Author's Purpose | Review Lesson
In this 90-minute review lesson, adult learners will practice identifying and explaining an author's purpose in coding-related texts, such as tutorials, documentation, comments, and error messages. Learners will review the main purposes of inform, persuade, and entertain, then apply them to real-world coding examples to improve reading comprehension and technical communication.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Author's purpose | The reason an author writes a text: to inform, persuade, entertain, or sometimes to instruct. |
| Inform | To give facts, explain, or teach the reader something. |
| Persuade | To convince the reader to think, believe, or do something. |
| Entertain | To engage the reader with interest, humor, or storytelling. |
| Evidence | Words, details, or features in a text that support an answer or claim. |
| Tone | The attitude or feeling shown by the author’s word choice and style. |
| Technical writing | Writing that explains information, steps, or instructions clearly and accurately. |
Display short examples from a coding tutorial, documentation, and a developer blog. Ask: What is this text trying to do? Model one example aloud.
Quick-write responses, then share with a partner. Identify the likely purpose of each text.
Review the three main purposes: inform, persuade, entertain. Explain how purpose appears in coding texts through structure, vocabulary, and audience. Think aloud using one sample text.
Take notes and answer guided questions. Highlight words or features that show purpose.
Give small groups mixed coding-related texts. Model how to sort them by purpose and justify choices using evidence.
Work in groups to sort texts into purpose categories and write one evidence-based reason for each choice.
Provide a new short coding passage. Circulate, prompt students to use evidence, and support struggling readers as needed.
Read independently, identify the author's purpose, and write a short response explaining how the text supports that purpose.
Ask pairs to compare answers and explain any differences. Invite a few groups to share responses with the class.
Discuss answers with a partner, revise if needed, and prepare to share one example of evidence.
Distribute an exit ticket with one short coding text and two questions: identify purpose and explain evidence.
Complete the exit ticket independently.
Summarize how identifying purpose helps learners read documentation, follow tutorials, and evaluate online coding advice.
State one thing they learned and one way they can use it in coding study or work.
Revisit the lesson goal and ask learners to name one clue that helped them identify an author’s purpose in a coding text. Emphasize that purpose matters when reading tutorials, documentation, and online advice.
Learners will complete an exit ticket identifying the author's purpose in a short coding-related passage and provide one piece of textual evidence to support their answer. Teacher will review responses to determine mastery and note students needing reteaching.
Find one coding-related text outside class, such as a tutorial, article, or documentation page. Write 3-5 sentences identifying the author's purpose and include at least one piece of evidence from the text.