Identifying text purpose

Every piece of writing has a main purpose, and spotting it quickly makes you a stronger reader. Ask yourself: is this text telling a story (narrative), giving facts or explaining something (informative), or trying to convince me of something (persuasive)? Look at clues like the language used — persuasive texts often use emotional words or calls to action, informative texts stick to facts, and narrative texts have characters and events.

Key terms

Narrative text:

A text that tells a story.

Informative text:

A text that explains or presents facts.

Persuasive text:

A text that tries to convince the reader of a point of view.

Questions

1. 1. A text explaining how bees make honey is:

   • Narrative
   • Informative
   • Persuasive
   • A poem

2. 2. A text urging you to "act now" is most likely:

   • Narrative
   • Informative
   • Persuasive
   • None of these

3. 3. A story about a lost bee finding its way home is:

   • Narrative
   • Informative
   • Persuasive
   • None of these

4. 4. Persuasive texts often try to:

   • Just entertain with no aim
   • Convince the reader of something
   • Simply list facts
   • Confuse the reader

5. 5. Informative texts mainly aim to:

   • Tell a fictional story
   • Explain or give facts
   • Convince you to buy something
   • Rhyme

6. 6. Narrative texts usually include:

   • Characters and events
   • Only statistics
   • Step-by-step instructions
   • A call to action

7. 7. A campaign poster is most likely to be:

   • Narrative
   • Informative
   • Persuasive
   • None of these

8. 8. A documentary script is best classified as:

   • Narrative
   • Informative
   • Persuasive
   • A poem

9. 9. Emotional language and a call to action are clues of a:

   • Narrative text
   • Informative text
   • Persuasive text
   • Recipe

10. 10. A diary entry describing what happened on a school trip is mostly:

    • Narrative
    • Purely persuasive
    • Purely a set of instructions
    • A weather report

11. 11. Which is a typical feature of an informative text?

    • Characters and a plot
    • Facts explained clearly
    • A call to action
    • Emotional pleading

12. 12. An advertisement for a new phone that lists its features and urges you to buy is mostly:

    • Narrative
    • Purely informative
    • A mix of informative and persuasive
    • A recipe

13. 13. A biography of a scientist's life and discoveries mainly serves to:

    • Persuade you to agree with something
    • Inform and/or narrate real events
    • Give cooking instructions
    • Rhyme

14. 14. Which of these is most likely purely narrative?

    • A short story about two friends on an adventure
    • A safety manual for a ladder
    • An ad for running shoes
    • A weather forecast

15. 15. A product review that describes a laptop's features and argues you should buy it is mostly:

    • Purely narrative
    • A mix of informative and persuasive
    • Purely a poem
    • Impossible to classify

16. 16. Persuasive texts often include facts and statistics mainly to:

    • Make the argument seem more convincing
    • Make the text purely fictional
    • By accident only
    • Persuasive texts never use facts

17. 17. A dramatised true story that uses narrative techniques to retell real events blends:

    • Narrative and informative purposes
    • Persuasion only
    • No real purpose
    • Recipe instructions

18. 18. The key difference between informative and persuasive texts is that persuasive texts:

    • Never include any facts
    • Aim to influence the reader's opinion, not just inform
    • Are always shorter than informative texts
    • Must be written as a list

19. 19. A letter to a newspaper arguing the local pool should stay open longer is:

    • Narrative
    • Informative only
    • Persuasive
    • A recipe

20. 20. Quickly identifying a text's purpose before reading mainly helps you:

    • Know what to expect and read it more effectively
    • Guess the word count
    • Ignore the content entirely
    • Skip understanding it