Master Author’s Purpose Questions
Learn WHY authors write, not just WHAT they say. Identify the 6 primary purposes, spot topic vs. purpose traps, and answer intent questions in 45 seconds flat.
📚 Author’s Purpose Flashcards
Master the WHY behind every passage
Loading…
Loading…
🎯 Test Your Purpose-Identification Skills
5 CAT-style questions with detailed explanations
🎯 Test Complete!
The prevailing interpretation of the 1947 partition focuses on communal tensions between Hindus and Muslims. This narrative, while capturing part of the truth, obscures the critical role of British imperial policy in manufacturing sectarian division. Colonial administrators systematically cultivated religious distinctions as governing strategy, institutionalizing separate electorates and communal representation that transformed fluid identities into fixed categories.
Partition was not the inevitable result of ancient hatreds but the predictable outcome of deliberate colonial choices. The British departure schedule—chaotic, rushed, and designed to absolve colonial responsibility—guaranteed violence. Recognizing this colonial culpability does not absolve local actors of their roles, but it does challenge self-serving imperial narratives that blame the colonized for divisions the colonizers created. Historical accuracy requires acknowledging this uncomfortable truth.
The primary purpose of the passage is to:
✓ Correct! Option B is the answer.
Why B is correct: The passage follows argument structure: presents dominant narrative, challenges it with counter-thesis (British culpability), provides evidence (separate electorates, rushed departure), and concludes with a call for revised historical understanding. The author’s explicit goal is to shift attribution of responsibility—”Historical accuracy requires acknowledging this uncomfortable truth.”
Why A is wrong (Topic Trap): “Describe the events” is a topic description, not a purpose statement. It tells you WHAT the passage is about without capturing WHY the author wrote it.
Why D is wrong (Tone Trap): “Express anger” describes an emotional state, not an action. Purpose requires action verbs like “argue,” not feeling verbs like “express.”
Circadian rhythms regulate nearly every physiological process in complex organisms. These internal clocks operate on roughly 24-hour cycles, synchronized primarily by light exposure but also influenced by temperature, food intake, and social cues. The master clock resides in the suprachiasmatic nucleus of the hypothalamus, receiving direct input from specialized retinal cells and coordinating timing signals throughout the body.
Peripheral clocks exist in virtually every tissue—liver, heart, adipose tissue, even individual cells—each maintaining local rhythms while responding to central coordination. This distributed architecture allows tissue-specific timing of metabolic processes. Liver cells peak their detoxification activity at different hours than muscle cells peak their glucose uptake. The system’s complexity emerges from this interplay between central and peripheral regulation.
The author wrote this passage primarily to:
✓ Correct! Option B is the answer.
Why B is correct: The passage follows explanatory structure: introduces the phenomenon (circadian rhythms), describes the central mechanism (suprachiasmatic nucleus), explains the distributed system (peripheral clocks), and shows how components interact. No thesis is argued, no position advocated, no criticism offered. This is informative/explanatory purpose.
Why A is wrong (Invented Content): The passage never mentions funding or research priorities. This option imposes a persuasive purpose onto an informative passage.
Why C is wrong (Partial Scope): The passage does compare central and peripheral clocks, but this is ONE part of the explanation, not the overall purpose.
Contemporary museum curation has embraced “decolonization” as organizing principle, promising to center marginalized voices and challenge Eurocentric narratives. The intention deserves applause. The execution often falls short. Too frequently, decolonization becomes performative gesture—a placard acknowledging “contested provenance” placed beside objects that remain exactly where colonial power deposited them.
Genuine decolonization requires more than interpretive revision. It demands structural transformation: repatriation of looted artifacts, shared curatorial authority with source communities, and willingness to leave galleries empty rather than display stolen heritage. The British Museum’s retention of the Parthenon Marbles while adding contextualizing text exemplifies the problem—institutional critique that changes nothing material.
Some museums have moved beyond performance. The Smithsonian’s repatriation programs and collaborative exhibitions with Native communities demonstrate what substantive decolonization looks like. These examples prove transformation is possible when institutions accept genuine accountability.
The primary purpose of this passage is to:
✓ Correct! Option C is the answer.
