Everybody who puts pen to paper or sits down at a keyboard has a reason for doing so. The reason for writing, called purpose, is determined by context. Writers create texts to accomplish goals that reflect their circumstances, their own ideas and attitudes, and their audience's needs and interests.Because the purpose of a piece of writing affects many of the writer's choices about content, organization, form, length, and style, a clear purpose makes both writing and reading any text easier.

 Format and length

Your purpose will be the major factor in determining the format and length of your text. For example, if your purpose is to persuade your classmates to go on an upcoming field trip, you will probably produce a one-page flyer rather than a two-page essay. In ideal circumstances, the length and format are adjusted to fit your purpose.

 Content

Texts about similar topics might contain significantly different information if they have different purposes. The essay written for the health class might mention some facts about nutrients in fruits, but a list of those nutrients would not be the primary focus; instead, the text would focus on the benefits of eating more fruit. Clearly, awareness of your purpose will not only help you decide what information to include, but it will also prevent you from adding unnecessary information or omitting crucial information.

   Organization

Writers organize information differently depending on their purpose. Once you know your purpose, deciding how to organize your writing is often not too difficult. For example, if you are writing a paper for a literature course on the characteristics of Romantic poetry, you will probably list several characteristics of Romanticism and give examples showing how various poems fit those categories. Knowing your purpose and your reader will usually be enough to help you organize your writing; however, as you write, you may decide that your purpose has changed, so you may need to shift your organizational pattern as well.

  Style

The purposes for writing in your personal life will probably vary widely, and so will the styles of the texts you write. In college and at work, your writing style will also vary according to your purpose; however, in general, academic and professional writing usually adopt a formal style and emphasize the conventions of Standard English, such as sentence structure, spelling, and punctuation.

  Three Major Types of Purpose

Most writers at home, on the job, or at school have one of three reasons for writing: to record, to inform, or to persuade.

 Writing to Record

When you write to record observations and ideas, answering the following questions will focus your efforts:

1. Why am I recording this information?
2. How much of my observations or ideas should I record?
3. Who will use this record?
4. How will they use this record?

 Writing to Inform

If you have decided that your purpose in writing is to inform the readers about your subject, you can further clarify that purpose by asking yourself two questions:

1. Why do I want to give readers this information?
2. Why do the readers want this information?

 Writing to Persuade

When writing to persuade, you can clarify your purpose by asking the following questions:

1. What do you want your audience to do as a result of reading your persuasive paper?
2. Why do you want the readers to be persuaded? What do you have to gain?
3. How do you think readers will benefit by following your recommendations?

 Working Thesis Statements

The thesis is a statement that declares the main point you want your readers to understand, believe, or act on. Because the thesis states the opinion or conclusion you have reached about your topic, it reflects the decision you made about purpose. If you have identified a specific, focused purpose, you can construct a clear thesis. All you need to do is to turn your statement of purpose into a sentence which summarizes the main point you intend to make.

Essays with a clear purpose and thesis statement are easier to read and write. In the activities below, you will examine one essay you have written, making sure the content matches the purpose and thesis.

Readers:

1. Underline the thesis statement.
2. After identifying the thesis statement, pause in your reading and make a list of all the information the writer should include to support the thesis. At the end of the reading, notice which items are not checked. Should they be added to the draft in revision.

 Research Papers

Researchers usually begin with a question or questions - often ones that are suggested by previous research or by observation of unusual situations or problems. Then they devise methods for finding answers to the questions; experiments, surveys, and analysis of historical or literary documents are all examples of research methods. Researchers then synthesize the results of their investigation and come to conclusions.