West B Test Reading: Author's Purpose/Point of View 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: An author writes a satirical article poking fun at politicians through exaggeration and irony. The author's primary purpose is to:
- Provide factual news coverage
- Entertain while critiquing political behavior (Correct answer)
- Persuade readers to vote for a specific candidate
- Inform readers about government procedures
Correct answer: Entertain while critiquing political behavior
Satire uses humor, irony, and exaggeration to entertain while making a critical point about society or politics.
Question 2: Which element most directly reveals an author's point of view in an expository text?
- The font size used in the document
- The word count of each paragraph
- The tone and choice of descriptive language (Correct answer)
- The number of citations in the bibliography
Correct answer: The tone and choice of descriptive language
Tone and descriptive word choice reveal how the author feels about the subject and signal their perspective.
Question 3: A scientist and an environmental activist both write about the same oil spill. The scientist's account is likely to differ from the activist's because:
- Scientists cannot write about environmental topics
- The activist will use more technical data
- Their backgrounds and purposes lead to different emphases and perspectives (Correct answer)
- The scientist's account will be shorter
Correct answer: Their backgrounds and purposes lead to different emphases and perspectives
Different purposes and backgrounds lead authors to emphasize different aspects and adopt different tones even when covering the same event.
Question 4: An author opens an essay with a vivid personal anecdote before presenting statistical evidence. This structure suggests the author wants to:
- Confuse the reader with mixed formats
- First create emotional connection, then support with facts (Correct answer)
- Avoid using data in the argument
- Focus entirely on personal experience
Correct answer: First create emotional connection, then support with facts
Opening with a personal anecdote builds emotional engagement before logical evidence, a common persuasive strategy.
Question 5: In a textbook chapter on the Civil War, the author states facts about battles and casualty counts without expressing admiration or condemnation. This reflects a point of view that is:
- Strongly opinionated
- Objective and informational (Correct answer)
- Sympathetic to the Confederacy
- Biased toward the Union
Correct answer: Objective and informational
Presenting facts without emotional language or judgment reflects an objective, informational point of view.
Question 6: A reader can identify an author's implicit purpose (not directly stated) by examining:
- Only the title of the work
- Patterns of word choice, tone, and what the author emphasizes across the text (Correct answer)
- The number of pages in the text
- Whether the text includes images
Correct answer: Patterns of word choice, tone, and what the author emphasizes across the text
Even when purpose is unstated, consistent patterns in tone, emphasis, and diction reveal the author's underlying intent.
Question 7: Which of the following is the best example of an author writing to inform?
- A campaign speech calling for lower taxes
- A short story about a dragon's adventure
- An encyclopedia entry explaining how vaccines work (Correct answer)
- A song about lost love
Correct answer: An encyclopedia entry explaining how vaccines work
An encyclopedia entry provides factual explanation without advocating for a position, making its purpose informative.
West B Test Reading: Author's Purpose/Point of View 4
An author writes a satirical article poking fun at politicians through exaggeration and irony.
The author's primary purpose is to: