What you'll learn
Every text is written by someone, for a reason, from a certain angle. In this lesson you will learn to:
- identify an author's purpose: to inform, persuade, explain, describe, entertain or instruct;
- describe an author's point of view: what the author believes and why;
- see how word choice and tone reveal point of view;
- analyze how an author acknowledges and responds to opposing views;
- compare the purposes and viewpoints of two texts on the same topic.
How it shows up on the GED. Purpose and point-of-view questions appear throughout the RLA test, especially with opinion columns, letters, speeches, workplace announcements and paired passages. Typical stems:
- "What is the author's main purpose?"
- "Which statement best describes the author's point of view?"
- "How does the author respond to people who disagree?"
- "Why does the author include the detail about...?"
- "Which point would both authors most likely agree with?"
This skill also prepares you for the GED essay, where you must judge which of two arguments is better supported. Understanding purpose and point of view is the first step.
Key terms
- author's purpose — the reason a text was written (a recipe is written to instruct).
- point of view (perspective) — the author's position on a topic and the reasons for it (a nurse who supports later school start times).
- claim — the main point an author wants you to accept ("The town should build a bike lane").
- tone — the author's attitude, shown through word choice (hopeful, angry, respectful).
- connotation — the feeling a word carries beyond its dictionary meaning ("adjustment" feels softer than "increase").
- bias — a one-sided view that leaves out other sides (an ad that lists only benefits).
- opposing view / counterclaim — a position that disagrees with the author's ("Some say bike lanes slow traffic").
- concession — admitting the other side has a fair point ("It is true that...").
- rebuttal — the author's answer to an opposing view ("However, studies show...").
- credibility — what makes an author believable: experience, expertise, fairness ("I have taught for 20 years").
The main purposes
Authors write for several main purposes. One purpose is usually main, even when others appear.
| Purpose | What it looks like | Clues |
|---|---|---|
| Inform / explain | Facts, definitions, how something works | neutral tone, data, no "should" |
| Persuade / argue | A claim plus reasons; asks the reader to believe or do something | should, must, I urge, vote, it is time to |
| Instruct | Steps to follow | numbered steps, commands (log in, submit) |
| Describe | A picture of a person, place or thing | sensory details |
| Entertain / tell a story | Characters, events, suspense or humor | plot, dialogue |
Use this flowchart to sort a text by purpose:
Where to look: the first and last paragraphs. Authors often state the purpose early and repeat it at the end. An opinion column might begin "The board should vote yes" and end "Please vote yes."
Mixed purposes. A landlord's letter that announces a rent increase informs, but if it also emphasizes benefits and offers a deal for renewing, it is also trying to persuade residents to stay. On the GED, the best answer captures the whole purpose.
Example. "Starting Monday, the cafeteria will close at 2 p.m. Please plan your lunch breaks accordingly." Purpose: to inform (and instruct). No argument is made, so it is not persuasive.
Point of view, word choice and tone
Point of view is more than "for or against." It includes the author's reasons and perspective. A retired librarian who once collected fines and now opposes them has a different perspective from a library accountant.
Word choice reveals point of view. Compare:
- "The city wasted $2 million on the park." (negative)
- "The city invested $2 million in the park." (positive)
- "The city spent $2 million on the park." (neutral)
All three report the same fact, but the verbs show different attitudes. GED questions often ask what a word or phrase "suggests" about the author. Ask: Could the author have used a plainer word? Why didn't they?
Who is the author? The source line matters. A police chief, a traffic engineer, a property manager and a tenant may all write about the same issue from different positions. Their role can explain what they emphasize.
Bias appears when an author leaves out important facts or describes the other side unfairly. A text can have a clear point of view without being unfairly biased; strong arguments often present the other side fairly.
How authors handle opposing views
Strong arguments do not pretend the other side doesn't exist. The GED tests whether you can recognize how an author deals with disagreement. Watch for these moves:
- Acknowledge and rebut — state the opposing view, then answer it with evidence. "Some worry fines are needed for income. But fines bring in less than 1% of the budget."
