Understanding The Author's Intent

Mometrix Academy
25 Mar 201904:16
EducationalLearning
32 Likes 10 Comments

TLDRThis video explores the intent and purpose behind writing, focusing on the acronym PIE: Persuade, Inform, and Entertain. It discusses how authors, reporters, and marketers use writing to influence, educate, or amuse their audience, with examples from various genres including advertising, news, and literature.

Takeaways
  • 📚 The video discusses the intent and purpose behind Charles Dickens' famous novel 'A Tale of Two Cities' and the broader concept of author intent in literature.
  • 📝 An author's intent can be to persuade, inform, or entertain, which is memorably summarized by the acronym PIE.
  • 🍰 The 'P' in PIE stands for 'persuade', where authors or marketers aim to convince the audience of a particular viewpoint or the superiority of a product.
  • 📚 The 'I' in PIE represents 'inform', where the purpose is to educate the audience about historical events, provide data analysis, or share knowledge.
  • 🎭 The 'E' stands for 'entertain', which can be achieved through emotional responses, humor, or exploring themes that resonate with readers.
  • 📖 Examples of persuasion in literature include Dale Carnegie's 'How to Win Friends and Influence People', which aims to convince readers of its social strategies.
  • 🗞️ Informative writing can be found in news reporting and novels that recount historical events or present evidence to support claims, such as 'The Paradox of Choice' and 'Flags of Our Fathers'.
  • 😂 Entertainment in writing can come in various forms, including humor from columnists like Dave Barry and Mike Peters, or social commentary in novels like 'To Kill a Mockingbird'.
  • 🧩 The video emphasizes that determining an author's intent isn't always straightforward and can vary across different fields of writing.
  • 🔍 It's important to consider the field and context of the writing to better understand the author's intent, whether it's in advertising, journalism, or fiction.
  • 👍 The video encourages viewers to engage with the content by liking, subscribing, and looking forward to future videos on the channel.
Q & A

  • What is the famous opening line of Charles Dickens' 'A Tale of Two Cities'?

    -'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.'

  • What are the three categories of author intent and purpose as suggested by the acronym 'PIE'?

    -The 'P' stands for 'persuade', the 'I' for 'inform', and the 'E' for 'entertain'.

  • How can the acronym 'PIE' help in remembering the intent and purpose of writing?

    -The acronym 'PIE' is a simple mnemonic device that represents the three main reasons authors write: to persuade, inform, and entertain.

  • What is an example of a book that uses persuasion as its primary intent?

    -Dale Carnegie's 'How to Win Friends and Influence People' is an example of a book that aims to persuade readers to adopt certain social behaviors.

  • How do news reporters contribute to the category of 'inform' in writing?

    -News reporters inform the public by providing important news and information on current events and happenings.

  • Can you provide an example of a book that aims to inform about historical events?

    -'Flags of Our Fathers' is an example of a book that informs readers about the story behind the famous war photo of the raising of the American Flag at Iwo Jima.

  • What is the role of humor in writing that aims to entertain?

    -Humor in writing serves to elicit an emotional response, often laughter or amusement, which contributes to the entertainment value of the content.

  • How does the book 'The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less' fit into the category of 'inform'?

    -The book 'The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less' informs readers about how having too many choices can lead to anxiety and depression.

  • What is the purpose of the video script in terms of the author's intent?

    -The purpose of the video script is to educate and inform viewers about the different intents and purposes that authors have when they write.

  • How does the script suggest that writing can encompass different fields?

    -The script mentions book authors, reporters, advertising and marketing representatives as examples of different fields where writing is used with a specific intent in mind.

  • What is the final call to action for viewers of the video?

    -The final call to action is to give the video a thumbs up and subscribe to the channel for future videos.

Outlines
00:00
📚 Understanding Author Intent and Purpose

This paragraph introduces the concept of author intent and purpose, focusing on Charles Dickens' famous novel 'A Tale of Two Cities'. It discusses the idea that authors write with specific intentions, such as to persuade, inform, or entertain. The paragraph uses the acronym PIE (Persuade, Inform, Entertain) to help viewers remember these categories. It also highlights the various fields in which writing is used, such as books, newspapers, advertising, and marketing, and how each field has its own intent behind the writing.

