AUTHOR’S PURPOSE An author writes for many reasons, such as to inform, to entertain, or to persuade. To inform: When authors write to inform, they specifically want to teach their readers about something. To entertain: When an author writes to entertain, their desire is have readers laugh and enjoy their writing. To persuade: When an author writes to persuade, his or her desire is to convince readers of something, to do something or not to do something. Author’s Point of View An author’s point of view refers to the perspective from which a story is being told…simply, it is WHO is telling the story. First Person When an author chooses to tell a story in the first person, the story is told by a character IN the story. Common words used when writing in first person: I, me, my, myself When writing in the first person, the character telling the story only knows about the other character’s thoughts and actions as they are revealed during the story. The character telling the story finds out about the other characters in the story at the same time as the readers. Example: I went to the beach today with my family. I brought my shovel and a large bucket. I asked my sister to help me build a sand castle. © Copyright NewPath Learning. All Rights Reserved. Permission is granted for the purchaser to print copies for non-commercial educational purposes only. Visit us at www.NewPathLearning.com.
Third Person There are several variations of writing in the third person point of view: Third Person Omniscient: The story is told by someone NOT in the story. When writing in third person omniscient, the author is able to reveal to the readers what is going on inside the heads of the characters in the story along with all their actions. The author is able to reveal the thoughts, feelings, and actions of all the characters at any time during the story. Example of writing in the third person omniscient: John went to the beach today with his family. His sister wanted to build a sandcastle but she didn’t think her brother wanted to. John felt hot and tired but he grabbed a shovel and asked his sister to help him build a sandcastle. Third Person Objective: The author can reveal what is happening with any characters at anytime during the story, but can’t go inside the characters’ heads to find out what they are thinking. Common words used when writing in the third person: he, she, they Example of writing in the third person objective: John went to the beach today with his family. His sister started playing in the sand. John asked his sister to help him build a sand castle. © Copyright NewPath Learning. All Rights Reserved. Permission is granted for the purchaser to print copies for non-commercial educational purposes only. Visit us at www.NewPathLearning.com.