Why C is correct: The passage follows argumentative structure with a critical thesis: decolonization efforts are often “performative gesture” rather than “substantive transformation.” The author presents a standard (genuine decolonization requires structural change), measures current practice against that standard (most fall short), and provides examples. This is persuasive purpose with critical content.
Why A is wrong (Topic Trap): “Describe current decolonization initiatives” captures the topic but misses the evaluative stance. The passage doesn’t neutrally describe; it judges initiatives as inadequate.
Why B is wrong (Partial Focus): The passage does praise the Smithsonian, but this praise serves the larger critical argument by demonstrating what’s possible.
Utilitarian ethics faces a fundamental challenge when addressing future generations. Classical utilitarianism requires maximizing total happiness, which seemingly demands maximizing population—more people means more potential happiness. This “repugnant conclusion,” identified by philosopher Derek Parfit, suggests we should prefer a world of billions living barely tolerable lives over a smaller population flourishing.
Various modifications attempt to escape this problem. Average utilitarianism calculates happiness per person rather than total happiness, but this generates counterintuitive results about adding happy individuals. Person-affecting views count only the welfare of people who will definitely exist, but this makes it impossible to wrong future generations through environmental destruction.
No existing solution satisfactorily resolves these tensions. The difficulties suggest that utilitarian frameworks may be fundamentally unsuited for intergenerational ethics, requiring supplementation by principles of justice, sustainability, or stewardship that operate outside happiness calculation.
The passage is best understood as an attempt to:
✓ Correct! Option B is the answer.
Why B is correct: The passage follows argumentative structure: presents a problem (repugnant conclusion), examines attempted solutions (average utilitarianism, person-affecting views), shows each solution fails, and draws a conclusion (utilitarian frameworks “may be fundamentally unsuited” for this domain). The author argues FOR a position—that utilitarianism is inadequate.
Why A is wrong (Partial Scope as Topic): The passage does explain different utilitarian versions, but this serves the argument that all versions fail. The explanation is evidence for an argument, not the purpose itself.
Why D is wrong (Minor Element): Parfit is mentioned once to credit the “repugnant conclusion” concept. This option elevates a single reference to primary purpose.
Returning to my grandmother’s village after twenty years, I expected nostalgia. What I found was absence—not just the absence of people I’d known, but the absence of the rhythms that had structured rural life. The communal well where women gathered now stood dry, replaced by private borewells serving individual compounds. The evening gathering under the banyan tree had dissolved; everyone retreated to televisions behind closed doors.
Development had arrived, as promised. Incomes rose. Infant mortality fell. Children attended school past primary level. By every measurable metric, life improved. Yet something unmeasurable had vanished—the texture of interdependence, the constant negotiation of collective existence.
I don’t romanticize poverty or advocate regression. But watching my grandmother’s generation navigate modernization forces uncomfortable questions about what progress means, whose values define it, and what we lose in gaining what we’re told to want.
The primary purpose of this passage is to:
✓ Correct! Option C is the answer.
Why C is correct: The passage follows reflective structure: personal experience triggers meditation on larger questions. The author explicitly positions against both extremes (“I don’t romanticize poverty or advocate regression”) while raising “uncomfortable questions.” This isn’t argument FOR a position but reflection ON a tension—the passage leaves questions open rather than answering them.
Why A is wrong (Topic Trap): “Describe changes” captures what the passage does superficially but misses why. Description serves the reflection—the author describes changes to explore their meaning.
Why B is wrong (Overclaims Position): The passage explicitly disclaims this: “I don’t romanticize poverty or advocate regression.” This option attributes to the author an argument they specifically reject.
Why D is wrong (Tone Trap): The author “expected nostalgia” but found something else—”absence” and difficult questions. This option reduces complex reflection to simple emotion.