Mindmap
Keywords
💡A Tale of Two Cities
A Tale of Two Cities is a historical novel by Charles Dickens, renowned for its famous opening line. The novel is used in the script to illustrate the concept of an author's intent, which is a central theme of the video. It serves as an example of how a piece of literature can be analyzed for its purpose, whether it be to persuade, inform, or entertain.
💡Intent
Intent in the context of the video refers to the purpose or goal an author has when writing. It is a fundamental concept that guides the creation of any literary work. The script discusses how authors may intend to persuade, inform, or entertain their audience, using examples from various types of writing, including novels and advertisements.
💡Persuade
Persuade is one of the three categories of intent highlighted in the video. It involves convincing the audience to adopt a certain viewpoint or take a specific action. The script mentions how companies use advertising and marketing to persuade consumers, and how books like Dale Carnegie's 'How to Win Friends and Influence People' aim to persuade readers to adopt certain social behaviors.
💡Inform
Inform is another category of intent discussed in the video. It refers to the act of providing information or knowledge to the audience. The script uses examples such as news reporters and novelists who recount historical events or present evidence to inform their readers, such as in the book 'The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less' and 'Flags of Our Fathers'.
💡Entertain
Entertain is the third category of intent mentioned in the video. It is about engaging the audience through emotional responses or enjoyment. The script explains that writing can entertain through humor, as seen in the works of Dave Barry and Mike Peters, or through exploring social issues, as in 'To Kill a Mockingbird'. It is a broad concept that encompasses various forms of writing.
💡Pie
In the video, the acronym PIE is used as a mnemonic device to remember the three categories of author intent: Persuade, Inform, and Entertain. The script humorously relates this to the enjoyment of pie, making it an easy-to-remember concept for the audience. It serves as a tool to help viewers understand and differentiate between the different purposes of writing.
💡Advertising
Advertising is mentioned in the script as a form of writing that aims to persuade. Companies use advertising to convince the audience that their product is superior. This is an example of how the intent to persuade is applied in a commercial context, highlighting the broad application of the concept beyond just literary works.
💡Marketing
Marketing is another form of writing discussed in the video, which also falls under the category of persuasion. Marketing representatives write content to promote products or services, aiming to influence the audience's decisions. The script connects this to the broader theme of how writing can be used to persuade.
💡Historical Events
Historical events are used in the script as examples of what novelists might inform their readers about. Novels can provide insights into significant historical moments, such as the story behind the famous photo of the raising of the American Flag at Iwo Jima in 'Flags of Our Fathers'. This illustrates how writing can serve an informative purpose.
💡Emotional Response
Emotional response is a key aspect of entertainment in writing, as discussed in the video. The script suggests that if writing elicits an emotional reaction from the reader, it has succeeded in entertaining them. This is a broad concept that can apply to various forms of writing, from novels to editorial cartoons.
💡Dave Barry
Dave Barry is mentioned in the script as an example of a writer who entertains through humor. His work is used to illustrate how humor can be a powerful tool in writing to engage and entertain the audience, contributing to the overall theme of the video about the different ways writing can be used to entertain.
Highlights

Charles Dickens' famous opening line of 'A Tale of Two Cities' is analyzed for author intent and purpose.

An author's intent can be to persuade, inform, or entertain, with the acronym PIE representing these categories.

Persuasion is a common intent in advertising, marketing, and some book genres.

Dale Carnegie's 'How to Win Friends and Influence People' is an example of persuasive writing.

Informing is a purpose of writing that includes news reporting and historical analysis.

Novels can inform by presenting evidence and analyzing data to support claims.

Examples of informative books include 'The Paradox of Choice' and 'The Joy of Cooking'.

Informative writing can also recount significant historical events, such as in 'Flags of Our Fathers'.

Entertainment in writing can be achieved through emotional responses and humor.

Humorists like Dave Barry and Mike Peters use dry humor to entertain readers.

Will Rogers is cited for his wry observations that entertained audiences.

'To Kill a Mockingbird' is mentioned as an example of a novel that entertains by exploring injustices.

The video provides an overview of how to determine an author's intent and purpose in writing.

The PIE acronym is a tool to remember the three main categories of author intent.

Different fields of writing, such as advertising and novel writing, have their own intents.

The video concludes by encouraging viewers to subscribe for more content on author intent and purpose.

Transcripts

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Related Tags
Author IntentPersuasionInformationEntertainmentLiterature AnalysisHistorical EventsWriting TechniquesAdvertising InfluenceBook ReviewsDale Carnegie