Point of View and Author's Purpose

Learn the three primary purposes for writing: to persuade, to inform, and to entertain. This stack covers the basic 'PIE' acronym and how to identify each purpose in a text.

Master the specific and sophisticated verbs used on the SAT and ACT to describe an author's purpose. Go beyond 'persuade, inform, entertain' to understand terms like 'analyze,' 'critique,' 'speculate,' and 'reconcile.'

Understand how an author's attitude towards a subject shapes the text. This stack explores tone (the author's feeling), diction (word choice), and bias (a prejudice for or against something).

A key skill for the SAT/ACT. Learn strategies for comparing and contrasting the points of view, purposes, and arguments presented in two different but related passages.

Introduces the core types of narrative point of view: first-person, second-person, and third-person. Learn to identify each by its key pronouns and understand its basic effect on storytelling.

A deep dive into the three sub-types of third-person point of view. Learn to distinguish between a narrator who knows everything (omniscient), one who follows a single character (limited), and one who only reports actions (objective).