Review It
Text structure, word choice and the relationship between key ideas support the purpose of a text, and readers can look to these elements for clues that reveal the author’s purpose.
You have seen that the first two sections of the article Humans bringing Earth its 6th mass extinction, but can stop it Opens a new window reflect the author’s purpose to explain mass extinctions to the reader and how humans have contributed to the extinction of threatened and endangered species.
Take a moment to reread the third section of the article, “Trying To Change Course,” to analyze how the author’s purpose develops as the article continues. As you read, pay close attention to the text structure, word choice and key ideas and details in the text, and then answer the questions in the activity below.
“The black-footed ferret, once thought to be extinct, has been reintroduced into the wild as a result of the conservation efforts of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service.
Image credit: "Mustela nigripes 2" by USFWS Mountain Prairie - Black-footed Ferret. Uploaded by Mariomassone. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons Opens a new window.
Now that you have had more practice analyzing the author’s purpose, go to the following page to check your understanding of this skill.
