Authors write for many different reasons. Those reasons are called the author's purpose. Depending on the purpose, authors may choose all different sorts of writing formats, genres and vernacular. A simple trick to summarize the three main categories of author's purpose is to use the acronym PIE, which stands for persuade, inform and entertain. Although there are many reasons to write, to persuade, to inform and to entertain represent the three main forms of author's purpose. Most other reasons can be grouped into those three broader categories.
1)Persuade: To persuade is the first main type of author's purpose. Text written to persuade means the author's goal is to convince the reader to agree with the author. This might mean the author wants the reader to think or even act in a specific way. This type of writing is extremely common. Any piece which pushes a certain opinion or asks for some sort of call for action is persuasive writing. It is true that in these types of writing the author shares his opinion, but usually he also provides facts and examples. This information serves to support the author's opinion and further convince the reader to agree with him. Examples of persuasive writing include speeches, advertisements, commercials and newspaper editorials. Any forms of propaganda are examples of pieces written to persuade. Look at the picture below and identify how the author wants you to think or to act.
2)Inform: The second main type of author's purpose is to inform. In this format, the author's goal is to enlighten the reader about real-world topics and provide facts on those topics. However, in contrast to pieces written to persuade, these facts are not used to support a specific opinion. The facts are presented in order to teach the reader. Examples of texts written to inform include textbooks, cookbooks, newspapers and encyclopedias.
3)Entertain: Entertain just means to provide amusement and enjoyment. Such as singing, dancing and ect.