💡 How to Master Author Purpose Questions
Strategic approaches to identify intent in 45 seconds or less
The Structure-to-Purpose Shortcut
Purpose questions become easy when you identify passage structure during your first read. Structure directly correlates with purpose—knowing one reveals the other.
| Structure Pattern | Purpose Type | Answer Pattern |
|---|---|---|
| Claim → Evidence → Rebuttal | Persuasive | “to argue that…” |
| Problem → Solutions → Recommendation | Persuasive/Analytical | “to propose…” / “to analyze…” |
| Option A → Option B → Evaluation | Comparative | “to compare…” / “to evaluate…” |
| Phenomenon → Components → Mechanisms | Informative/Analytical | “to explain…” / “to examine…” |
| Target → Weaknesses → Alternative | Critical | “to critique…” / “to challenge…” |
As you read, mentally tag the structure. When you see a purpose question, your structural classification immediately narrows options from 4 to 1-2. An argumentative passage can’t have informative purpose; an explanatory passage can’t have critical purpose.
The Two-Trap Defense System
Two systematic traps appear in nearly every purpose question. Learn to recognize and eliminate them instantly:
Trap #1: Topic Disguised as Purpose
These options describe WHAT the passage is about, not WHY it was written. They’re technically accurate but miss intent.
- Detection: Could this option describe multiple different passages on the same topic?
- Example: “to discuss renewable energy” (topic) vs. “to argue for policy changes” (purpose)
- Defense: Look for action verbs: argue, critique, explain, compare—not just “discuss” or “present”
Trap #2: Tone Disguised as Purpose
These options describe how the author FEELS, not what they want to ACCOMPLISH.
- Detection: Does this option describe an emotion rather than an action?
- Example: “to express skepticism” (tone) vs. “to argue the model is flawed” (purpose)
- Defense: Purpose uses action verbs; tone uses feeling verbs (express, convey, demonstrate attitude)
Before evaluating options, scan for topic traps and tone traps. Eliminating these usually leaves 1-2 viable options, making the right answer obvious.
The 45-Second Purpose Method
Purpose questions should take 45 seconds maximum. Here’s the time-optimized approach:
- Step 1 (10s): Recall your structural classification from the first read. What type of passage is this—argumentative, informative, critical, analytical?
- Step 2 (10s): Quick-check the introduction and conclusion. What does Para 1 set up? What does the final paragraph emphasize?
- Step 3 (15s): Eliminate traps—topic options, tone options, and wrong-purpose-type options.
- Step 4 (10s): Select the most specific accurate option that captures both purpose TYPE and specific CONTENT.
Why This Works
Purpose is structural, not detail-dependent. You don’t need to re-read the passage—your first read gave you everything needed. The structure tells you purpose; the intro/conclusion confirm it; elimination removes traps.
If you’re spending 90+ seconds on purpose questions, you’re either re-reading unnecessarily or didn’t identify structure during the first read. Fix the first-read habit, and purpose questions become among the fastest question types.
Handling Purpose Question Variants
Purpose questions come in three scope levels. The strategy differs slightly for each:
Passage-Level: “The primary purpose of the passage is to…”
Ask about overall intent. Answer using your structural classification—what is the dominant purpose that unifies all paragraphs?
Paragraph-Level: “The purpose of the second paragraph is to…”
Ask about function within the whole. Identify what role this paragraph plays: providing evidence, introducing counterargument, transitioning, concluding.
Element-Level: “The author mentions X primarily to…”
Ask why a specific detail was included. Locate the element, read surrounding context, and ask “What claim does this support?”
Paragraph and element purposes always serve the passage’s overall purpose. In a persuasive passage, every paragraph and example supports persuasion. Understanding the whole makes the parts obvious.
Master RC Author Purpose for CAT 2025
RC author purpose questions test whether you understand WHY a passage was written, not just WHAT it says. Learn the 6 purposes, 2 traps, and the 45-second method.
Purpose vs. Main Idea: The Critical Distinction
Understanding RC author purpose starts with distinguishing it from main idea. These concepts are related but different, and CAT tests whether you can tell them apart.
Main idea answers: What is this passage about? What’s the central claim?
Purpose answers: Why did the author write this? What effect does the author want?
Consider a passage arguing that urban farming provides environmental and social benefits and deserves government support. The main idea is that urban farming has benefits and merits support. The purpose is to persuade readers that policy should favor urban farming.
Key Insight: The same main idea can serve different purposes. A passage about urban farming benefits could aim to inform (here’s what urban farming does), persuade (support urban farming policies), critique (current approaches are insufficient), or analyze (examining why urban farming succeeds in certain contexts). Purpose captures intent, not content.
