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NSW SelectiveYear 7 entry

Author's purpose and craft in Selective Reading

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Author's purpose is why a writer wrote: to persuade, inform, entertain or explain. In Selective Reading, your child can name the technique the writer used, then explain its effect on the reader.

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The full lesson is in the SelectiveReady app, and this one is free with a free account.

Updated 16 October 2026 · Facts checked 12 October 2026

How and Why Authors Write (lesson preview)
A short preview from the SelectiveReady lesson “How and Why Authors Write”, on author's purpose for the NSW Selective test.
Published: 15 October 2026

The full lesson, How and Why Authors Write, is in the SelectiveReady app. A free account opens one lesson, How and Why Authors Write; the other lessons need a paid plan^{3SelectiveReady · 13 October 2026 · Published}. The preview here has English and Chinese captions.

2

What will your child learn in this lesson?

Your child learns to read like a detective watching a magician: every word choice is a trick with a reason behind it. They'll be able to name a writer's purpose, spot four common techniques and explain what each one does to the reader.

The clip solves one question about a rhetorical question. The full lesson adds the purposes, the toolkit, three traps and a checklist for exam day.

3

How does author's purpose show up in Selective Reading?

Reading questions often ask why a writer made a choice, not just what the text says. The Department says the questions assess a range of reading comprehension skills^{1NSW Education · 13 October 2026 · Published}.

The Reading test	What it means for author's craft
17^{1NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published} questions, 38^{1NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published} answers, 45^{1NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published} minutes	No time to admire every device: find the one the question names
Answers are multiple-choice^{1NSW Education · 13 October 2026 · Published}	The right option names the effect, not just the device
Texts include non-fiction, fiction, poetry, magazine articles and reports^{1NSW Education · 12 October 2026 · Published}	Purpose changes with the text: a report informs, a poem may entertain
all texts are read on screen^{1NSW Education · 13 October 2026 · Published}	Practise spotting clue words in on-screen texts too

4

What are the four purposes for writing?

Writers usually write to persuade, inform, entertain or explain. Some parents know the first three as PIE; the lesson adds explain.

Purpose	The writer wants you to	Clue words
Persuade	Think or do something	should, must, we need to
Inform	Know some facts	names, places, "scientists found"
Entertain	Enjoy a story or a poem	characters, dialogue, a problem
Explain	Understand how or why	because, first, this causes

5

What is the method for author's craft questions?

The lesson's flow has three links: the writer has a purpose, uses a technique, and the technique has an effect on you. Its golden rule is technique plus effect: the right option gives the effect, not only the name of the technique.

Purpose, technique, effect: why the writer wrote, the trick used, what the reader feels; technique plus effect is a full answer.

Name the purpose
Persuade, inform, entertain or explain? Words like should and must are the first clues.
Spot the technique
Find the choice the question points to: a repeated phrase, a question, a strong word.
Work out the effect on the reader
What does it make the reader think or feel? This is the half most children skip.
Match an option
Pick the option that fits both the purpose and the effect. Drop options about the topic only.

6

Which techniques should my child look for?

The lesson's toolkit has four techniques. Each card gives our own example and its effect.

Repetition

"We will try. We will learn. We will win." Builds momentum and hammers the point home.

Rhetorical question

"Who wants a park full of litter?" Leads the reader to the answer the writer wants.

Emotive language

"The frightened puppy" instead of "the puppy". Pulls on the reader's feelings.

Exaggeration

"I've told you a million times." Also called hyperbole. Makes the point stick.

7

What does a worked author's craft question look like?

We wrote this passage and question to show the method.

Our practice passage
Every afternoon, the school bins overflow. Every afternoon, the crows arrive. Every afternoon, our playground turns into a rubbish tip. Do we really want to eat lunch next to a mountain of wrappers?

Question: Why does the writer begin three sentences with "Every afternoon"?

Option	Check it against the method
A. To show that the bins are emptied each day	About the topic, and the passage never says it
B. To stress that the problem keeps happening	Technique (repetition) plus effect (it feels endless): the answer
C. To tell the reader when crows like to eat	A literal reading of the words
D. To show that the writer is angry	About the writer, not the reader

The purpose is to persuade: the last line asks a question that only has one answer. B is the one option that explains the effect on the reader.

8

What mistakes do children make with author's purpose?

The most common mistake is confusing the topic with the purpose. The topic is what the text is about; the purpose is why it was written.

Trap	Sounds like	Fix
Topic, not purpose	"It's about ocean pollution."	"It wants the reader to act on ocean pollution."
Technique, no effect	"The writer uses a rhetorical question."	Add what it makes the reader feel
The writer, not the reader	"This shows the writer cares a lot."	"This makes the reader feel responsible."

9

Can my child try one on their own?

Here is a question from our free reading set. Your child reads the poem, chooses an answer, then checks the explanation.

Practice question · SEL-RE-TST-S2-q2

Westerly

The westerly arrives before breakfast, shouldering the side gate open, rattling the pegs in their bucket like a pocketful of loose change.

By nine the line is a ship in full sail: sheets bellying out, white and enormous, Dad's work shirts flinging up their arms as if the whole street had scored a goal.

The towels try to leave. The socks cling on by a single peg each, small and stubborn, kicking at nothing. Mum holds the basket on her hip and laughs into the wind until it steals the laugh as well.

All day the wind takes, and takes, and takes: leaves from the gutter, the dog's good mood, a tea towel we will never see again.

Then, near dusk, it simply stops. The sheets hang down, exhausted, quiet. I carry them in against my chest, still warm, smelling of sun and distance, and fold the whole wild day into squares.

In the line "All day the wind takes, and takes, and takes", the word "takes" is repeated in order to

A
stress that the wind keeps grabbing things, on and on.
B
show that the wind is cruel and frightening to the family.
C
show that the family has lost things that mattered to them.
D
slow the poem down to match the calm of the evening.

Show answer and explanation

Answer: A

Answer: A

Saying "takes" three times makes the taking sound endless, and the list that follows (leaves, the dog's good mood, a tea towel) shows the wind snatching one thing after another all day long.

Why the other options are wrong

B: The poem's mood is playful, not frightening: Mum laughs into the wind and the things taken are small and funny.
C: Leaves, a dog's mood and a tea towel are light, humorous losses, not things the family truly valued.
D: The calm only arrives in the next verse, when the wind 'simply stops'; this line is about the busy day.

Purpose
The poem entertains with a playful picture of a windy washing day. Mum laughs into the wind.
Technique
Repetition: "takes" comes three times in one line.
Effect
The taking sounds endless, and the list after it shows one thing after another going.
Option
A fits both. B calls the wind cruel and frightening, but the mood is playful.

10

What should your child check on exam day?

The lesson ends with a short checklist for every author's craft question. Your child can run through it in a few seconds before choosing an option.

I named the purpose: persuade, inform, entertain or explain.
I found the technique the question points to.
I said what it does to the reader, not to the writer.
I didn't mix up the topic with the purpose.
I looked for more than one technique.

11

How can my child practise author's purpose at home?

Everyday texts make good practice, because almost every one is trying to do something to its reader. Cereal boxes, ads, signs and school newsletters all work.

One-word purpose

Pick up any text at home. Your child names its purpose in one word, then points to the clue that proves it.

Trick and effect

When an ad catches your eye, name the trick together. Then finish the sentence "It makes the reader…" out loud.

Change the purpose

Rewrite one line of a news report so that it persuades. Talk about which words had to change, and why.

12

Questions parents ask about author's purpose in Selective Reading

Is author's purpose the same as the main idea?

No. The main idea is what the text says. The purpose is why the writer said it.

Can a text have more than one purpose?

Yes. A funny story can also teach a lesson. Questions usually ask for the main one.

Does my child need to know the names of techniques?

It helps. Knowing repetition from exaggeration lets your child say what a writer is doing and why.

Is the full lesson free?

A free account opens one lesson, How and Why Authors Write; the other lessons need a paid plan^{3SelectiveReady · 13 October 2026 · Published}.

Next questions

Sources and checks

Selective high school practice tests
NSW Department of Education · Checked 13 October 2026 · Practice materials: personal or non-commercial use only; CC BY 4.0 does not apply (page notice). Page text: CC BY 4.0.
Outcomes
NSW Department of Education · Checked 12 October 2026 · CC BY 4.0 (NSW Department of Education copyright notice); quotes credited
SelectiveReady
SelectiveReady · Checked 13 October 2026

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