ACT Reading: Author's Purpose 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: An author writes a step-by-step guide on changing a car tire. What is the primary purpose?
- To persuade readers to buy new tires
- To inform and instruct readers (Correct answer)
- To entertain with a humorous anecdote
- To express personal grief
Correct answer: To inform and instruct readers
A how-to guide aims to inform and instruct the reader on a process.
Question 2: A passage opens with sensory details about a sunset and the narrator's awe. The author's purpose is most likely to:
- Argue a political point
- Sell a product
- Evoke emotion and create mood (Correct answer)
- List statistical data
Correct answer: Evoke emotion and create mood
Rich sensory detail and emotional reflection serve to evoke feeling and set mood.
Question 3: An editorial repeatedly uses phrases like 'we must act now' and 'the choice is clear.' This signals the author intends to:
- Persuade (Correct answer)
- Describe neutrally
- Entertain
- Define terms
Correct answer: Persuade
Calls to action and definitive language are hallmarks of persuasive writing.
Question 4: A writer uses exaggeration and absurd comparisons to mock a politician's promises. The purpose is:
- To inform objectively
- To satirize (Correct answer)
- To apologize
- To instruct
Correct answer: To satirize
Exaggeration and mockery aimed at criticism define satire.
Question 5: Which detail best reveals an author's purpose in a text?
- The page number
- The author's word choice and tone (Correct answer)
- The font size
- The book's price
Correct answer: The author's word choice and tone
Word choice and tone are key signals of an author's intent.
Question 6: A nonfiction passage presents both sides of an argument and cites multiple studies without taking a position. The purpose is to:
- Persuade toward one side
- Inform readers objectively (Correct answer)
- Entertain with fiction
- Express sorrow
Correct answer: Inform readers objectively
Balanced coverage and cited evidence without a stance indicate an informative purpose.
Question 7: An author ends a memoir chapter reflecting on lessons learned from a personal loss. The purpose is primarily to:
- Instruct a procedure
- Reflect and share personal experience (Correct answer)
- Advertise a service
- Report breaking news
Correct answer: Reflect and share personal experience
Personal reflection on lived experience characterizes reflective, expressive writing.
ACT Reading: Author's Purpose 2
An author writes a step-by-step guide on changing a car tire.
What is the primary purpose?