Pause & Reflect
Think about a passage you recently read. Can you distinguish what it said (main idea) from why the author wrote it (purpose)?
If you struggled, you’re not alone. Many students can accurately summarize passages but can’t articulate the author’s underlying goal.
The key shift: Stop asking “What does this passage say?” Start asking “What does the author want me to think, believe, or do after reading this?”
Purpose is about the author’s intent toward YOU, the reader. Main idea is about the content itself.
The Six Primary Author Purposes
CAT passages serve one of six primary purposes. Learn to recognize each and you’ll quickly identify purpose even in complex passages.
Purpose 1: Inform
Informative passages present facts, explain concepts, or describe phenomena without arguing for a position. The author’s goal is to help readers understand something. Recognition signs include neutral tone, balanced presentation, absence of evaluative language, and no calls to action.
Purpose 2: Persuade
Persuasive passages aim to convince readers to adopt a position or take action. The author has a clear stance and marshals evidence to support it. Recognition signs include clear thesis statement, evidence organized to support one view, counterarguments addressed and dismissed, and evaluative language like “should,” “must,” “important that.”
Informative vs. Persuasive:
Informative: “Renewable energy costs have declined 70% over the past decade. Solar installations increased from 2% to 12% of new capacity.”
Persuasive: “Given renewable energy’s dramatic cost decline and proven scalability, policymakers should accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels.”
The first presents facts. The second argues for action based on facts.
Purpose 3: Critique
Critical passages evaluate existing ideas, works, theories, or approaches and find them wanting. The author’s goal is to identify weaknesses and limitations. Recognition signs include focus on problems or flaws, negative evaluative language toward the target, and sometimes proposals for alternatives.
Purpose 4: Analyze
Analytical passages break down complex topics into components, examine relationships, and provide interpretation. The author’s goal is to help readers understand how something works or why something happened.
Test Your Understanding
What’s the difference between informative and analytical purpose? Both seem to present information.
Informative presents facts: “The economy contracted by 3%.”
Analytical interprets facts: “The contraction resulted from three interrelated factors that reinforced each other.”
Informative describes what is. Analytical examines why and how.
If the passage just presents information, it’s informative. If it interprets, examines causes, or applies frameworks, it’s analytical.
Purpose 5: Compare
Comparative passages evaluate two or more options, theories, approaches, or entities. The author may declare a preference or maintain neutrality while presenting alternatives. Recognition signs include parallel treatment of multiple subjects and explicit comparison markers.
Purpose 6: Reflect
Reflective passages share personal insights, experiences, or meditations. The author’s goal is to convey subjective understanding rather than objective truth. Recognition signs include first-person perspective, focus on personal experience, and emphasis on meaning and interpretation.
The Two Traps That Catch Strong Readers
Two systematic traps appear in RC author purpose questions. Understanding them prevents errors even when passages are complex.
Trap 1: Topic vs. Purpose
The most common trap offers an option that describes what the passage is ABOUT rather than WHY it was written. These topic-disguised-as-purpose options are technically accurate—the passage does discuss that topic—but they miss the author’s intent.
Example:
Passage: Argues that renewable energy policy needs fundamental reform
• Topic option (WRONG): “to discuss renewable energy policy”
• Purpose option (CORRECT): “to argue that renewable energy policy requires fundamental changes”
Trap Detection Practice
How can you quickly identify whether an option is a topic trap or a genuine purpose statement?
Ask: “Could this option describe multiple different passages on the same subject?”
If yes, it’s probably a topic trap. “To discuss climate change” could describe hundreds of passages. “To argue that climate models underestimate risk” is specific to one passage’s purpose.
Action verb check: Look for verbs that indicate what the author is DOING, not just what they’re discussing. “Argue,” “critique,” “compare,” “explain how” indicate purpose. “Discuss,” “present,” “address” often indicate topic disguised as purpose.
Generic verbs (discuss, present) = topic trap. Specific action verbs (argue that, critique, explain how) = genuine purpose.
Trap 2: Tone vs. Purpose
The second trap offers an option that describes how the author FEELS rather than what they want to ACCOMPLISH. Tone and purpose are related—a critical purpose usually comes with a critical tone—but they’re not the same thing.