- Concede and pivot — admit the other side is partly right, then turn: "It is true that cameras reduce some crashes. However, rear-end crashes rose." The words after however or but are the author's real point.
- Find common ground — agree on a goal before disagreeing on the method: "No one disputes that speeding is dangerous."
- Offer an alternative — propose a different solution: "A simpler fix is longer yellow lights."
- Dismiss or attack — mock the other side or ignore it. This is a weaker move, and the GED may ask you to recognize it.
Signal phrases: Some people argue... Critics say... Opponents claim... It is true that... Admittedly... Of course... However... But... Even so...
Example. "Critics say a four-day school week leaves parents without childcare on Fridays. That is a real concern, which is why our plan includes free Friday programs at the rec center." The author acknowledges the concern (calls it real) and answers it with part of the plan.
Comparing two authors
The GED often pairs two texts on one topic. You may be asked how their purposes or viewpoints differ, or where they agree.
For example, a police chief writes in favor of red-light cameras, and a traffic engineer answers with a letter that says to try longer yellow lights first. A simple chart helps (do it on your noteboard):
| Text 1 | Text 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Claim | Approve red-light cameras | Try longer yellow lights first |
| Main evidence | 41 crashes; fewer side-impact crashes with cameras | Rear-end crashes rose; yellow-light timing works and costs less |
| Handles other side? | Answers the "money grab" charge | Concedes cameras cut side-impact crashes |
| Common ground | Red-light running is dangerous | Red-light running is dangerous |
The same comparison as a Venn diagram:
Key insight: authors usually disagree because they weigh different evidence or values, not because one side has no reasons. Answers that say "one author uses only opinion" or "they disagree about everything" are usually traps.
Worked example 1: Main purpose
(1) Every year, more than 3,000 people in our state are injured by distracted drivers. (2) Texting while driving takes your eyes off the road for about five seconds, long enough to cross a football field at highway speed. (3) That is why I am asking the legislature to pass House Bill 214, which would ban the use of handheld phones while driving. (4) Call your representative today.
Question: What is the author's main purpose? A. to explain how phones work B. to describe a car accident C. to persuade readers to support a ban on handheld phone use while driving D. to inform readers about football
Think-aloud:
- Sentences 1-2 give facts. Are they the goal, or support for a goal?
- Sentence 3: "I am asking the legislature to pass..." and sentence 4: "Call your representative." These are requests, so the facts serve a persuasive purpose.
- Eliminate A: the text never explains how phones work. D: football appears only in a comparison. B: no specific accident is described.
Answer: C.
Worked example 2: Word choice and point of view
The new self-checkout machines promise speed, but in practice shoppers wrestle with finicky scanners while a lone employee scrambles between six stations.
Question: The words "wrestle," "finicky" and "scrambles" suggest that the author A. believes self-checkout machines work poorly B. has never used self-checkout C. thinks the employee is lazy D. is neutral about self-checkout
Think-aloud:
- Check each word's connotation. Wrestle suggests struggle; finicky means hard to please or unreliable; scrambles suggests rushing under pressure.
- All three are negative about how the machines work, so the author's view is critical.
- Eliminate: B (nothing about personal use); C (scrambles shows the employee working hard, the opposite of lazy); D (loaded words are not neutral).
Answer: A.
Worked example 3: Responding to an opposing view
(1) Our town should allow food trucks downtown. (2) Some restaurant owners argue that trucks will steal their customers. (3) That worry is reasonable. (4) But in nearby Ashford, restaurant sales near food-truck areas actually rose 8 percent, because the trucks drew larger crowds to the area.
Question: How does the author respond to the restaurant owners' concern?
Think-aloud:
- Sentence 2 states the opposing view (trucks steal customers).
- Sentence 3, "That worry is reasonable," is a concession: the author treats the concern fairly.
- Sentence 4 begins with "But" and gives evidence (sales rose 8 percent in Ashford). That is the rebuttal.
- Wrong answers to expect: "The author agrees the trucks should be banned" (reverses the position); "The author insults the owners" (the tone is respectful); "The author ignores the concern" (it is answered directly).
