaining or informing purpose. If the language and organization aim to convince you of a viewpoint or argument, that’s a persuasive purpose. Descriptive aims come through when the author focuses on painting a picture of a topic or event.

Weather mentioned or setting described can appear in nonfiction, but they’re not direct indicators of why the author wrote the piece; they’re details that support content or help convey information. A character’s motivations belong to fiction or narrative writing, not nonfiction, so that clue doesn’t fit the author’s purpose in a nonfiction passage.

So the best clue is the author’s goals such as to explain, inform, persuade, or describe, because that directly reveals why the piece was written.