Examination of the

Author’s Argument
and Point of View
 Study history, study
“ history. In history lies all
the secrets of statecraft.
– Winston Churchill

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Learning Outcomes
At the end of this lesson, the student is expected to:

1. Analyze the context, content, and perspective of different kinds

of primary sources;
2. Determine the contribution of different kinds of primary
sources un understanding Philippine history; and
3. Develop critical and analytical skills with exposure to primary
sources.

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 Determining the
1 Author’s
Purpose
What is Author’s Purpose? The Author’s purpose is
the REASON the sources was created. The author’s
purpose is his or her reason for or intent in writing a
text, a line, paragraph, an essay, a story, etc. There
are many reasons why people write: it may be to
amuse the reader, to persuade the reader, to satirize a
condition and a lot more.
Purposes in Writing
PURPOSE DEFINITION EXAMPLES
The Author wants you to believe, do, or
buy something.
Advertisements, Campaign Speeches,
To Persuade
Persuasive letters, opinions, etc.
This type of writing is persuasive
writing.
The author wants to give you Documents, Contracts, Agreements,
information or instructions, Law, Rules, Expository essay or articles,
To Inform Instructions or directions,
This type of writing is called expository Encyclopaedias or other reference texts,
writing. textbooks, etc.

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Purposes in Writing
PURPOSE DEFINITION EXAMPLES
The author wants to relate a story or
recount past events.
To Narrate or History texts, non-fiction books,
Recount biographies, anecdotes, newspapers, etc.
This type of writing is called narrative
writing.
The author wants you to visualize or
experience what something or someone
looks life, sounds like, or feels like.
To Describe Stories, Poems, Drama, Songs, etc.
This type of writing is called
descriptive writing.
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Purposes in Writing
PURPOSE DEFINITION EXAMPLES
The author wants to tell you how to do
something or how something works. Instructions, directions, step-by-step
To Explain procedures, how-to-recipes, operations
This type of writing is called expository manual, etc.
writing.
The author wants to amuse you or for
you to enjoy the writing itself.
Novels, Stories, Poems, Drama, Songs,
To Entertain
etc.
This type of writing is called creative
writing

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The author’s purpose is not always
clear. Sometimes, the author
intentionally states the purpose in the
text itself, sometimes, not at all. But the
author’s purpose is always reflected in
the way he writes about the topic or
subject matter.

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A Combination of
Purposes
Sometimes a text has more than one purpose, but a
combination of two or more purposes.
￮ Political cartoons both inform and entertain
￮ Newspaper editorials can inform and at the same time
persuade.
￮ A TV commercials might be very informative or very
entertaining, but its primary purpose is to convince and
persuade the viewers to eventually buy the product.

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A Combination of
Purposes
However, the combination of purposes has its limitations.
￮ The value of the information in a political cartoon may
be limited because it is made in such a way to make it
funny.
￮ The same can be true for the information in an
editorial – you can definitely learn something from the
editorial, but take note that it was written to persuade
you to think or to believe in a certain way.

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The first thing to take note of when you
are determining the author’s purpose is
the genre you are reading. You can
usually identify the purpose correctly, if
you are able to understand the genre.

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You should be
aware that the You need to think about
author’s the Author’s MAIN As an Author, I can entertain
purpose does intent overall. you, while I persuade you.

cross
boundaries
sometimes.

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Persuasive Texts
The purpose of persuasive
texts is to convince you of
something. Either to
believe an idea, or buy a
product, or to do
something.
When you identify the
purpose of the text as
persuasive, you have to be
careful about what you
take away from it. The
authors of these texts may
be leaving our
information, or only
highlighting specific
information, in order to
convince you of what they
think.
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Why Identify Purpose?
When you understand why a
source was created, it helps
you think critically about
what information is there,
what information is missing,
and what you can expect to
take away from the source.
As a reader, knowing
the purpose or intent
that the writer has for
creating the piece of
works help you
EVALUATE better.
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How to Identify
Purpose
Identifying the author’s purpose can
at time be challenging. There are a few
questions you can ask yourself as you
read a text that will help you identify
purpose.

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How to
Identify
Purpose

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 Underline the Clue
Words
It helps to use that pencil in your hand when you’re reading
if you’re unsure what the author’s purpose is. As you read,
underline the clue words in the text to help you get a better
idea. Then, either compose a sentence using the key words
(compare, explain, illustrate) to show why the author wrote
the piece or select the best answer from the choices given.
(Roell, 2011)

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2
Determining the
Author’s Main
Argument 18
One of the most fundamental things we use
language for is argument. Arguing means
claiming that something is tru and trying to Actual
persude other people to agree with your claim by Argument
presenting evidenve to substantiate it. An
argument is statement with three components:

1. A point of view, a claim, something we

are arguing in favor of Argument
2. The actual argument, the evidence we
are using to argue with Point of warrant
View
3. A statement that links the initial claim
to the argument and ensures that we
understand how the argument functions,
referred to as warrant.
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 Stephen Toulmin’s Argument Model

Looking for argumentation in a text means asking the text certain types of questions. Ask:

1. Claims (Thesis Statement/Conclusion)

The claim may also be referred to as the Thesis statement. Sometimes the author will direct an
open discussion towards a claim. The claim can therefore also be referred to as the conclusion.

2. Arguments (Evidence)
An argument that substantiates a claim is also known as evidence. What evidence do the authors
have for claiming that? Under what underlying assumptions do the arguments support the author’s
claims? Why do these arguments appear to be relevant in this context?

3. Warrant (Research Method)

In scholarly texts, the warrants will often point to a general assumptions, basic principles or
research methods in the relevant field. Common to all fields are warrants along the lines of “research
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builds upon previous research”
 Stephen Toulmin’s Argument Model

4. Counter Arguments/Objections
What are the possible counter arguments or objections? Do the authors take possible
counterarguments into account? Do they discuss both sides of the debate before reaching a conclusion?
Are the data sufficiently representative? Or do the authors draw wider conclusions than are justified by
the scope of the underlying evidence?

5. Backing (Foundation/Support)
Ask whether the use of a method is adequately justified, analyze if the method presented has
sufficient backing. For each argument, ask: “What is there to support this argument? What is the
backing for this argument?” The term “backing,” however, is often reserved for questions about the
backing that exists for the warrant.

6. Qualifiers
What type of qualifiers are used by the authors when presenting the claim? Look for qualifiers in
the formulation of the argument.
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Thanks!
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