Example:
Passage: Critically evaluates a new economic theory, arguing it’s fundamentally flawed
• Tone option (WRONG): “to express skepticism about economic theories”
• Purpose option (CORRECT): “to argue that the new economic theory rests on faulty assumptions”
“Express skepticism” describes an emotional state. “Argue that…theory rests on faulty assumptions” describes an action with specific content.
Defense Strategy: Check whether the option describes a feeling (“express,” “convey,” “demonstrate attitude”) or an action (“argue,” “explain,” “critique”). Purpose involves action directed at achieving an effect on readers.
Inferring Purpose from Structure
Passage structure strongly correlates with purpose. Recognizing structure during your first read gives you a head start on purpose questions.
Structure-Purpose Connection
If you identify that a passage has argument structure (claim → evidence → counterargument → conclusion), what purpose can you predict?
Argument structure → Persuasive purpose. The author wants to convince you of something.
Other key patterns:
- Problem-solution structure → Persuasive or analytical purpose
- Compare-contrast structure → Analytical or evaluative purpose
- Chronological structure → Informative or narrative purpose
- Target-weakness structure → Critical purpose
Identify structure during your first read. When you see a purpose question, your structural classification immediately narrows options from 4 to 1-2.
Time-Efficient Strategy for Purpose Questions
RC author purpose questions should take 45-60 seconds if you identified structure during your first read. Here’s the efficient approach.
Step 1: Recall Your Structural Classification (10 seconds)
During your first read, you should have identified the passage type. Is it argumentative? Informative? Critical? Analytical? This classification points toward purpose.
Step 2: Check Introduction and Conclusion (10 seconds)
The first paragraph sets up what the author intends to do. The final paragraph reveals what the author considers most important. Together, they bracket the passage’s purpose.
Step 3: Eliminate Traps (15 seconds)
Remove options that fall into the two trap categories: topic options that describe subject matter without indicating intent, and tone options that describe feelings without indicating action.
Step 4: Select the Most Specific Accurate Option (10 seconds)
Among remaining options, choose the one that captures both the purpose TYPE (argue, explain, critique, compare) and the specific CONTENT (what specifically is being argued, explained, critiqued, or compared).
Final Self-Assessment
Can you now explain why purpose questions should be faster than detail questions?
Purpose is structural—it’s about how the passage is organized and what it’s trying to accomplish, not about specific details.
You don’t need to re-read the passage for purpose questions. Your first read gave you everything needed: the structure, the direction, the author’s stance.
Detail questions require hunting for specific information. Purpose questions require understanding the whole—which you already have from reading.
If purpose questions take you 90+ seconds, you’re either re-reading unnecessarily or didn’t identify structure during the first read. Fix the first-read habit, and purpose questions become among the fastest question types.
Common Mistakes to Avoid: Don’t re-read the entire passage for purpose questions. Don’t overthink—purpose questions have objectively correct answers based on what the author is clearly doing. Don’t confuse secondary purposes with primary purpose. “Primary purpose” questions want the dominant purpose, not everything the passage does.
Ready to test your understanding? The 20 flashcards above cover every nuance of author purpose questions, and the practice exercise gives you real CAT-style questions to apply these strategies.
Next, explore related RC question types to build comprehensive VARC mastery.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about RC author purpose questions answered
Author purpose questions appear in approximately 50-60% of CAT RC passages, making them among the most frequent question types. You can expect 8-15 purpose-related questions across the VARC section in any given CAT exam.
These questions come in three main forms:
- Passage-level: “The primary purpose of the passage is to…”
- Paragraph-level: “The author includes the third paragraph primarily to…”
- Element-level: “The author mentions X in order to…”
The fastest reliable strategy uses structure as a shortcut to purpose. During your first read, classify the passage’s structure. Then let that classification point you toward purpose.
Structure-to-Purpose Mapping:
- Argument structure (claim → evidence → conclusion) → Persuasive purpose
- Problem-solution structure → Persuasive or analytical purpose
- Compare-contrast structure → Analytical or evaluative purpose
- Explanatory structure → Informative or analytical purpose
- Chronological structure → Informative or narrative purpose
This is the most common confusion in RC author purpose questions. The distinction lies in whether the author wants you to BELIEVE something specific or simply UNDERSTAND something.
