Chapter 7b Exercise

Chapter 7b Exercise

For each of the following excerpts, decide what the author's purpose is in writing.

1. The ACT, like the SAT, is designed to test what a student has learned and demonstrate the application of ideas. It uses both multiple-choice and essay questions. The ACT is the most common college admission test in Michigan, and test administrators make slight adjustments to maintain the same degree of difficulty each year.

The author's purpose in this excerpt is to inform.

2. We finally have driven the fift-generation Nissan Z-car, the new 350Z, and, like a chocolate souffle that takes an extra twenty minutes to emerge from the restaurant's kitchen, it was worth the wait. All of us who've been behind the wheel of the 350Z agree that to drive it is to love it.

The author's purpose in this excerpt is to persuade you to buy.

3. God is not a jolly fellow like Santa Claus; He is a great bookkeeper. And He is keeping a book on you? I am a Western Union boy? I have a death message? I must tell you plainly you are going to hell! You listen! Don't you trifle with God! Don't you think you can barter! You are a sinner! You have come short of God's requirements! Your punishment is sure!

The author's purpose in this excerpt is to scare, warn, pursuade you.

4. I asked my mother, What was Daddy like?"
"Crunchy, a bit salty, rich in fiber."
"Before you ate him, I mean."
"He was a little guy, insecure, anxious, neurotic-pretty much like all you baby boys".
I felt closer than ever to the parent I had never known, who'd been dissolved in Mom's stomach just as I was being conceived. From whom I had gotten not nurturning but nourishment. I though, thank you Dad. I know what it means for a (praying) mantis to sacrifice himself for the family.

The author's purpose in this excerpt is entertainment.

5. The terrorists who killed Danny stood at the other extreme of what Danny represents. They could only wield their knife and cowardice against Danny's intellectual courage and bold spirit. Danny died holding only a pen. They stole his life but were unable to seize his soul. By killing Danny, terrorists took my life as well but could not lay claim to my spirit. Dead and alive we will never let them win.

The author's purpose in this excerpt is to inform.