Answer: The author acknowledges the worry as reasonable, then counters it with evidence from Ashford that restaurant sales rose.
Worked example 4: Two authors, one topic
Text A (a parent): The district should start high school at 8:30 instead of 7:15. Teenagers' sleep cycles shift later, and tired students learn less. Text B (a bus manager): A later start sounds good, but our buses run three routes each morning. Moving high school later would push elementary pickups to 6:30 a.m. unless we buy more buses.
Question: Which point would both authors most likely accept? A. Teen sleep doesn't matter B. Schedules should never change C. A later high school start time could have benefits D. The district should buy no new buses
Think-aloud:
- Text A clearly thinks a later start has benefits.
- Text B opens with "A later start sounds good," a concession that it could help. B's concern is the cost and logistics, not the idea itself.
- So the shared ground is C. A contradicts Text A; B and D are too absolute; Text B even mentions buying more buses as an option.
Answer: C.
Common traps
- Confusing topic with purpose. Wrong: "The purpose is library fines." Right: Purpose is a verb: to persuade the board to end library fines.
- Calling an argument "informative" because it has facts. Wrong: "It has statistics, so it informs." Right: Ask what the facts are for. If they support a request or a claim, the purpose is to persuade.
- Mistaking a concession for the author's position. Wrong: "It is true that cameras reduce some crashes," so the author supports cameras. Right: Read past but/however; that is where the author's real view is.
- Reading tone as harsher or softer than it is. Wrong: "The author dismisses critics," when the author called their concerns "understandable." Right: Quote the exact words that show tone.
- Inventing motives. Wrong: "The engineer wants to make money." Right: Only use motives the text supports.
- Overstating disagreement. Wrong: "The authors disagree about everything." Right: Paired texts often share a goal and differ on the method.
Test-day strategy
- Check the source line (who wrote it, and in what role). It hints at point of view before you read a word.
- Read the first and last paragraphs closely; purpose and claim usually live there.
- Underline judgment words mentally (wasted, exciting, understandable, finicky) to pin down tone.
- Find the "but." In arguments, the sentence after but, however or even so usually carries the author's real point.
- For opposing views, name the move: acknowledge and rebut, concede and pivot, common ground, alternative, or dismiss.
- Watch absolute words in answer choices (never, always, only, entirely). They are usually wrong in purpose and point-of-view questions.
- For paired texts, make a quick two-column chart: claim, evidence, how each treats the other side, and common ground.
- Time: purpose questions are quick (about 1 minute); paired-text comparisons may need 2 minutes. Answer the quick ones first if you are short on time.
Check your understanding
It's Time to End Library Late Fines
An opinion column by a retired librarian in the fictional town of Millbrook
(1) For most of my thirty years as a librarian in Millbrook, I collected late fines without thinking twice. A dime a day seemed like a small price for keeping books moving. I was wrong. The Millbrook Public Library Board will vote next month on whether to eliminate overdue fines, and I urge every board member to vote yes.
(2) Fines do not do what we hoped they would do. Several libraries that have dropped fines report that most books still come back, and some report that more come back, because patrons who were embarrassed by a large balance return to the library once the debt is gone. When our own branch held a one-month "fine-free amnesty" in 2022, more than 1,100 overdue items were returned, some of them years late.
(3) Fines also fall hardest on the people who need the library most. A family with a few dollars to spare pays a fine and moves on. A family living paycheck to paycheck may stop coming altogether. In Millbrook, a balance of just $10 blocks a card from checking out materials. I have watched children leave the desk empty-handed because of a fine their parents could not pay. No library mission statement says "for those who can afford it."
(4) Some board members worry that without fines, patrons will keep books forever and the library will lose needed income. These concerns are understandable, and I shared them once. But fines brought in less than one percent of last year's library budget, and staff spent many hours collecting and tracking them, hours that could go to story times and job-search help. Under the proposal, patrons who never return an item would still be billed for its replacement cost. Responsibility would remain; only the penalty for lateness would disappear.