Informative purpose: The author presents information without advocating for a position. Neutral tone, balanced presentation, no evaluative language pushing toward a conclusion.
Persuasive purpose: The author argues for a specific position and wants you to adopt it. Clear thesis statements, evidence marshaled to support one view, evaluative language indicating what you should think.
Purpose questions should take 45-60 seconds if you’ve correctly identified passage structure during your first read. They’re among the faster question types because they test global understanding rather than detail retrieval.
Time allocation:
- 10 seconds: Recall your structural classification from the first read
- 10 seconds: Verify by checking introduction and conclusion
- 15 seconds: Eliminate clearly wrong options (topic traps, tone traps)
- 10 seconds: Select the most specific accurate option
Passage-level and paragraph-level purpose questions test related but distinct skills.
Passage-level: “The primary purpose of the passage is to…” Answer by identifying the dominant purpose that unifies the entire passage.
Paragraph-level: “The purpose of the second paragraph is to…” Answer by identifying what role this paragraph plays in the larger structure—providing evidence, introducing counterargument, transitioning between topics.
• Para 1 might “introduce the author’s thesis”
• Para 2 might “provide supporting evidence”
• Para 3 might “address potential objections”
Each paragraph serves the overall persuasive purpose differently.
This confusion creates one of the two major traps in purpose questions. Tone describes HOW the author feels. Purpose describes WHAT the author wants to accomplish.
Tone words describe emotional quality: skeptical, enthusiastic, critical, dismissive, neutral.
Purpose words describe intended action: argue, explain, critique, compare, advocate, challenge.
Example distinction:
- “To express skepticism about the theory” — describes tone (skepticism) as if it were purpose
- “To argue that the theory rests on flawed assumptions” — describes purpose (argue that X) with specific content
Improving purpose question accuracy requires building structural awareness as a habit. Most errors come from students who read for content without tracking structure.
Week 1-2: Practice structural classification. For 20 passages, identify structure during your first read. Write down: “This passage is [argumentative/informative/critical/analytical].”
Week 3-4: Map structure to purpose. After classifying structure, predict the purpose before seeing the question. Track how often your prediction matches the correct answer.
Week 5-6: Focus on trap recognition. For each purpose question, explicitly label which options are topic traps, which are tone traps, and which are genuine purpose statements.
Week 7-8: Time pressure practice. Set a 60-second maximum per purpose question. Practice making quick structural-based decisions.
Connect with Prashant
Founder, WordPandit & EDGE | CAT VARC Expert
With 18+ years of teaching experience and thousands of successful CAT aspirants, I’m here to help you master VARC. Whether you’re stuck on RC passages, vocabulary building, or exam strategy—let’s connect and solve it together.
Stuck on RC or VARC? Let’s Solve It Together! 💡
Don’t let doubts slow you down. Whether it’s a tricky RC passage, vocabulary confusion, or exam strategy—I’m here to help. Choose your preferred way to connect and let’s tackle your challenges head-on.
🌟 Explore The Learning Inc. Network
8 specialized platforms. 1 mission: Your success in competitive exams.
Trusted by 50,000+ learners across India
Learn.WordPandit
Learn With Prashant Sir
Mentor-led courses for CAT, GMAT, GRE, GD/PI/WAT. Structured learning with expert guidance.
WordPandit
Master Words. Master Exams.
10,000+ words with roots methodology. Your vocabulary foundation for competitive exams.
Preplite
Smart Learning. Smaller Budgets.
Affordable self-prep micro-courses. Pay only for what you need. Learn at your pace.
Readlite
Read Smart. Comprehend Better.
Daily curated articles across 60+ subjects. Build reading comprehension for RC mastery.
Easy Hinglish
English Seekhna Ab Hua Aasan!
Learn English the Indian way. Vocabulary explained in Hindi and English for better retention.
GD PI WAT
Ace Your MBA Interviews.
1,000+ GD topics, PI questions, and WAT guidance. Complete MBA admission prep.
GK365
Stay Informed. Stay Ahead.
Daily GK updates and current affairs. Never miss what matters for competitive exams.
Ask English Pro
Your Personal English Mentor.
Get expert answers to all your English questions with detailed video explanations.