Author's purpose — SSAT Upper practice questions

Author's purpose on the SSAT Upper Reading Comprehension section asks students to identify why a writer produced a passage or a particular paragraph or detail. Students must tell informing, persuading, entertaining, or illustrating apart from main idea or tone. Questions typically ask what the author is trying to do or why a section was included. A common trap is choosing a purpose that fits one sentence but not the whole passage, or mixing attitude with reason for writing. Answer choices usually appear as infinitive phrases such as to explain a process or to argue a claim.

• Section: Reading Comprehension 40 questions on the paper
• 2 practice questions in the app