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Home · KS3 · iLowerSecondary English · Text types · Purposes
Every non-fiction text in the reading paper is written to do one main job. Name that job - the writer’s purpose - and the rest of the text starts to make sense. This hub covers all five purposes assessed at iLowerSecondary, the language and structure that give each one away, and how naming the purpose powers your RAO5 answers. There is a purpose-detective decision tree and a 12-question self-test at the end.
You will meet these across the non-fiction text types in Section A - biography, blogs, journals, leaflets, articles, instructions, recounts and reports. Most real texts mix purposes; your job is to name the dominant one.
To argue
Win the reader round to one side of a debate.
To describe
Build a vivid picture the reader can almost see.
To explain
Make a process or reason clear - answer "how?" or "why?"
To inform
Give the reader accurate facts about a subject.
To persuade
Move the reader towards an action, choice or feeling.
Where they appear
Across all 8 non-fiction text types: autobiography/biography, blogs, journals, leaflets, brochures, guides, newspaper and magazine articles, instructions, recount, reports.
For each purpose: a clear definition, the tell-tale language and structure, and a short original example. Every example below is an original work written for this page.
A text written to argue takes a clear position on a question that has two sides and builds a reasoned case for it. Unlike persuade, which targets feelings, argue leans on logic, evidence and the orderly defeat of the opposing view.
Tell-tale language
Tell-tale structure
Original example
Some say homework teaches discipline. However, the evidence points the other way: pupils who read for pleasure each evening outperform those drilled with worksheets. Therefore, schools should replace nightly homework with a single reading habit - the gain is real and the cost is nothing.
Why this signals “argue”: Notice the concede ("Some say…"), the rebuttal connective ("However…"), and the logical close ("Therefore…"). The case is built, not merely felt.
A text written to describe recreates a place, person or moment so precisely that the reader can imagine it. It prizes atmosphere and sensory texture over facts, instructions or arguments.
Tell-tale language
Tell-tale structure
Original example
The harbour lay under a low, copper-coloured sun. Salt and tar hung in the cold air, and the only sound was the slow knock of a loose rope against a mast. Nothing moved; the boats sat as still as photographs of themselves.
Why this signals “describe”: No facts to memorise and nothing to do - only a scene you could draw. Expanded noun phrases and the simile carry the mood.
A text written to explain helps the reader understand how something works or why something happens. It is close to inform, but it does more than list facts: it links them into a chain of cause and effect.
Tell-tale language
Tell-tale structure
Original example
Bread rises because yeast feeds on the sugars in the dough. As it feeds, it releases carbon dioxide, which is trapped by the stretchy gluten. This is why a well-kneaded loaf swells in the oven while a poorly mixed one stays flat.
Why this signals “explain”: The causal connectives ("because", "as a result", "this is why") turn a set of facts into an understood process.
A text written to inform delivers clear, accurate facts so the reader knows more than before. It stays neutral and impersonal: opinion and emotion are kept out of the way.
Tell-tale language
Tell-tale structure
Original example
The town library is open from nine until six on weekdays and from ten until two on Saturdays. It holds about forty thousand titles and offers free internet access on twelve computers. Membership is open to all residents and is renewed each year.
Why this signals “inform”: Strip out any single sentence and the rest still stands: these are checkable facts, neutrally given.
A text written to persuade is designed to change what the reader does, chooses or feels. It targets emotion as much as reason and presents the most flattering case rather than the full picture.
Tell-tale language
Tell-tale structure
Original example
Imagine never wasting a wet lunchtime again. Nine out of ten members say the new club changed their week - and it could change yours. One hour. One small step. Sign up today, before the last places are gone.
Why this signals “persuade”: Direct address ("you", "imagine"), a flattering statistic, tripling ("One hour. One small step.") and a closing call to action all aim at the reader, not just the facts.
RAO5 asks you to consider writers' purposes and viewpoints, and the overall effect of the text on the reader. It is among the most heavily weighted reading objectives on the paper. Naming the purpose first is the fastest way into the marks it carries.
It unlocks the "what did the writer mean?" question
Once you have named the purpose, the writer's choices stop being random. A loaded word in a persuasive text is there to make you feel something; the same word in an informative text would be a slip. Naming the purpose gives you the "why" the mark scheme rewards.
It frames the effect on the reader
RAO5 credits the effect on the reader. That effect is always relative to purpose: a persuasive text aims to move you to act, an informative one to leave you better informed. State the effect in terms of the purpose and the second mark follows.
It anchors viewpoint and the comparison question
A one-sided selection of evidence signals a persuasive or argumentative purpose and a strong viewpoint. In the extended comparison item, contrasting two writers' purposes is one of the surest routes into the top level.
It stops you mislabelling tone
Readers often call a calm explanation "boring" or a vivid description "biased". Knowing the purpose tells you what the tone is meant to do, so you can describe the overall effect precisely instead of guessing.
Decision tree
Run any unseen non-fiction text through these questions in order. Stop the moment a purpose is named.
Q1 - Is the writer trying to change what you do, think or feel?
Yes → Go to Q2.
No → Go to Q4 (the text mainly delivers content, not a stance).
Q2 - Is the case built mainly with reasoning and a defeated counter-argument?
Yes → PURPOSE: ARGUE - logic-led, concede-then-rebut, discourse markers.
No → Go to Q3.
Q3 - Does it lean on emotion, direct address and a call to action?
Yes → PURPOSE: PERSUADE - "you", emotive words, tripling, "sign up today".
No → Treat as ARGUE if a clear thesis is still being defended.
Q4 - Could you draw the scene, with mood mattering more than facts?
Yes → PURPOSE: DESCRIBE - sensory imagery, expanded noun phrases.
No → Go to Q5.
Q5 - Are facts linked by cause and effect so you understand how/why?
Yes → PURPOSE: EXPLAIN - "because", "as a result", logical sequence.
No → PURPOSE: INFORM - neutral, impersonal, checkable facts only.
Read each original snippet and decide its dominant purpose before checking the answer. All twelve snippets are original works written for this page.
Purpose: inform
Why: Neutral, impersonal, checkable facts; no stance and no call to action.
Purpose: persuade
Why: Direct address ("you"), an emotive hook and a closing call to action.
Purpose: explain
Why: Causal connectives ("because", "so") link facts into a why-chain.
Purpose: describe
Why: Sensory imagery and expanded noun phrases build mood, not facts.
Purpose: argue
Why: Concede ("Some insist…"), rebut ("However…"), conclude ("therefore").
Purpose: inform
Why: A run of plain, verifiable facts with no opinion or persuasion.
Purpose: explain
Why: Cause-and-effect language makes a process understood, not just listed.
Purpose: persuade
Why: Tripling, emotive appeal, rhetorical question and a call to act.
Purpose: describe
Why: Metaphor and sensory detail recreate a scene; mood over information.
Purpose: argue
Why: A stated counter-claim is raised and logically defeated.
Purpose: explain
Why: The colon and "tells" link facts so the reader understands how it works.
Purpose: inform
Why: Dates and prices delivered impersonally; nothing is being argued or sold.
Ten or more correct and you can name a purpose reliably under exam conditions. Anything lower, re-read the “tell-tale” lists above - the language and structure are the evidence the mark scheme expects you to point to.