(5) A library's job is to put books in people's hands, not to keep them out. Ending late fines is a small change that would welcome back hundreds of our neighbors. Board members, please vote yes.
What is the author's main purpose in writing this column?
Hint
Look at the first and last paragraphs. What does the author ask someone to do?
Step-by-step solution
The author states her purpose directly in paragraph 1: "The Millbrook Public Library Board will vote next month on whether to eliminate overdue fines, and I urge every board member to vote yes." She repeats it at the very end: "Board members, please vote yes."
Everything in between supports that request: evidence that fines don't work (paragraph 2), that they hurt low-income families (paragraph 3), and an answer to the board's concerns (paragraph 4). A text that gives reasons and asks readers to take an action is written to persuade.
The correct answer is C.
The column does include some information about fines, but informing is not the main goal; the information is there to win votes. The author mentions her career only briefly to show her experience, not to entertain. And nothing explains how to return books.
Tip: To find an author's purpose, check the opening and closing paragraphs. Words like I urge, should, please vote or we must signal a persuasive purpose.
Check your understanding
It's Time to End Library Late Fines
An opinion column by a retired librarian in the fictional town of Millbrook
(1) For most of my thirty years as a librarian in Millbrook, I collected late fines without thinking twice. A dime a day seemed like a small price for keeping books moving. I was wrong. The Millbrook Public Library Board will vote next month on whether to eliminate overdue fines, and I urge every board member to vote yes.
(2) Fines do not do what we hoped they would do. Several libraries that have dropped fines report that most books still come back, and some report that more come back, because patrons who were embarrassed by a large balance return to the library once the debt is gone. When our own branch held a one-month "fine-free amnesty" in 2022, more than 1,100 overdue items were returned, some of them years late.
(3) Fines also fall hardest on the people who need the library most. A family with a few dollars to spare pays a fine and moves on. A family living paycheck to paycheck may stop coming altogether. In Millbrook, a balance of just $10 blocks a card from checking out materials. I have watched children leave the desk empty-handed because of a fine their parents could not pay. No library mission statement says "for those who can afford it."
(4) Some board members worry that without fines, patrons will keep books forever and the library will lose needed income. These concerns are understandable, and I shared them once. But fines brought in less than one percent of last year's library budget, and staff spent many hours collecting and tracking them, hours that could go to story times and job-search help. Under the proposal, patrons who never return an item would still be billed for its replacement cost. Responsibility would remain; only the penalty for lateness would disappear.
(5) A library's job is to put books in people's hands, not to keep them out. Ending late fines is a small change that would welcome back hundreds of our neighbors. Board members, please vote yes.
Which statement best describes the author's point of view about late fines?
Hint
Notice the words "I was wrong" in paragraph 1. What did she once think, and what does she think now?
Step-by-step solution
The author tells us her view changed: "For most of my thirty years as a librarian in Millbrook, I collected late fines without thinking twice... I was wrong." She now argues fines should end because they "fall hardest on the people who need the library most" (paragraph 3) and "do not do what we hoped they would do" (paragraph 2).
So her point of view is: she once supported fines, but now believes they hurt families with little money and should be eliminated.
The correct answer is B.
Choice A says fines are "necessary"; she argues the opposite, noting they brought in "less than one percent" of the budget. Choice C calls her neutral, but she clearly takes a side. Choice D gets the proposal backward: patrons who never return items "would still be billed for its replacement cost," and she supports that.
Tip: Point of view is the author's position plus the reasons behind it. Look for first-person statements (I believe, I was wrong, I urge) and for words that show judgment.
Summary
- Purpose is why the author wrote: inform, persuade, instruct, describe or entertain. Check the first and last paragraphs.
- Point of view is the author's position plus reasons; the author's role and word choice reveal it.
- Connotation and tone show attitude: invested vs. wasted, adjustment vs. increase.
- Authors handle opposing views by acknowledging and rebutting, conceding and pivoting, finding common ground or offering an alternative.
- In paired texts, authors often share a goal but weigh different evidence.
- Avoid traps: topic ≠ purpose, concession ≠ position, and never invent motives.